The Rise of Skywalker: Which ships sailed and which ones sank?
Going into The Rise of Skywalker, many fans questioned whether certain couples would be together by the end of the film. So, did any of our ships actually sail?
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Heading into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, many fans wanted answers to the big questions: Who would die? Would Rey turn to the Dark Side? Would balance be brought to The Force? And all of that is fair — and, for the most part, answered in the film.
But some fans also wanted to know whether or not certain characters would end up together. After rooting for them for two movies already, anticipation was high as viewers discovered which ships would sail and which would sink. And honestly? Most of them sank.
Star Wars has never been about romance, but we’ve always had relationships like Han and Leia or Padme and Anakin as subplots throughout the trilogies. This is the first where no one really ends up together in the end — although there is one relationship that takes over much of the trilogy’s plot.
So, which ships sailed and which ones sank?
Sailed, then sank: Rey and Kylo Ren
Reylo is just about the only current Star Wars ship that sailed during The Rise of Skywalker, but its voyage certainly didn’t last long. It’s undeniable that these two have had a building chemistry for the past two films, and that finally comes to a head during the big finale. Not only do fans get to see Rey spare Kylo — and convince him to turn away from the Dark Side — but they get to see him save her life.
There’s an awkwardly timed kiss as well, but unfortunately, Kylo perishes almost immediately after. So, this ship definitely sailed — but it also kind of sank at the end there.
Sank: Finn and Poe
Stormpilot, or the ship that pairs Finn and Poe together, sadly sank before The Rise of Skywalker even hit theaters. On the press tour for the movie, J.J. Abrams and the cast confirmed that the two wouldn’t wind up together — shattering hearts everywhere and leaving us to wonder whether Disney will ever give us a Star Wars or Marvel film with an LGBTQ+ lead at its center.
On the bright side, Finn and Poe had plenty of fantastic moments throughout the movie, so … this one sailed in our hearts, OK?
Sank: Finn and Rose
Throughout The Last Jedi, Finn and Rose seemed a likely pairing to wind up together, but Rose was missing for the majority of The Rise of Skywalker. Forget giving her a relationship; the movie couldn’t even be bothered giving her a storyline. With so little screen time for Rose, it was unlikely this ship would sail during The Rise of Skywalker. And surprise, surprise: It didn’t.
Sank: Poe and Zorii
The entire purpose of including the over-hyped Zorii Bliss in this film seems to have been to give Poe an opportunity to hit on a woman, but the pair has no chemistry — and Zorii doesn’t seem to have any interest in him. He does the whole winking, hitting-on, Han Solo thing a few times, but she shrugs him off and carries on.
We didn’t even know this ship existed, but we’re grateful it sank to the bottom of the sea.
Sank: Finn and Rey
Many have thought Finn to have a crush on Rey since The Force Awakens, but this is never addressed — and given that these two don’t wind up together, we can assume any feelings that might have been there have dissipated. There is a moment during The Rise of Skywalker, right before they’re presumably about to die, that Finn tries to tell Rey something. But it’s been confirmed that he was going to tell her that he’s Force sensitive, not that he’s into her.
Consider this ship sunk!
Sailed: Emperor Palpatine and … someone
If you were wondering, no, I’m still not over this.
Sailed: Two random women at the end
Look, fans have been clamoring for LGBTQ+ representation in major franchises like Star Wars for years now. But if the movies think having two random ladies kiss at the very end counts as representation, we have to wonder whether or not they’re getting the message.
But, I mean, hey … these two are basically the only people who wind up together at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, so good for them.
Next. The Rise of Skywalker: Who lived and who died?. dark