Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 5 most shocking moments

1. Rey’s Heritage

This may not have been as much of a revelation to some people. When Rey was introduced to the Star Wars universe, she wistfully waited for her family to return to Jakku and reunite with her. It wasn’t till she saw the impact of the First Order that Rey abandoned that pipe dream and took the first steps to becoming a Jedi.

Unfortunately, in The Last Jedi, Rey was written as being obsessed with discovering her origins, which is eventually answered in The Rise of Skywalker. In many ways, Rey’s heritage isn’t much of a surprise. She is borne of the Sith – that was the darkness she and Luke feared in the previous film. And seeing how many Sith powers she has in the finale, from Force Lightning to Force Healing, there was no question about Rey’s pull to the Dark Side. But the seeds of her bloodline were sown long before it became internet conjecture.

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How closely were you watching Rey’s lightsaber moves in The Force Awakens? Did you notice how distinctively she wielded the lightsaber? Only one other person in Star Wars films has been seen adopting that stabbing motion – Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). If you spotted that in the first film, you would have guessed that Rey was connected to Palpatine in some way. Turns out, she’s Palpatine’s granddaughter and that he had her parents killed. That’s why they never returned to her on Jakku. Rey nearly wasted her entire life waiting for people who were dead. Let that settle in for a minute.

There are several disturbing connotations to the Palpatine revelation, including the fact that Palpatine may have abused his position of power to pass on his legacy or that Palpatine was able to create his own child using midichlorians. Fortunately, Rey bests the evil Emperor and her heritage to channel the Jedi and save the galaxy.

For a franchise built on the idea of one person being chosen to bring balance to the Force, it’s a pleasure to see that it’s a young woman who seems to have finally succeeded in completing the prophecy. That’s till a new trilogy in the Skywalker saga is eventually released some years from now. Like the other (so far male) heroes of the franchise, Rey comes from nothing, realizes she has a talent that she must use for good and then overcomes her villainous destiny to triumphantly rejoice with her friends and new family.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker struggled to be original, but the film remembered that the protagonists of the franchise should act like heroes. Despite the overdependence on intertextuality, the creators were able to squeeze in a few surprises that will have viewers discussing for weeks.

Which Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker shock was your favourite? And which ones had you already predicted?