‘The Rise of Skywalker’ — an emotional end to the third Star Wars trilogy
A nostalgic and emotional, albeit unoriginal at times, conclusion to the latest Star Wars series
*** Warning – major spoilers ahead***
We all watch movies for different reasons. When we come home after a long day at work and want some easy-on-the-mind entertainment. Sometimes we watch them when we’re bored and have nothing better to do. Or when the topic is interesting and we want to learn something new. We watch them when we’re sick in bed and want to feel more positive. Or even because they’re just on in the background whilst doing chores.
The main reason movies are so beloved though, is because they represent an escape from reality. When we go to the cinema and watch a good movie on the massive screen, we can immerse ourselves into an alternate world that, unlike books, engages both our visual and auditory senses. On top of that, movies can really tickle our emotions, either by laughing out loud, feeling scared or bringing the more empathetic of us to tears. Especially the really good movies.
If many movies out there are stories of superheroes in which ultimately good trumps evil, Star Wars is like no other movie or series. It is intrinsically different to all superhero movies — good does indeed defeat evil, but in a diverse universe where the underdogs unite to fight against the greater evil. And more often than not, or at least, ultimately, the good guys win. It is also distinct to most sci-fi movies out there — it should have its own category of ‘feel-good’, ‘hopeful’ and ‘uplifting’ within the sci-fi genre.
Did Episode IX live up to the hype and hopes of the fans?
Personally, I went into the Star Wards Episode IX movie with more hope than episode VIII, ready for another feel-good movie in which all ends well. I wasn’t disappointed.
Much to the displeasure of my friends who have very different opinions about The Rise of Skywalker.
They weren’t the only ones who criticised the way in which the last trilogy ended — they believed the plot line was too much along the lines of episodes IV/VI, or angry because of the end of the Skywalker line of Jedi and Rey taking up the Skywalker name, and even that the story was too predictable or safe-played. In all honesty, it could have been more well-rounded, more original, less ‘fan-pleasing’ as many reviews suggested.
But the reality is that no matter what the writers had chosen, they would have made fans unhappy one way or another, especially given what they had to work with from Episode VIII.
Personally, I thought the movie was good and enjoyable. The writers provided an explanation to all the questions left unanswered in Episode VIII, albeit at times in a very obvious way, and most importantly, this movie was far superior to the previous one — with no filler scenes or characters that were unnecessary to the story.
Undoubtedly, it was an emotional plot line — starting with Kylo Ren talking to Rey about her parents, then during the battle between Rey and Kylo Ren, who gets injured and then healed by Rey using the force, to Kylo Ren’s encounter with Han’s ghost, to Rey entering the Sith underworld and facing her — gasp! — grandfather Emperor Palpatine.
But the moment where the movie really hit home in terms of emotional ascent was Kylo Ren coming to save Rey from Palpatine. My friends said that they saw that twist in the story coming from a mile, that it was predictable he would turn good in the end. Frankly, I didn’t see it coming, I was in doubt until the point he threw his light sabre away. I could have bet that Rey would end up murdering him to save herself. Even more so, I loved that twist in the story.
Kylo Ren’s salvation
To produce a character so detested in previous episodes since he came across as a smug, arrogant, revenge-hungry tyrant who also killed his own father, and to turn him around in such an incredibly-redeemable manner was great storytelling. One might argue that this evil-turns-good moment in the plotline is too similar to Darth Vader saving his own child at the end of Episode VI.
But I think Kylo Ren is a more interesting and innocent character than Anakin Skywalker ever was.
Anakin is tempted by Palpatine to turn evil, embrace the Sith philosophy and becomes the victim of the self-fulfilling prophecy involving Padme’s dismay, mainly due to his own insecurities and demons. Unlike Anakin’s weak character, Ben Solo is pushed to the dark side, I would argue, when Luke has the temptation to murder his teenage nephew in his sleep. One could argue that this defining moment is what sets Ben Solo down the dark path of apparent ‘no return’ — as Luke’s regret clearly shows in Episode VIII.
Anakin Skywalker turns evil in a moment of weakness, being easily manipulated by Emperor Palpatine who implants ideas of betrayal and enemies into his head. In contrast, Ben Solo becomes Kylo Ren fuelled by a loss of belief in the Jedi cause coupled with fear after being let down by his own uncle, and pushed over the brim by a loss of trust in one of his role models. No matter how morally good the writers want to make Luke Skywalker for deciding not to act on his impulse to murder his nephew, he fails Ben Solo by default. It is perhaps this detail that makes Kylo Ren more redeemable than one might think.
And of course, giving up his own life in order for Rey to keep on living is the ultimate sacrifice that finally redeems his past mistakes.
