I'm going to see round 7 of #TheRiseofSkywalker tonight, but this will be a thread of some spoilery thoughts.
After six viewings, though, this might be my least favorite of the sequel trilogy. I'm not a fan of ranking Star Wars films, though. And the stuff I love about this film I REALLY love, and the stuff I don't love seems to have melted away.
I was not initially a fan of Rey's lineage, but it is what it is and understanding what makes it an interesting and valid choice is more fun for me than trying to argue about what I would have done differently.
There's a line in The Force Awakens that echoes in my head under new context. When Han is telling his son that Snoke is merely using him for his power.
This is what Palpatine has done since the beginning. He uses others for their power and he latched onto the Skywalkers ASAP.
This is what Palpatine has done since the beginning. He uses others for their power and he latched onto the Skywalkers ASAP.
Palpatine sees the future. We know this. The guy has been playing 3D chess from the beginning.
Who else would make the opening gambit for the Sith's revenge against the Jedi the taxation of trade routes of outlying star systems?
Who else would make the opening gambit for the Sith's revenge against the Jedi the taxation of trade routes of outlying star systems?
I believe he IS looking to discover the secret to immortality, as his master was. But I also think Palpatine hedges his bets and focused also on creating an heir.
I don't think Palpatine knew about his son, though. Not until much later. Not until after his exile on Exegol.
I don't think Palpatine knew about his son, though. Not until much later. Not until after his exile on Exegol.
Exegol itself is an interesting inverse of Dagobah. Palpatine was always trying to derive lessons from the Jedi way, but twist them dark.
TPM: Jedi kindness to Jar Jar wins the war
AotC: Sith manipulation of Jar Jar starts the war
OT: Jedi exile and faith in the next generation wins the war
ST: Palpatine's exile and manipulation of the next generation is supposed to do the same
AotC: Sith manipulation of Jar Jar starts the war
OT: Jedi exile and faith in the next generation wins the war
ST: Palpatine's exile and manipulation of the next generation is supposed to do the same
Palpatine also sought to prevent Ben Solo from stopping him. He saw what the power of family could do and sought to destroy that in Ben as soon as he had the power. Whether that was through Snoke or literally speaking inside the boy's head.
That also adds an interesting layer of nuance. Would Ben Solo be guilty of war crimes if he could prove that Palpatine was altering his perception and forcing him to act in ways he wouldn't ordinarily?
I also love that the reason Palpatine loses is because of love. It doesn't matter if it's familial love, romantic love, platonic love, the selflessness inherent of real love is more powerful than the dark side.
I love how Ben's ending shades the rest of the Star Wars saga.
Think about Anakin trying to save his mother in Attack of the Clones. If he wanted to save her for her sake, COULD he have sacrificed himself to keep her alive?
Think about Anakin trying to save his mother in Attack of the Clones. If he wanted to save her for her sake, COULD he have sacrificed himself to keep her alive?
Instead, he wanted her to stay alive because of HIS feelings about her. HIS possession of her.
Losing her causes him to reach into a well of the dark side.
Losing her causes him to reach into a well of the dark side.
It's the same with Padme. He was so focused on possessing her love he couldn't see that selflessness was the only way to save it.
"Love can't save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that."
"Love can't save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that."
As much as I wish I could see the adventures of Ben Solo, righting his wrongs post #RiseofSkywalker, I think it's poignant and meaningful to the entire saga, from Phantom Menace forward, that he is able to act so selflessly to save what he loves, no matter the cost.
It's something Anakin couldn't have done. Not until the ending of Return of the Jedi when the example of his own son is brought before him.
Which seems to be another key indicator of how thoroughly Palpatine poisoned Ben's mind.
It's why he's so devastated by the loss of his father. It's why he shows Rey tenderness in The Last Jedi.
It's the Ben that should have been poking through the clouds of Palpatine.
It's why he's so devastated by the loss of his father. It's why he shows Rey tenderness in The Last Jedi.
It's the Ben that should have been poking through the clouds of Palpatine.
Ben found transcendence. He found selflessness. And that's something to be happy about.
He also found immortality. He and Rey can pal around and understand each other for eternity now, something that wouldn't have been true without his sacrifice.
He also found immortality. He and Rey can pal around and understand each other for eternity now, something that wouldn't have been true without his sacrifice.
And the Force can induce the midi-chlorians to create life. That's how Anakin was created in the first place. Ben is now one with the Force. Who is to say he and Rey still can't have little Bens and Reys running around?
Anakin: I will even learn to stop people from dying!
Kylo Ren: Show me, grandfather, and I will finish... what you started.
Ben Solo: Finishes Palpatine AND learns to stop people from dying.
Kylo Ren: Show me, grandfather, and I will finish... what you started.
