Two days ago, the world was able to witness arguably the largest and most anticipated ending to a movie franchise in cinema history. The Star Wars universe, conceived by George Lucas, created an affecting fan following from its beginning 42 years ago with A New Hope. But we aren’t here to talk about A New Hope. Let’s talk about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Regardless of whether you think episode VII, VIII, IX may just be a reincarnated version of the three original episodes before it like I did, the final piece to the nine part saga is everything a Star Wars fan really needed.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker resurrects characters you thought it wouldn’t, it kills characters you thought it wouldn’t, it does things you thought it wouldn’t, but should.
Opening with the classic “Force-like” hover, Rey looks like a Jedi. Although she doesn’t look like the authentic Jedi we are all used to, she might just be something better. A new form of Knight, someone who is able to walk the tightrope of the force, with dark and light on either side, living in balance by taking the power of the dark side and using it for good in the light.
Rise of Skywalker is packed with story, packed with plot and the ever-present McGuffin to make sure we know exactly what to expect. JJ Abrams really did an excellent job of tightening the underwhelming legacy left behind by Rian Johnson after The Last Jedi, with the resurrections of tyrants such as Emperor Palpatine, to weaving streaks of empathy through the arc of villains like Kylo Ren.
Finally, we find out who the hell Rey is, and this may be the only part of Episode IX that disappointed. Rey Palpatine, for those who don’t have a family tree of the Star Wars characters in their photos on their phone as I do, is revealed to be the long lost granddaughter of the evil Emperor Palpatine, the bastard that got us into this mess in the first place. Forced to come up with a lineage for our protagonist, the creators in the star wars universe seemed to drop the ball by placing her past in a confusing and unnecessary chronology.
But, in the end, we return to Tattooine. The rightful place to put to bed the haunted past of the Skywalker family, and the rightful place for Rey to take on a new name, a name we all wanted and expected regardless of blood ties. Rey Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker was appropriate, it was beautiful and it was enchanting. I say to all who need it, this is where you find closure.