Best 15 minutes of the movie
The best 15 minutes of the movie coincide with the story line climax. The period spanning the moment Kylo Ren grabs Rey’s light sabre to the war ending once and for all are, arguably, the best and most emotional scenes in the Star Wars universe.
I was transcended as I watched those 15 minutes — gripping my chair, waiting to see what happens next.
As in many previous scenes, I loved the connection between Rey and Ben in that fight on Exegol — how they could communicate with only a shared glance. And how they tried to take on Palpatine together and utterly failed.
The moment Ben Solo is thrown into the pits by Palpatine filled me with despair as I thought that was the end of him. But then something beautiful happened.
Rey turning over and watching the sky above filled with star ships while time seemed to slow down gave me goose bumps. It felt like a moment of utter defeat — when nothing in the world could change things despite Rey’s biggest wishes. It reminded of moments in life where one wants to just give up because it feels like the entire universe is against you, and one cannot even fathom getting back up. A feeling we’ve all experienced at one point in life.
And then the voices in Rey’s memory along with all the other Jedis start surfacing. One by one, the encouraging, uplifting voices of the Skywalker siblings, her parents and friends each carry a message of encouragement, of hope and, ultimately of believing in one’s strengths so much so that you do end up getting back up when it seems like the end of the world.
Perhaps it was the music in those moments, the voices, the positive messages, the pro-feminist feel of the trilogy, the acting or the wonderful Daisy Ridley who, let’s face it, is beautiful inside and out, that made a shiver go up and down my spine. It was probably a combination of all of those things that contributed to both my hairs and spirits lifting, to rooting more than ever for good to win over evil.
Then came the scene where Rey defeats Palpatine — such a satisfying conclusion to the Emperor’s temporary victory dance, though the moment is marred by Rey’s apparent death.
The pinnacle of the scene can be none other than the moments shared between Ben and Rey after he literally drags himself from the pits he’d been thrown into by the Emperor and limps towards Rey’s breathless body. Those scenes make one root for the love they deserve, and not that which is offered to them — a fleeting moment in a universe of opportunity.
And, surely, not all is lost, because Ben does in fact save Rey just like she had previously saved him earlier in the movie. But it comes at a great cost — his own life. And the end to any potential future they could have had together.
Was the kiss between Rey and Ben Solo really that surprising?
Considering the deep personal connection between them across the trilogy, is the kiss scene at the end that surprising? As Kylo Ren tells Rey in Episode IX, he knows her better than anybody else, whereas Emperor Palpatine describes their bond as nothing he had ever seen before — a dyad in the Force. One would think it more likely that their bond is based on friendship rather than love but as it happens, it turns out it was love all along.
But as the tension and emotional connection between them develops during the constant dialogue they share in Return of the Jedi and in this final instalment of the trilogy, it is clear that there is more than just camaraderie between them.
Rey’s refusal to join Kylo Ren after defeating Snoke in Return of the Jedi weighs heavily upon him throughout The Rise of Skywalker. As he confesses to Rey only, Kylo Ren has no plans to serve Palpatine, and his ‘other plans’ likely refer to having her join him in his quest for complete rule of the galaxy.
When Rey emotionally confesses to Kylo Ren that she had indeed wanted to take his hand at the end of Episode VIII, but that of Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren, is the moment where the audience gets a real glimpse at Rey’s complex feelings for him.
Many fans of Rey and Kylo Ren’s connection felt like the writers stole from them the chance of a happy ending, with continuation of the Skywalker line only in name rather than direct descent. Whether that tragic Rome and Juliet — like style of a love story was all that was planned for Rey and Kylo Ren, or whether Ben Solo will undergo a rebirth similar to Palpatine’s in the next trilogy and a chance at a happy ending with Rey is debatable.
In some ways, the bitter-sweet ending that Rey and Ben got, although disappointing to many, is a more balanced conclusion to the struggles that they went through to reach that moment. Ben Solo certainly dies for a good reason and, in saving his true love he redeems himself full circle for taking so many lives including his father’s.
It was not the love story expected by most, but it was the love story that was more believable given the lack of better progress in their relationship in Episode VIII.
Verdict?
Perhaps the end to the third Star Wars trilogy is just like Marmite — you either love it or hate it. Sure, it wasn’t an amazing conclusion to the past movies, or one that has received critical acclaim, receiving mixed reviews, but in terms of emotions, it certainly steals the show. Whether you are an ardent movie critic or, like myself, you go to the movies for the emotional high, I think everyone can get something from watching The Rise of Skywalker.
Whatever the reason is that you watch Star Wars, the movies continue to deliver a message of courage, hope and resilience. The last trilogy may not be as original or as beloved as Episodes IV-VI, but it does leave a legacy that will carry on living in the heart of fans everywhere.
