The best and worst of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best: The Kiss

Star Wars enters the 21st century and finally acknowledges queer fandom. Once the Emperor is vanquished and the First Order is destroyed, the Resistance troops rush to celebrate. Among the celebrants, Amanda Lawrence’s Commander D’Acy and Resistance pilot Lieutenant Tyce (Vinette Robinson) share a loving kiss, thereby marking the first time an on-screen Star Wars property has included a queer, romantic couple.

The moment Abrams and Disney started talking about incorporating queerness in the Star Wars universe, we guessed this was exactly what they would do – it’s a throwaway moment that does the bare minimum for representation. Hollywood is also far more inclined to include women kissing as a signifier of being woke, rather than men, which is one of the major reasons fan-favourites Poe and Finn are written as straight in The Rise of Skywalker.

Worst: The Kiss

Rian Johnson decided to make Kylo Ren and Rey a shippable couple in The Last Jedi and, now, it’s official. It’s a disgusting trope of the naïve young girl falling for the bad boy who mistreated her. Kylo has been nothing but threatening towards Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens onwards but, for some reason, Rey was convinced of his goodness.

While Kylo’s redemption works in the finale, the two share a bond that is more akin to fraternal love rather than romantic. Yet, when Kylo brings Rey to life, she thanks him with a passionate kiss. One could feel every single person in the theatre recoil when it happened. These two share a mutual love for Han and Leia, which makes them more like siblings, not lovers. It’s disappointing that The Rise of Skywalker’s creators decided to run with one of the more problematic elements of its predecessor.