Star Wars Speculation: 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Spoiler Thoughts

Now that nearly a week has passed, and I've seen Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a total of five times, I felt it would be an appropriate occasion to discuss the film with no restrictions. If you haven't watched it yet, you can read my non-spoiler review and venture back here at a later date. Otherwise, I hope this clarifies my feelings about the film. 

**Spoiler Warning for all Star Wars films**

'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Spoiler Thoughts

1) Rey Palpatine
To kick things off, the biggest surprise was the reveal that Rey's descended from the Emperor himself, Sheev Palpatine. I'll be honest and say that I rolled my eyes in the theater at this moment. One of my favorite things about The Last Jedi was Rian Johnson's decision that Rey's parents were nobodies. Anyone can be the hero of their story, regardless of their ancestry. Going into The Rise of Skywalker, I'd hoped that'd remain unchanged.

At first, I felt this twist was a betrayal of one of my favorite elements of The Last Jedi. However, I soon reconciled this as J.J. Abrams' intent unraveled. He and Chris Terrio were offering a complimentary message rather than detracting from Johnson's story. Your lineage doesn't determine your destiny. You have a choice and agency in deciding your future. In hindsight, I much prefer this to the other possibilities of Rey being a clone or biologically descended from a Skywalker or Kenobi. I don't view this as a stronger alternative to Johnson's proposal, but I think it holds weight as well.

It deepens her struggle between the light and dark side as she questions her own morality. This has been an underlying thread in the trilogy, but I love the notion that her noble and compassionate heart is stronger than blood. On the other hand, I still take issue with a few things. I loathe the line, "You have his power." I not fond of the idea that Rey's strength is attributed to someone else. She's strong on account of her own discipline. It's not because she's the Emperor's granddaughter. And that line seems made to dismiss the preposterous notion of her being a "Mary Sue."

2) Bendemption
By far, my favorite thing about The Rise of Skywalker is how Ben Solo's redemption was handled. I made an entire post about this topic and how I hoped it might play out. Above all, I love how his redemption relates to the poetry of the greater saga. First of all, it occurs on the remains of the second Death Star, which is also the site of Anakin’s redemption, where he made a choice to save Luke from the Emperor. There are deeper ties than that, though...

Anakin metaphorically died and was reborn as Vader in the lava of Mustafar. He faced a baptism by fire, which left him severely burned. With this fire came death, destruction, and pain. The evil Darth Vader was created. Towards the end of the duel between Rey and Kylo Ren on the oceanic moon of Kef Bir, she lands a fatal blow to Kylo Ren. However, rather than let him suffer, she heals him with the Force. In literature, water often represents life, rebirth, and purity. At this moment, Kylo Ren literally and figuratively died and is reborn as Ben Solo. It’s a baptism for Ben that cleanses him of his sins. This franchise is deeply rooted in spirituality and myth, so I love that Abrams and Terrio tapped into that.

One slight detail I've noticed in my successive viewings is that Ben's scar fades away as Rey heals him. Therefore, she heals all the physical wounds she ever caused him since she first gave him the scar in The Force Awakens. A beautiful gesture that underscores her kind heart in addition to further signifying his decision to be Ben Solo again. 

On top of that, there’s the beautiful parallel between The Force Awakens and The Rise Of Skywalker. When Ben Solo is left stranded on the planet, he's seen contemplating his next course of action. Ben's memory of Han Solo appears to console him. Ever since that fatal moment from The Force Awakens, Ben's been haunted by what he did to his father. It shook him to his core and left him more conflicted than ever. Han may not physically be there, but this time Ben can make things right. He can't undo anything, but he can choose to be better. To be a hero. Their conversation consists almost entirely of the same dialogue from their final encounter, but with a much different context. It provides a sense of closure between the two as Ben imagines how he desperately wishes that moment had happened.

