Unanswered Questions The Rise of Skywalker Must Answer
It’s right around the corner. The end of the sequel trilogy is coming this December and boy does it have some splainin to do. There are a lot of questions that need answering moving into the Rise of Skywalker, and we’re just hoping J.J. Abrams delivers. We’ll admit that we’re a bit worried on that front as well. Abrams doesn’t have the best track record of paying off things he’s set up (looking at you Lost). But, who knows, maybe Abrams will surprise us and subvert our expectations.
Who are Rey’s Parents Really?
One of the biggest mysteries and plot threads surrounding the sequel trilogy involves the identities of Ray’s parents. In typical Star Wars fashion, Rey, being the protagonist, possesses unprecedented control over the Force. She’s a natural wielder of it. And generally, there's an explanation behind why the protagonists in these trilogies are so gifted. Anakin was the chosen one, and, by proxy, his son, Luke turned out to also be a natural with the force.
So what’s Rey’s secret? She’s just as curious about who her parents are as the rest of us. She went straight to the dark side of the force just to find out. In The Last Jedi, Kilo Ren told Rey that her parents were nothing more than junk traders: nobodies. This doesn’t seem true at all, though. Why would Luke’s lightsaber call out to someone who had nothing to do with it? It must have felt some kind of kinship with her, right?
Maz Kanada And Anakin’s Lightsaber
Speaking of Luke’s lightsaber, let’s talk about Maz Kanada for a second. Maz is a bar manager, who’s pushing around Yoda’s age. In fact, she might actually be a hundred years older than the grandmaster was when he died. The woman is an enigma, one who can apparently manipulate the Force as well (you’d think she’d be as powerful as any master Jedi, being able to use the Force at her age). Despite her forgettable, face-value status, however, Maz had possession of Anakin’s original lightsaber, the one Luke lost during his battle with Vadar on Cloud City.
We think it’s safe to assume that most of us are wondering how in Yoda’s name Maz managed to get her hands on this weapon. It fell beyond the clouds of a gas giant planet. It should have been lost forever. But going beyond how Maz retrieved it, why is she just sitting on it? Assuming the Force told her it was Luke’s and assuming she’s one of the good guys, why not -- you know -- take the saber back to Luke, or Leia, or Han, or anyone else who can be trusted with it? Who exactly is Maz? She must be someone important to have been safekeeping a saber Luke's for who knows how long.
So, Who Was Snoke?
The First Order was the remnants of the Galactic Empire come back to haunt the New Republic Era. Despite being only a remnant, the Order posed quite a serious threat to the galaxy, and the mastermind behind their organized power was a Sith Lord going by Supreme Leader Snoke. Taking the collapse of a galaxy-wide spanning empire and reorganizing it under a new mission is nothing to scoff at. It’s a truly impressive feat made even grander by the fact that the First Order was a real threat to the New Republic. They made a Death Star that destroyed five different planets at once, and the guy who made all of this possible was Snoke. You’d think that warrant a little explanation and back story, right?
Well, that’s going to be hard considering Snoke is dead -- killed in The Last Jedi by his own apprentice in Kilo Ren. But we don’t think that his death excuses an explanation of his history. Again, this is the guy who founded the First Order, the latest and greatest threat to the entire galaxy. The same guy who trained Kilo Ren in the ways of the Dark Side. Who is he? Where did he come from? Who did he perform the Rule of 2 with before Kilo? Was it Palpatine? Some description as to what the late Sith Lord was and how he came to be would kind of be appreciated considering what he started.
Is Palpatine The Mastermind Behind All Of This?
The great Galactic Emperor Palpatine organized the downfall of the Old Republic from within before taking it over. He ruled with an iron first for some years until he suffered the age-old Sith tradition of being murdered by his own apprentice in Darth Vader who threw him into the reactor of the second Death Star. So you can imagine our confusion when in the first Rise of Skywalker teaser we heard one of his infamous cackles from the remains of the very Death Star he went down went with.
We do of course know about Force Ghosts and their ability to interact (albeit to a limited degree) with the physical world. So, considering how Palpatine was blown up at least twice, we can only imagine that his laughter comes from that of a ghost. But the question is, what’s his role in all of this? Is he the one behind Snoke? The man is known for pulling strings, so we wouldn’t put it past him. But as a force ghost just how much influence could he really have? He’s only an echo of his former self. Even if he does turn out to be the man behind the man, what then? It’s not like you can fight a Force Ghost, right? At the very least they can’t fight you.
Rise of Skywalker? Death of Leia?
First off, rest in peace Carrie Fisher. Carrie’s unexpected death leaves the fate of her character Leia in a peculiar place. Leia survived the attempt her son made on her in The Last Jedi, and is the last of the original trio still standing, but how will her character operate in the next movie? J.J. Abrams has stated that the crew can leverage unused footage of Leia from episodes 7 and 8 to have her reappear in episode 9 without having to rely on a CGI variation of her. But this still leaves the question: what happens to her now? Han died in Episode 7, and Luke died in Episode 8, so will she follow them in Episode 9? If so, can they manipulate the footage to such a degree to capture how dramatic and heartbreaking that would be?
And, as the last Skywalker that we know of, will she be the Skywalker that the title is referring to? If not, who is? If Palpatine’s returning, then there’s no reason why Anakin or even Luke can’t make reappearances as Force Ghost. Anakin was supposed to bring balance to force, but as it stands now, things still looked pretty skewed, so his return would make sense. Or maybe Rey really is a Skywalker, and the title refers to her. If it does, then Luke or Leia have some splainin to do themselves.
