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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending Explained. How It Sets Up Episode X

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sets up Episode X

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will definitely be making rounds on the internet in the next few days because it has marked the ending, and yet a new beginning for the Skywalker Saga, much like another phase ending Disney movie of the year. A lot of angry Star Wars fans after The Last Jedi will definitely be happy after seeing The Rise of Skywalker because a lot of the problems they must have found in the last movie were actually a set up for this one. So without any further ado, let’s talk about the amazing way the franchise brings about an end to the Skywalker Saga.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

Major Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follow. Only read if you’ve seen the movie, or like a couple of my friends, you don’t really care much.

The movie begins with a vague explanation upon how Emperor Palpatine returns to the Skywalker Saga once more. It doesn’t go too deep into the explaining the return of Palpatine as it smartly uses the same lines from Star Wars Canon. In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine told Anakin about the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis the Wise. Here’s what he said:

“Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. … He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”

So, the film straightaway starts off with Palpatine telling Kylo Ren that “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” So he returned using the Dark Side. It is also teased that his body was cloned. We further arrive to the revelation that it was Palatine was manipulating Ben Solo right from the start. He created Snoke and he has been every voice (Snoke & Darth Vader) in the head of Ben. Palpatine’s motivations were directly tied in with the lineage of Rey. He manipulated Kylo Ren so he’d bring Rey to him.

Why did Palpatine require for Rey to come closer to her? It’s because Rey’s true lineage is related to Palpatine. Rey’s father was the son of Emperor Palpatine, so she was the granddaughter, of the Sith Lord. He needed Ray to hate him so she’d come and kill the Sith Lord. That way, Palpatine could actually transfer himself, and all the Sith living in him into Rey’s body, and Rey would then take the throne as the ruler of the entire Galaxy.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

But Rey’s parents left her on Jakku so they’d rid her of her family background. They wanted Rey to find her own identity and not be bound to the evils of her family. Over time, Rey learnt to love, she always strived for what’s right, and with the help of her mentors Luke and Leia, she was able to fight the pull to the Dark Side.

So in the third act, Luke Skywalker’s Force Ghost tells Rey what to do. He sends her on the path to Exogol (the secret Sith Planet). Rey takes the fight to the Sith Lord and his Final Order as she leads the entire Resistance to the secret planet. Here, the Resistance fights off with many of the Star Destroyers of the Final Order while Rey confronts her grandfather, Emperor Palpatine.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

But even with everything that Palpatine had done to her (he killed Rey’s parents), Rey chose not to hate him. She didn’t make the sacrifice of her soul because she was not alone. Ben Solo also followed Rey to the Sith Planet Exogol and with the connection of the Dyad Force that Rey and he had, they fought Emperor Palpatine.

A bit of rewind. In the confrontation between Rey and Kylo Ren, she managed to kill him with the help of Leia Organa. But with the Force of her own life, Rey was able to heal him and actually Retrieve Ben Solo. And this time, it wasn’t just Ben Solo as his mother Leia was also alive within him. So, he followed Rey to Exogol. Now back to the final fight.

Even with the connection of the Dyad Force, Rey and Ben weren’t strong enough. Emperor Palatine sucked their life force within him and attacked the entire fleet of the Resistance. He now had the all the Sith within him, and with that power he almost destroyed the Resistance single handedly. But the Rey gets a realization. Every Jedi that has ever been becomes a voice in her head. They help her to get up, and Rey confronts Palpatine once more.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

This is when Palpatine directs his attention to Rey, and the Resistance destroys every Star Destroyer one by one. In the meanwhile, Emperor Palpatine attacks Rey, and he delivers the one Thanos line of Arrogance – “I am all the Sith”. Rey defends her with Luke and Leia’s Lightsabers, and she does a Tony Stark by saying “And I… am all the Jedi”. Rey unleashes so much power that she obliterates Palpatine and the Resistance wins the battle. Hey it isn’t copying if you do it from your own movie. It’s a tribute.

Because Rey used all of her power, she also dies just like Tony Stark. But this time, the death was reversible. Ben Solo comes back, and just like Rey gave him her Life Force, her now heals her by giving her his Life Force. The two share a kiss, and Ben finally dies along with her mother, like the true Jedi he was.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

Finally, everyone reunites. Rey hugs the two new Generals of the Resistance Finn & Poe. Lando Calrissian sets up a little spin-off with a Resistance fight who also used to be a Stormtrooper like Finn. And Rey then goes back to where it all started. She goes back to the moisture farm on the desert planet of Tatooine, where Luke used to live with his uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. She uses the force to bury the Lightsabers of Luke and Leia. She then wields a new Lightsaber that she had made for herself, and it is Yellow.

Batgirl Daisy Ridley Star Wars WB Katherine Langford

The colors of the Lightsabers are not predefined. The sabers are powered with Kyber crystals, typically found in the frozen caves in the world of Ilum, and they acquire a color when they bond with their users. The colors are determined by the force of the Jedi, and here the Yellow color defines Rey, who not only believes in the power of the Force, but also believes in using practicality along with the Force.

Come back to the story. After Rey wields her yellow Lightsaber, an old woman comes in and asks who Rey who she is, and she looks at the Force Ghosts of Luke & Leia. She chooses her own identity and then the title of the movie gets its true meaning. What we see is the Rise of Skywalker, as she also chooses to take after her mentors Luke & Leia, as Rey Skywalker. The movie ends with Rey & BB-8 looking at the two suns, with each one framing them. It was a homage to A New Hope.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending set up Episode X

Now we could see a Star Wars Episode 10 where Rey, Finn, and Poe could begin a whole new franchise with new adventures. But there isn’t a possible villain set up just yet. We’d have to wait and see if Disney wants to continue with the “Episodic” trend, or produce spin-offs and end the Skywalker story right here.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. They are joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian”.

Vansh Mehra

Content creator. Just wanna share my passion for cinema with everyone.
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