The reveal that Rey (Daisy Ridley) is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) was simply one in every of many horrible selections for her Star Wars parentage. The thriller behind Rey’s organic dad and mom was the core thriller that was on the center of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. After a quantity of purple herrings, it was lastly revealed in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that her unnamed dad and mom left Rey on Jakku to cowl the kid from her grandfather’s affect.
It was a reveal that felt like an abrupt course correction from Rian Johnson’s unfairly lambasted Star Wars: The final Jedi that launched the trilogy again in retaining with the franchise’s obsession with lineage and legacy. collectively with the a lot-parodied “someway, Palpatine returned” line, the reveal and Palpatine’s shock return had been hated by followers. trying on the various theories put forward by followers, however, reveals that every idea was deeply flawed and solely furthered the factors with the final chapters of the Skywalker saga.
Why Rey Being A Palpatine did not Work
primarily, Rey being revealed as a descendant of Emperor Palpatine did not work as a outcome of it was dangerous storytelling. Rey’s parentage was a thriller, and all good thriller tales ought to introduce the suspects earlier than offering the reply. proper up till The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars franchise had by no means proven Palpatine to be married and even be in a romantic relationship. there have been tales inside the Star Wars prolonged universe that implied he could have fathered youngsters, however there was by no means proof of this on-display.
The novelization tries to sq. this plot hole by explaining that Rey is the daughter of a failed Palpatine clone, however, this solely makes issues worse. a very good reply to a thriller ought to make narrative sense, and nothing inside the previous movies inside the sequel trilogy arrange this reveal. it is an factor of a a lot greater problem with the final three chapters of the Skywalker Saga, that they really feel disjointed and lack a sturdy overarching narrative.
Why Rey may not Have Been A Solo
Initially, the strongest idea for Rey’s parentage was that she was the daughter of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). however, when it was revealed that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was actually the son of Han and Leia, this made issues extra difficult. Luke (Mark Hamill) and Leia had been unaware they had been brother and sister for almost all of the distinctive Star Wars trilogy, which led to some awkward moments and misunderstandings.
whereas the thought of flipping Luke and Leia’s story so as that Rey is the good twin and Kylo Ren is the evil one is compelling enough, however it certainly does not push the Star Wars franchise in a very new or thrilling route. What’s extra, there’s such apparent chemistry between Rey and Ren that the sexual stress between the two characters would make such a reveal strategy extra awkward for them than it was for Luke and Leia. The reveal of Rey as a Palpatine flips the ending of Star Wars in a single other strategy, however, as a Skywalker descendant, Kylo Ren, as quickly as as quickly as extra sacrifices themselves to defeat the Emperor. solely this time it is to shield Rey, a Palpatine who will finally deal with the Skywalker identify, considerably than shield her direct descendant.
Rey Being A Skywalker Would’ve Created huge factors
Rey being the daughter of Luke Skywalker would have created comparable factors to the Palpatine reveal, particularly that it may come from nowhere. not like Han and Leia, Luke does not finish the distinctive Star Wars trilogy paired up romantically. it may subsequently have required pretty a little bit of exposition to elucidate how Luke fathered a daughter and finally hid her on Jakku. There’s already pretty a little bit of continuity and exposition to get by means of in The final Jedi when Luke explains his tragic causes for turning his again on the drive, so to throw in a thriller youngster would have weighed his backstory down even extra. on condition that the Jedi aren’t permitted to marry, have youngsters, or type emotional attachments it could have made Luke’s final Jedi story strategy extra difficult.
it may additionally extra expose a apparent flaw inside the Star Wars franchise, that simply one household can save the universe from the evils of the Empire. Rey being the daughter of a Sith Lord who follows the sunshine facet is finally extra consideration-grabbing than her being the daughter of a legendary Jedi. Her lack of connection to Luke additionally enhances his character arc. If Rey was his daughter, it may reduce his battle to re-set up his reference to the drive, doing it for his daughter can be an obligation, doing it for a relative stranger is what heroes do. Rey is a drive-delicate orphan, deserted on a desert planet, she reminds him of the idealistic youth he was, and she or he reminds him of the want for the Jedi. it is a strategy extra emotionally satisfying arc for Luke Skywalker than revealing a daughter to whom he has an obligation of care.
Rey Being A Kenobi Was thought-about (however it certainly’s Good They averted It)
again in 2020, Daisy Ridley revealed on Jimmy Kimmel reside that there have been preliminary plans for Rey to be a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi. If it had gone forward, she would possible have been Obi-Wan’s granddaughter, however this could have prompted comparable factors as with each Luke and Palpatine. Given how involved Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is with regard to the connection between Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Padme (Natalie Portman), it may presumably be extremely hypocritical if he too had been involved romantically with somebody and had fathered a toddler. it is doable that Kenobi could have fathered a toddler whereas in hiding from the Empire, however, the dates do not pretty match up.
There are 19 years between the extreme of the prequel trilogy and the distinctive trilogy, 19 years all by means of which Kenobi retains a watchful eye on Luke, rescues Leia, and embarks on his stroll by means of the desert with Qui-Gon Jinn’s drive ghost. Add to this his hermit life-style, and it does not go away a lot time or alternative for him to father a toddler who would later develop to be one in every of Rey’s dad and mom. whereas the Obi-Wan timeline has been extra absolutely realized inside the years after The Rise of Skywalker, it is possible that the potential for a Ewan McGregor-led spinoff was what led Kathleen Kennedy to declare that Obi-Wan was off the desk to this point as Rey’s lineage was involved.
Why Rey Being A nobody Was the one possibility
the appropriate rationalization of Rey’s parentage was the one supplied by Kylo Ren in The final Jedi, that she was the daughter of nobody particular. It match completely with Rian Johnson’s noble effort to return Star Wars again to its roots. The factor of Johnson’s film that was so controversial for followers was the best strategy it broke with Star Wars’ Jedi obsession, a transfer that was seen as disrespectful to the lore. however, having Rey as a drive-delicate orphan would have neatly launched the franchise proper again to its roots in a mannequin new Hope. proper up till the reveal of Darth Vader’s true identification in The Empire Strikes again, Luke Skywalker’s actions are motivated by how he is been impressed by each the legends of the Jedi, and the required work of the insurgent Alliance. His bloodline was by no means the facet of his character that basically outlined him, and it ought to have been the identical for Rey.
Luke Skywalker launched into his Jedi teaching, not as a outcome of his father was a legendary Jedi, however as a outcome of he was delicate to the drive. When the prequel trilogy launched the thought of Midi-chlorians, it turned the Jedi’s drive powers proper into a privilege bestowed to a choose few as a outcomes of their bloodlines. Rey being a nobody with drive powers would have been the appropriate strategy to relaunch the franchise, breaking with the cumbersome Skywalker mythology. As an orphan on a desert world who turns into an perfect Jedi and helps to carry down a fascist regime, Rey was already the appropriate replace of Luke Skywalker with out having to even have a familial connection to a legacy character. collectively with her Palpatine heritage, she’s going to on an everyday basis be linked to the Skywalker Saga which could have stultifying penalties for the Star Wars franchise going forward.
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