Rey’s Parentage: In Star Wars, When Did Luke Know?
Was Luke alive when he understood Rey’s heritage?
I find that I tend to mull over Star Wars movies for some time before I settle down on how much headspace it will take up in my brain. For example, while I may not have understood this when I first saw it, Rogue One has stuck in mind far longer than most media I’ve watched in the last decade. But it’s always a slow burn.
And I think that’s where The Rise of Skywalker will end up. Each time I see it, I see more. But, much like Rogue One, it’s a bit of an emotional ride. So, when I see someone doing some of the analyzing for me, I am grateful.
Today’s Star Wars guru is James Hunt from Screenrant.
He explored, “Rise Of Skywalker: When & How Did Luke Learn Rey Was A Palpatine?”
When Did Luke Know Rey’s Family?
Now, if you calmed down enough and actually watched the film, you saw some major threads converging.
- Who is Rey?
- And who were Rey’s family?
- Finally, who does Rey choose to be?
Let’s think about Rey’s actual family.
Obvious spoilers ahead (but the movie is a year old at this point, so where you been?).
Hunt wrote:
While Star Wars: The Force Awakens only teased her origins, its follow-up, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, revealed that her parents were nobodies. Somewhat going against that, The Rise of Skywalker revealed Rey to be a Palpatine, the granddaughter of the Emperor who had somehow returned in the film… When she fled to Ahch-To in the hope of living in exile as Luke himself once did; her former Jedi Master appeared as a Force Ghost. There, he revealed that he and Leia both knew who Rey truly was, but that they believed in her strength, heart, and goodness, giving her the encouragement to go on and defeat the Emperor, which she did in The Rise of Skywalker‘s final scene.
And James goes through some serious machinations to come to three possibilities:
- Luke knew when Rey finds a dark place when she channels the Force on Ach-to.
- He knew when he passed into the Force.
- Skywalker learned of a Palpatine grandchild when he was chasing Ochi of Bestoon (much earlier than the Sequel Trilogy).
Palpatine Parentage Was Pre-Sequel
I think I like the third option best. To wit, Hunt explained:
Curiously, this took place in 21ABY, which is shortly after Rey was left on Jakku and her parents were killed by Ochi. So with Ochi’s murder of Rey’s parents catching the attention of Luke, then could it be here Luke learned of the existence of a child of Palpatine descent? It’s a compelling option, and looking at Disney’s approach to canon, arguably the most likely, if only in the sense that it’s the one best suited to being fleshed out in a tie-in book, comic, or similar.
However, Hunt fleshed out these theories in a really serious sense. So you should check out the full article and then go re-watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.