May the Fourth Be With You

We’ve established that I write essays in my head as I drift off to sleep, yes? Well, today I am going to share one I’ve been stewing on since December 2019. The title in my notes folder is:

Rey’s Lineage and the Believability of Literally Any Origin Except the One Presented on Film

Now, if you don't know who Rey is or why her origin is important, I kindly say to you:

It felt right to start this series (yes, a multipart series about this topic. I know. I’m insane.) on May the Fourth, a day of jubilation and puns for the more intelligent part of the population who live, breathe, and obsess over Star Wars. Now, I do feel like I need to share some accreditation on my own behalf here. I think that comes from the constant mansplaining I've endured from men who don't realize I know more than them about Star Wars. After learning I was a fan, my chiropractor said, "You know Darth Maul?" to which I responded, "Yes, I believe I'm familiar." The visit ended with me recommending several Star Wars books from the 80s to him and explaining my understanding of Darth Plageois the Wise. He didn't even know who Grand Admiral Thrawn was. *eyeroll* But I'll just ask the two of you reading this to trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Usually. 

Let's get started, shall we? 

The sequels introduce Rey as a protagonist with high morals, dependability, and a desire to do and be good. She has incredible strength in the force and is highly instinctual. We don’t know her parentage or how she ended up on Jakku until the last movie in the trilogy, Rise of Skywalker. *spoiler alert* she’s a descendant of Palpatine, former Emperor, Sith Lord, and evil mastermind of all the movies. He is alive in puppet form, somehow thanks to cloning, and living on a planet among thousands of sithlike cult people. He also managed to have offspring (also clones, I guess?) and, by some miracle, that offspring/clone happened to be a decent person or something. The offspring/clone thing then produced Rey who ended up living alone on Jakku as a child. Makes perfect sense. (Additional Palpatine nonsense background found here)

The concept may have been successful if the writers had done even the slightest amount of planning ahead, but, according to Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi, there was nothing. He said, 

"that's what’s been really cool about the storytelling process. There is definitely the idea that we know it is a three-movie arc. We know the first film is an introduction, then the middle act is training, meaning challenging the characters. The third is where they all come together and you have to resolve everything. But I was truly able to write this script without bases to tag, and without a big outline on the wall. That meant I could react to what I felt from The Force Awakens, and what I wanted to see. I could make this movie personal. I could also just take these characters where it felt right and most interesting to take them. I think part of the reason the movie feels like it goes to some unexpected places with the characters is that we had that freedom. If it had all just been planned out and written down beforehand, it might have felt a little more calculated, I suppose.“ 

 

The obvious problem with this logic, and the use of two different directors who have complete creative control, is the complete lack of evidence or build up to the conclusion of Rey's lineage. It is obvious that Rian and JJ Abrams have some ideas of Rey's origin, but it seems that instead of making a choice, they simply filled the first two movies with clues that could point to any possibility. In the next few days, I'll post the different arguments for the far more plausible origins of Rey and the evidence to support them. 

Stay tuned for part two of my spiraling thoughts and hyper fixation on fictional characters!