Ben Solo: Finishes Palpatine AND learns to stop people from dying.
Ultimately, I believe that Rey's lineage doesn't matter. She didn't know about it. The Force is in all living things, so there's no lack of democratization.
Palpatine thinking HIS power was in her is an interesting comment on men thinking they can possess women.
Palpatine thinking HIS power was in her is an interesting comment on men thinking they can possess women.
Rey rejects his name and takes the one that means something to her.
Which I find incredibly powerful.
Which I find incredibly powerful.
I wish I would have had this when I was a teenager, frankly. I always viewed my father as a Palpatine/Vader sort.
I wish I would have had the courage to reject his name and take on one that was more meaningful to me. Seeing Rey do it here brought me to tears. It meant so much.
I wish I would have had the courage to reject his name and take on one that was more meaningful to me. Seeing Rey do it here brought me to tears. It meant so much.
Balance isn't a thing that happens once. And the chosen one is something that happens over and over and over again. You can hear Anakin tell Rey, "Bring back the balance, as I did."
You also need to take the Mortis arc into account.
You also need to take the Mortis arc into account.
I think the writers put it in the mouths of bad guys that it was important. Luke and Leia and anyone espousing good didn't see it that way.
A bit of writing: Rey and BB-8 have a small, quiet scene after she heals the serpent. "I transferred a bit of my life force. You'd've done the same."
As soon as they get to Ochi's ship, that's exactly what BB-8 does for D-O.
As soon as they get to Ochi's ship, that's exactly what BB-8 does for D-O.
On Pasaana, I didn’t understand on first viewing why Rey’s background switched from day to night, but it’s a really smart but of subliminal storytelling.
As Rey and Kylo speak, they are opposites. He is shrouded in black, but his background is stark white. She wears white, but her background is darkness.
It recalls both their lineage versus their status quo AND the yin-yang style symbol in the pool in the 1st Jedi Temple in TLJ
It recalls both their lineage versus their status quo AND the yin-yang style symbol in the pool in the 1st Jedi Temple in TLJ
I think it’s definitely a memory. “I’ll always be with you. Just like your father.”
Also: with as much as I've heard that JJ hates the prequels, I never expected him to have the courage to give us Hayden as a Force Ghost. That we got his voice was far more than I expected and ALMOST enough.
I still think he should have been there at the end. Along with Ben.
I still think he should have been there at the end. Along with Ben.
Nah, this is Palpatine's MO. That's what he did through TPM, too. He adapts his plans to new information. Sign the treaty, no, kill her, no, let her attack us, it works better this way anyway, etc.
I think Palpatine would have been content with either of them taking his place in the dark side because he was convinced he could transfer himself to them. It wasn't until he realized they could heal him that he changed gears.
And this moment of kindness ties into the broader point of Jar Jar’s story...
I do think JJ and Terrio were paying attention to The Last Jedi. I don't think they were working to overwrite it. This is <chef's kiss>
Like, seriously... Her calling Kylo a murderous snake in TLJ, a film about misunderstanding your own point of view, and then healing an actual murderous snake in TroS proves they were paying attention and she learned the right lesson.
I always feel like this by bringing Mortis into it, but...
Anakin’s choices there had ripple effects through the Force. We see it over and over again in different iterations. Father, son, daughter... the way their fate played out on Mortis is echoed over and over again throughout the saga.
Anakin caused events to be set into motion that caused this history to repeat. Rey experiences it twice. The dagger that kills her father bears a striking resemblance to the dagger of Mortis.
Ben cradles her as Father cradles his children. As Obi-Wan cradles Qui-Gon, Satine, and Maul... it’s like poetry. It rhymes.
And it all comes back to the will of the Force and Anakin’s decisions in that netherworld.
And it all comes back to the will of the Force and Anakin’s decisions in that netherworld.
I think Palpatine’s heart is what Luke saw when he looked into Ben that fateful night.
Leia’s story figured in this film figured into the theme of The Last Jedi as well, which is why the flashback works so well, since it’s a thematic call back to Episode VIII.
Leia saw her son’s death at the end of her Jedi journey, so she gave that up then and there. Did she feel like this would change the future? Likely, yes. But that vision was still true, from a certain point of view.
That’s why at the end of her journey her transformation into the Force happens not when she severs Palpatine’s connection to her son, but when her son makes his final sacrifice.
YUP.
Also: Rey figured out what the Skywalkers couldn’t. That’s why she had less of a shocked or sad reaction to Ben’s fate. She rejoiced that he transformed into the Force like Luke, with peace and purpose.
“I should have felt trapped or panicked, but I didn’t.”
And Holy Snokes, would it have killed them to give Ben any dialogue or last words more meaningful than “ow”?
“Ow.”
Famous last words.
Famous last words.
