Get Ready to Say Whoa Again Palpatine Lego

✍️ ESSAY CONTEST ENTRY

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Introduction

One of the most defining moments of the sequel trilogy comes in The Ascent of Skywalker, when Kylo Ren reveals to Rey that she is a Palpatine. He tells her that "You lot don't just have ability. You have his power". However, this revelation besides brought controversy, equally many interpreted this as ruining Rey'south character since her ability, and by association her agency, is not her own only relies on her bloodline.

Here, I examine the nature of the Force equally information technology relates to Rey, and demonstrate that Rey's ability and importance are non centered on her bloodline, simply from the choices she makes based on the solitude she experienced on Jakku, and the internal conflict that arrises from beingness a descendant of Palpatine.

At a pivotal moment in the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren tells Rey that she is Palpatine - "You don't just have power. You lot have his power."

What does "his power" actually hateful?

The two words from Kylo Ren's line in The Rise of Skywalker that carry the about significance are "his power". At the surface, this is a simple caption for Rey'south abilities that are shown throughout the sequel trilogy. She is revealed in The Force Awakens to accept considerable power from the Force. Therefore, linking this strong Force ability as coming from Palpatine, one of the saga's strongest Force users, explains this paradox, as well as her importance.

Merely, what did Kylo Ren really hateful by "his power"? Given the nature of the Force, a ubiquitous free energy field created by life that binds the milky way together, Kylo Ren was non necessarily suggesting that the power that Rey has is from Palpatine, just information technology is the power that Palpatine craves. It is the same power that he has been unnaturally taking from the Force for generations. In other words, The ability that Palpatine has does not vest to him, and it is non his to laissez passer on to others. That power ultimately belongs to the Force (see Effigy 1), as Luke tells Rey in The Last Jedi, "That Strength does not belong to the Jedi" (or anyone else).

Fig. i - A illustration of how Rey's Strength potential comes from the Force, not Palpatine.

Therefore, Rey cannot (and does non) acquire her Force power directly from Palpatine. Instead, The Force naturally imbued Rey with its potential equally role of its will, a reaction to Palpatine corrupting the natural remainder of the Force through unnatural ways, probable due to his manipulation of the Force for his ain immortality, and the corruption of Ben Solo through Snoke.

Consequently, Rey's importance, and past clan her agency, is not influenced by the power that is "his", or her bloodline. Rey'southward power comes from the will of the Strength, and, in do, is hers. Moreover, character agency in fiction is not nigh 1's power (or from whom or where it comes), information technology is about a grapheme'due south ability to act on his or her motivations to make choices that direct the story in a meaningful way.

So for Rey, her prime motivation, which fuels her agency (and importance), is derived from her life experiences on Jakku, something that is solely hers. Every bit established in The Force Awakens, the first movie of the trilogy, Rey grew up solitary on a desert planet left to fend for herself. Nevertheless, despite the hardships of her youth, she remained determined to find her belonging, her family, no matter what information technology may exist.

Rey's solitude on Jakku helped drive her motivation to find her belonging through family.

It is that inner drive that steers her agency (her power to make meaningful choices to the story) and generates her importance as a graphic symbol, and does not change based on her bloodline ("famous" or not).

What does being a Palpatine bring to Rey'due south character?

And so if bloodlines don't determine Rey's importance, and so why is she a Palpatine at all? Virtually merely, it provides context to her motivation, and an appropriate internal conflict that is meaningful to the larger story. For case, Rey's arc is not about Rey finding her independence (she'due south done that her whole life already on Jakku), or showing that she does non need anyone only herself to exist fulfilled (which would back up her beingness a "nobody").

Instead, Rey's arc is focused on finding her belonging as it relates specifically to family. Therefore, Rey being a Palpatine integrates this base of operations motivation every bit role of her larger destiny as a Jedi (due east.g., "Some things are stronger than claret"), and its meaning is more consequential in the context of the entire Skywalker Saga. Without an in-world context to her motivation, Rey's graphic symbol becomes unidimensional, and more of an audience cocky-insert that does not fit in her world (see here).

Rey interacting with young Aki-Aki on Pasaana. A sense of belonging through others drives Rey'southward character.

Rey's Palpatine genetics

Although Palpatine (nor anyone else) can not own or straight laissez passer Forcefulness power to another person, that does non mean that genetics don't play a role in giving Star Wars characters relatable tendencies, or family nuances that are Force-related. For example, throughout the sequel trilogy Rey can be seen struggling with an involuntary drift to the Dark when she accesses the Force (e.g., Rey and Kylo Ren'due south duel on Starkiller Base, during Kylo Ren's interrogation of Rey, with Luke on Ach-To, and her venture into the Mirror Cave), also equally having difficulty controlling her anger (e.k., her grooming on Ajan Kloss, and shooting Force lighting from her hand on Pasaana).

All of these behaviors, and the speed at which they come up, are interesting to examine through the lens of inherited characteristics that are Force-related, and, indeed, can be seen as role of her bloodline every bit a Palpatine.

Being a Palpatine integrates and connects Rey'due south character into her world. Her genetics primarily serve to give her graphic symbol in-world nuance as she experiences involuntary drifts to the Dark.

However, these attributes only serve to give context to Rey every bit a Palpatine throughout the sequel trilogy (and help tie it together), and reinforce her as a character in the Star Wars universe. Even so, they practise not set or define her importance as a character, simply the significance of Rey'due south choices tin can do that.

Decision

The Force works in mysterious means in Star Wars. To assume that its power belongs to anyone or that information technology can be predictably passed from one person to another (i.e., bloodlines) deviates from the Strength's core meaning.

It is plumbing fixtures that the characters most obsessed with bloodlines in Star Wars similar Snoke, when he says "The potential of your bloodline. A new Vader", and Palpatine, who unsuccessfully tried to imbue his son (Rey'southward father) with Force power, can never predict the Force'southward result successfully. Even when Luke says "The Force is strong in my family unit", he does non suggest that he understands why.

So, Kylo Ren'due south line to Rey "You don't just have power. You have his power." is no different. Rey'south power ultimately comes from the will of the Strength, and, in exercise, is her own. It is not a direct consequence of her Palpatine bloodline. Consequently, Rey'due south importance is not driven by her bloodline, but from the choices she makes equally a graphic symbol, by (i) rejecting that same bloodline as part of her destiny as a Jedi, and (2) finding her belonging through family that was motivated past her inner conflict from being a Palpatine and the solitude she experienced on Jakku as a child.

Acknowledgements

All of the artwork in this post is from "The Art of Starwars" books.

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Source: https://starwars.fandom.com/f/t/Darth%20Sidious

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