I also love that the restoration of Ben Solo required both his parents reaching out to him. Only together, their final efforts bring their son back towards the light. It's tragic but poetic that Han and Leia each die in an attempt to redeem their fallen son. Han's death lingered with Ben, and, in tandem with the sensation that his mother is gone, Ben knows what he has to do. But he doesn't know if he has the strength to do it. Of course, Carrie Fisher's death made this hit home even more, but Harrison Ford and Adam Driver act the hell out of this scene, and it's stuck with me ever since. 

4) Ben Solo Comes To The Rescue
Perhaps, the biggest crowd-pleasing moment of the entire film is when Ben rushes in to help Rey. I'll touch on their bond momentarily, but it's such a triumphant moment when Rey passes his family's saber to him through the Force. In this sequence, he displays so much of his family's heroic bravado and even channels many of his father's iconic gif-able mannerisms. It's a phenomenal entrance and great payoff to his arc. Anyways, if there's one thing I'd tweak about the film, it would be for Ben Solo to live when all is said and done. I can accept his death and appreciate that it wasn't derivative of Vader's, but I still wish he'd survived. However, I really love that he was able to do what Anakin couldn't and save the one he loved from dying by transferring his life force to Rey. An upside regarding his tragic fate.

5) "Be With Me"

Another one of my favorite moments is when Rey hears the voices of the Jedi who came before. Heard in the scene are Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness), Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, and Adi Galla. While I'd hoped to see several Force Ghosts, I prefer this approach because Rey doesn't really know any of them aside from Luke, so their appearance would mean nothing to her. I think this is a nice compromise that doesn't detract from Rey in the scene. 

6) A Dyad In The Force

Something else I really liked about The Rise of Skywalker was the expansion of Force-lore. I liked how J.J. developed the Force bond between Rey and Kylo Ren prominently seen in The Last Jedi, as physical objects transcend their connection (something first teased by Rian when Kylo Ren wipes his brow and water droplets appear). 

Concerning their complex dynamic, I find the continued contrast between them very interesting. Rey is dressed in white and struggles with inner darkness while Kylo Ren is dressed in black and struggles with an inner light. Previously, there was the angle that Rey came from nothing while Kylo Ren is descended from a dynasty of powerful Force-users. Now, Rey is related to the ultimate evil in the galaxy, while Ben Solo's parents are the embodiment of hope and goodness (even his grandfather brought balance to the Force). While I don't think The Rise of Skywalker thematically-rich as The Last Jedi, it's become abundantly clear to me that The Rise of Skywalker is all about the power of choice. As I alluded to earlier, your destiny isn't predetermined by blood. Only you can make the decision to be good or evil. 

7) Ending Where It All Began

The ending of the film sees Rey travel to the Lars homestead on Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia's lightsabers. She's asked who she is, to which she eventually responds, "Rey... Rey Skywalker" after looking to see the Force ghosts of Luke and Leia on the horizon. Then she and BB-8 gaze at the twin sunset. There's, of course, the reoccurring motif of "twins" with the binary sunset, the twin sabers, and twin Skywalkers, which I kinda dig. Then, I also like that Rey's chosen to take up the Skywalker name. I've seen a wide array of opinions on this, but it doesn't really bother me. 

After my initial viewing, I felt very conflicted about many decisions made in The Rise of Skywalker. It's been a process for me to sort them all out, but I think I've come to terms with them all and found a greater appreciation for this ending now that all is said and done. I'm not expecting to change anyone's mind, but I hope that my thoughts have inspired others to find a greater appreciation for the things that disappointed them or the aspects they also adore! 

There's plenty more to discuss, but I thought this analysis would be an excellent place to start. I'll continue to post about The Rise of Skywalker and the Skywalker Saga in the coming months as ideas come to mind.

-May the Force be with you, always!

