The Rise of Skywalker: Let’s talk about that big Rey reveal
The current Star Wars trilogy has been building up the mystery surrounding Rey’s heritage, and the The Rise of Skywalker finally reveals where she came from.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The current trilogy of Star Wars movies begins with our main character, Rey, surviving on Jakku — where she was supposedly left by her parents, though she believes they’re coming back for her. As the trilogy progresses, however, it becomes increasingly clear that no one is returning for Rey. And that realization made many fans question who her parents were — or if she had any at all.
Thankfully, The Rise of Skywalker finally answers the question that’s been nagging at Rey’s character arc for the entirety of this story. And while some fans predicted this outcome, the reveal that Rey is actually a Palpatine is still a shocking one. I mean, first of all, who did the dirty with the Emperor? That’s a question we still need an answer to. (Do we even want the answer?)
Anyway, as it turns out, yes, Palpatine did the dirty and had a son — one who unsurprisingly didn’t want anything to do with his father. Because of this, Rey’s parents took her to Jakku and sold her, “choosing” to be nobodies in order to protect her. They were killed for their treachery, and that’s why no one ever came back for her.
Truthfully, the whole explanation feels like some serious retconning on the part of J.J. Abrams, and one has to wonder whether or not this was Rian Johnson’s plan in The Last Jedi. But whether we like it or not, Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter — and the reason he’s looked for her is because he wants her to become the Empress of the Sith.
The whole storyline surrounding Palpatine is murky at best, but this development does explain why Rey has such strong Force powers. In fact, we even get to see her use Force lightning in The Rise of Skywalker, something that foreshadows her connection to the Emperor and that most fans previously thought was reserved for the Sith.
The good news is that Rey doesn’t actually take up Palpatine’s throne, and she renounces the name in favor of becoming a Skywalker. But knowing that Rey isn’t a clone or the descendant of one of the Jedi — and that she’s actually the relative of the most evil Sith of all time — is a fascinating development, and it’s one that emphasizes that people have a choice in who they become.
As Luke puts it, there are things stronger than blood out there. And just as Ben Solo chose to become the opposite of everything his parents stood for, Rey did as well. These two parallel each other at every turn, it seems.
The Rise of Skywalker may have given us a somewhat predictable conclusion to the mystery of Rey, but it does have large implications for the future of the Sith and the Jedi. Whereas once the Jedi would have turned on Rey the moment they learned who she was, Luke and Leia nurtured and trained her — because they know that no one’s future is set in stone.
That feels like a good lesson to end this saga on, particularly since future Star Wars films are likely to follow new characters who aren’t related to any of the well-known Sith or Jedi. And The Rise of Skywalker certainly sets them up to do that.
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