Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
J.J. Abrams has explained why he thinks Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s reveal about Rey’s parents is better than The Last Jedi’s. The finale to the Skywalker saga is now playing in theaters and answers a whole lot of questions fans have wondered since The Force Awakens hit theaters four years ago. That’s not to say everyone is equally satisfied by those answers, though. Many have taken issue with The Rise of Skywalker’s payoffs, arguing the movie retcons most of Rian Johnson’s divisive second installment in the sequel trilogy, The Last Jedi.
Perhaps the most polarizing aspect of The Rise of Skywalker so far is the way it appears to back-track on The Last Jedi’s reveal about Rey’s parents. Johnson’s film includes a scene where Kylo Ren tells Rey her parents were nobody of consequence and sold her for drinking money before they died. However, The Rise of Skywalker reveals Rey is actually Emperor Palpatine’s granddaughter and her parents hid their identities, leaving Rey on Jakku to protect her from her grandfather. As Abrams sees it, the second twist is even more devastating than the former.
The writer-director talked about Rey’s parents following a recent Academy screening for The Rise of Skywalker. He explained the idea behind the twist and why he and co-writer Chris Terrio felt it was even stronger than The Last Jedi’s answer to the question of Rey’s heritage.
Admittedly, there are fair arguments to be made both for and against Abrams’ line of thinking. Finding out you’re related to the most evil person in the universe would be terrible for anyone, and the news haunts Rey for the entire second half of The Rise of Skywalker. Problem is, the idea behind The Last Jedi’s reveal about Rey’s parents (and one of the movie’s central themes) was anyone can be extraordinary, even if they come from “nowhere” and aren’t descended from someone important. Unfortunately, The Rise of Skywalker rescinds this plot point by making Rey related to one of the most evil, yes, but also most powerful beings in the entire Star Wars galaxy. In doing so, it (inadvertently) suggests Palpatine passing his special Force powers onto her is what really makes her unique, not Rey herself. Even worse, it seems to cater to fans who previously deried Rey for being a Mary Sue because of her ability to master the Force so quickly without being connected to a major (male) character.
“I think one of the themes of the movie is that anyone can be anything regardless of where you’re from, and I don’t know if it resonates for everyone but I think there are quite a few people who appreciate that idea of not coming from a place that you’re not particularly excited about following or proud of. And though I completely understand ‘You’re nobody’ is a devastating thing, to me the more painful, the more shocking thing was the idea that you’re from the worst possible place. And is that thing that you feel that you know is part of you somehow, that you’re haunted by, is that your destiny? And the idea that there are things more powerful than blood, as Luke says, that thing was a really important thing to convey for us."
There’s a decent chance Abrams always planned on making Rey a Palpatine, but (in keeping with his mystery box storytelling approach) he refrained from hinting at it during The Force Awakens. Then, when he unexpectedly found himself back directing The Rise of Skywalker, he tried to still make the idea stick in spite of The Last Jedi’s reveal about Rey’s parents. If Abrams had simply made his version of The Last Jedi or told Johnson about his original idea for Rey’s parentage, the Palpatine twist probably would’ve worked better in The Rise of Skywalker. Instead, it’s coming across as disappointing course-correcting to those who related to the idea of Rey being incredible despite having uncaring parents and no relevant lineage (even an evil one) to speak of.
Source: J.J. Abrams