Star Wars Speculation: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Spoiler Thoughts

Some of you are probably thinking "Isn't it a bit late for a spoiler review?" and you're probably right... It's now been well over a month since Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released in theaters, but I've held off on a spoiler review for a few reasons. One, the results of a Twitter poll suggested people were far more interested in my Ranking of The Star Wars Saga than a spoiler review. Therefore, I decided to share that first! Another factor was that I had A LOT of posts being uploaded in that timeframe of late December, so I wanted to give everything some room to breathe before uploading anything else. Last, but not least, everyone reading this has now had plenty of time to go see the film by now! So if you ended up here and have not seen the film, why don't you head over to my spoiler-free review. I've also written up an analysis over the film's divisive audience reaction that I'll be sharing on Wednesday. 

**Spoiler Warning**

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Spoiler Thoughts

There's a lot to address and digest with this film, so for the sake of length, I won't be addressing EVERY controversial moment in this post. I'm going to touch on my favorite moments and provide insight as to why I appreciated them. Obviously, I LOVED the film. I wouldn't have watched it five times if that weren't the case. Clearly, I liked it A LOT more than most, but I wanted to present my perspective on it all to hopefully open up some civil conversation about it all.

1) Luke's Force Projection
For me, this sequence was one of the coolest things I'd EVER witnessed onscreen. It was nothing short of EPIC. The beautiful reunion between Luke and Leia. Luke winking at C-3PO as Threepio says "Master Luke." John Williams' theme crescendoing as Luke makes his way to the base's opening gives me chills every time I witness it. Watching Luke "walk out with a laser sword and face down the entire First Order" only to be blasted to bits and simply brush it all off. The anticipation built with every waking moment. Everyone was thinking the same as Kylo Ren, " How could Luke possibly survive that?!?" Then Kylo comes down, filled with vehement rage and they each ignite their sabers... But Luke has the blue saber. How could that be?!? We saw that saber split in half not minutes earlier. Kylo charges and swings his cross saber. Luke sidesteps the blade. Kylo comes in again, and Luke ducks and dodges. The two stand at odds and converse. Luke deactivates his saber. Kylo charges and swings right through him. We see Luke again, well alive... Kylo pokes his blade through Luke one last time and then we learn... he's not ACTUALLY there...

It cuts back to Ach-To and Luke is floating and visibly struggling to mentally project the image of himself with the force. He lets go and falls. he climbs back up on the rock, and as he's pulling himself back up, he gazes to the horizon. There we see one sun... until he gets back up on the rock. Then a second sun appears... and Williams' brilliant "Binary Sunset" theme begins to play. Luke looks to the pair of setting suns one last time before fading into the Force. His cloak is carried away by the wind. A spectacular sequence. A peaceful and purposeful end to my favorite Jedi.

Now, there's quite a bit alluding to the fact he wasn't physically there. Luke doesn't leave any imprint on the surface of Crait like everyone else and the falling salt (snow?) doesn't flicker off Luke's lightsaber. Not to mention the fact he's using the blue saber that we saw destroyed minutes earlier. Really quickly, I'm going to now address the questions I've heard many ask regarding this twist with my own perspective of why things happened the way they did. 

First of all, I believe Luke died because the feat was simply too astounding. Yes, he's a Jedi Master and very powerful to the Force. However, we learned earlier that he had severed his connection to the Force for who knows how long, and then one of his first acts is to project himself ALL the way across the galaxy. It seems to me that an act like that would be extraordinary and be physically and mentally exhausting. The film suggests as much when it cuts back to Luke and we can clearly see him struggling. This isn't some everyday ability that the Jedi commonly used... On that subject, some were outraged that Rian Johnson dare introduce a force ability that hadn't previously been showcased in canon or even thought to have existed.... He responded with the following thread of tweets on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/3IvzVcIBji

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018

pic.twitter.com/IEe2wdLp4l

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018

pic.twitter.com/cxJ6y1i8nu

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018

pic.twitter.com/L3Ngau6bxH

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018

pic.twitter.com/ErfkfHmWNq

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018

Some may then ask, "Why didn't he show up in person?" and I believe the film offers an answer. We saw what would have happened had Luke actually appeared... He would have been blown to smithereens. His statement earlier on which foreshadows this moment suggests how impractical the idea would be. I believe he projected himself for many reasons. One, I think he knew he intended to be a source of inspiration for the Resistance... "The spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down." He could only succeed at that by demonstrating his exceptional ability with the Force in such an unconventional way. Clearly, it worked because the story already spread to stables of Canto Bight.

