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The problem with the new Star Wars trilogy...

no one cares about Rey!

By J.M.F.Published 3 years ago 5 min read
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SPOILERS! (To all Star Wars movies and TV shows.)

Star Wars was the first movie series I was truly in love with. Although a '90s kid, I watched the original trilogy, episodes IV-VI, at least a dozen times while growing up. I truly loved this movie series. Before the prequels came out, episodes I-III, I read most of the books and comics and used up way too much brain space in accumulating vast knowledge of the Star Wars universe. Of course, most of this was retconned with the new trilogy, episodes VII-IX, where many of the characters from the Expanded Universe were eliminated along with their stories and a whole new timeline and characters were introduced. Despite my commitment to the Expanded Universe, I was excited. I loved all of Star Wars, even the prequels. To me, episodes I-III not only gave us a background to the original trilogy and the Skywalker family tree, but a reason for the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. It showed us the frailties in the Republic and we learned more about the Jedi Order, which had disappeared by the time of the original trilogy. Yet, like many Star Wars fans, I feel cheated by the newest trilogy. I wanted to love Rey, wanted to develop an attachment to that character the way I had to all of the Skywalker family. Instead, I kind of wish she had stayed dead.

Since the first Star Wars movie the entire universe essentially revolved around the Skywalker family and for good reason; Anakin/Vader was one of the Force sensitives and he was, actually the One (he returned balance to the force, which had swung heavily to the light side, by destroying the Jedi Order). The prequels showed us the many weaknesses of Anakin, including his need for love and validation; those attachments to other living beings which Ahsoka Tano sensed in Grogu (baby Yoda) and made her decide not to teach him. From Episode I to Episode IX this is really a story about the Skywalkers and how their choices literally led to the rise and fall of empires. So, of course, I expected Rey to be a Skywalker...but NOT AN ADOPTED ONE! But it's worse than that! Rey is the grandaughter of Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious! Palpatine/Sidious is the evil that has plagued the Skywalker family from episode I; the one who lured Anakin to the dark side, caused the destruction of the Jedi, and led to Obi-Wan choosing to hide his children. In the end, Anakin/Vader chose the light side of the force; to save his son from Palpatine. If you watch episodes I-III closely and bother to understand his love of family and his fears, then you won't be surprised by this decision. After all, Anakin never wanted power for power's sake, like most Sith lords; he wanted the power to save the people he loved. The Clone Wars further showed us the weaknesses and motivations of Anakin. How can you not feel an immediate human connection to him? Who would not do anything to save their family? And, of course, Luke and Leia are brave, spunky, smart, and humurous. Both are committed to making up for the sins of their father by building the New Republic and the new Jedi Order. Again, we had six movies of the Skywalkers!

And then we got Rey...she was smart, brave, skilled. A combination of Luke and Anakin in some ways; raised in an isolated desert planet but with a dark past. A lot of her echoed the themes of the Skywalker family members, so many fans assumed she had to somehow be tied to them. Perhaps the Skywalkers had left her on the planet for her safety, like they had with Luke? We were all waiting for that big reveal. And it turns out she is Palpatine's "granddaughter" (the daugher of one of Palpatine's clones who were genetically engineered to be stronger in the Force but Rey's father just happened to not have any Force sensitivity, so he as let loose to reproduce). The Mandalorian seems to be tracing some of this background; the development of genetically altered beings who are extremely Force sensitive by using the DNA of a Force sensitive being (i.e. Grogu/Baby Yoda). That's how we ended up with Rey. And Rey is a great heroine. I just never cared about her and her struggles. I wanted to, but I was committed to the Skywalker family and their struggles and the hope that somehow they could redeem themselves and have a happy ending. Instead, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren goes to the dark side, kills all the Jedi in the new temple, and when his whiny teenage self finally chooses the light after his mother's death (Leia) he dies. Just a pause to remind everyone that Anakin began his descent to the dark side when his mother died and he executed the entire village of Sandpeople, including the women and children. Ben/Kylo switches to the light side when his mother dies and he realizes that Sidious has been lying to him all along. Like, really, Freud would have a field day with the Skywalker family! But it is those psychological and personal struggles that has made me so invested in the Skywalkers. So, with the death of Leia and Ben the Skywalker line has essentially come to an end. I imagine that Rey adopting the Skywalker name is supposed to make us feel better about this and, perhaps, the only way the peace could come to the galaxy was with the end of a line of Jedi that had essentially brought chaos. But it was through that chaos that balance in the Force was achieved, no? And they fought so hard for it and for the Light, eventually. The fact that they were not blindly good is what made them so interesting. Rey was shown to struggle with the dark side, but barely...she was always essentially good.

Again, I really wanted to be invested in Rey and I felt for her...until I learned she was Palpatine/Sidious' daughter. Like, we have been hating that character since Episode I! Why should Palpatine/Sidious's genetically engineeredline survive while the Skywalkers are all dead? Remember this family went from slavery (Anakin) to Jedi Master (Anakin/Luke) & Senator (Leia)! If we were given more of an understanding of how the New Republic rose and fell and why we should care about Rey, then maybe I wouldn't hate episode IX so much. And it seems Disney is making up for this with The Mandalorian, which is bridging episode VI and episode VII while at the same time connecting with storylines and characters from the Clone Wars. I'm excited for this, but I can't help but wish that Disney had bothered to give Rey a better backstory, one that justified her being the central character of the latest trilogy despite being the descendant of the biggest evil there ever was.

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About the Creator

J.M.F.

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