Two, I don't think he could bear to physically face Leia. He knows that he failed her son. He was the reason Ben Solo became Kylo Ren. He was the reason that Ben killed his own father and one of Luke's best friends, Han Solo. He was the reason that the First Order rose. He's guilty and remorseful about his failure and the tragedy it's caused. Why do you think he went into hiding?! It only makes sense that he wouldn't want to truly look into his sister's eyes face-to-face and let her see him looking so disheveled. I believe this is also why he alters his appearance. 

On top of all that, this is the same reason he projected the blue saber over his green one. Sure, it would have angered Kylo more to see the weapon Luke almost slaughtered him with... However, it only makes sense that Luke would choose not to wield that blade if Luke's to be a bright beacon of hope to the galaxy. Not because the Resistance would know what he'd used it for (because they wouldn't), but for his own conscience. The green saber's only a reminder of his monumental screw-up. I doubt he'd feel like a righteous hero wielding it. Force projection or not.

Three, I think he genuinely meant it when he told Rey, Chewbacca, and R2D2 nothing would change his mind. He was determined to die there on his own terms. Frankly, I'm kinda glad I didn't have to witness Luke be blown to bits or impaled with a lightsaber... I'm totally onboard with the idea of him demonstrating his strength in the Force in such a unique, never-before seen way. For me, it seems like the most in-character decision he could have made.

2) Throne Room Sequence

This sequence was simply amazing. It featured some of the best fight choreography in the entire Saga and a riveting, refreshing twist with the death of Supreme Leader Snoke. I especially appreciated how that propelled Kylo Ren to become the First Order's head honcho. I loved how Kylo Ren overcame his Vader Inferiority Complex and seized his destiny to become a fierce and formidable foe intent on destroying his past. Kylo Ren's truly the most compelling and complex antagonist the franchise has ever seen (that's not to say he's better than Vader though). And then there was the reveal that Rey's parents were nobodies. I know this, along with Snoke's death, upset some fans... but I loved how it emphasizes that heroes aren't born into this story. You don't need to be a Skywalker, a Kenobi, a Solo, or a Palpatine to have a place in the story. Anyone can be a hero. I feel that this is the primary point of the broom boy at the very end, seeing as he grabbed the broom with the Force. He and Rey are symbols that great potential can come from nothing.

3) Vice Admiral Holdo's Silent Light Speed Sacrifice

Wow. Just wow. I distinctly remember audibly gasping the first time I saw this scene because it was so awesome to behold. I especially loved how the sound cut out completely, leaving us to look at the beautiful destruction in awe and wonder. Such a chilling and moving sacrifice beautiful played by Laura Dern. I know some fans have suggested that Admiral Ackbar should have had her role, but I genuinely don't think it would have worked as well that way. For one, the dynamic between Poe and Holdo is entirely dependent on her anonymity. We're meant to not like her the first time because she's telling the hero no. Holdo's not giving him the answers because he's proven himself to be reckless and incapable of seeing the big picture. She had no reason to divulge her plan with him seeing as he had just been demoted for such. If Holdo had told him everything, I'm sure he would have acted out in the same manner he did upon learning the news and become an obstacle to the Resistance's last hope. It'd be difficult to lead the audience into being apprehensive about Admiral Ackbar's plans because the audience is familiar with him as a beloved character.

I could have gone on to tackle the controversial moments, but I didn't for the sake of length. I'll address many of those in my audience reaction analysis going up Wednesday and I'll save the others for their own respective posts later on.

For now, May the Force be with you!