By Chris Snellgrove | Published
While the franchise continues in the form of games like Andor again The Mandalorian (and, unfortunately, The Acolyte), the Star Wars we know and love ended successfully Rise of Skywalker. After the critical and commercial failure of that film, the franchise seemed dead. That left only one question: what killed him? Sure, all the sequels were filled with major mistakes, but the final nail in the coffin was ROTS revealing that Rey was secretly Palpatine’s granddaughter. It was strange that the King returned with no real explanation of how he survived; now we had to deal with the new Jedi being Space Hitler’s grandson.
Since Rise of Skywalker came out, however, fans have proposed one theory about what could have saved that last film sequel and, by extension, saved Star Wars. If Rey was to be associated with a popular character from the Original Trilogy, she should have been Obi-Wan Kenobi’s grandson. This would explain Obi-Wan’s voice inside The Force Awakensincrease communication to The Clone Warsand even mildly revise the worst narrative flaw of the prequels. How will this narrative change do all that? Pour yourself a tall glass of blue milk, kid, because this is going to be one hell of a treat!
Search Your Feelings, You Know They Are True
The first reason Rey must have been Obi-Wan Kenobi’s granddaughter Rise of Skywalker that it would have explained one of the great mysteries of The Force Awakens. In that first song sequence, when Rey touches Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, she gets an incredible vision of the Force filled with sights and sounds from every Star Wars era. In this scene, we hear the first voice of Obi-Wan (Sir Alec Guinness) clearly saying the name “Rey.” When TFA first came out, fans wondered how the Jedi Master would know the name of this new hero and if he might be related by blood.
If Rise of Skywalker he had revealed that Rey is Obi-Wan’s granddaughter, it would explain why he called her by name and probably watched her use the Force. It would also explain some of the confusion about who Rey’s parents are. Because of how the Jedi were being hunted, it would make sense for Rey’s parents to keep their distance, lest their contact with Obi-Wan kill the little girl. Also, Obi-Wan’s child may have been Force sensitive; they may have used the Force to make it difficult to find out the truth about him, explaining why Kylo Ren thought he was nothing.
Jedi Hero, Secret Father
Additionally, Obi-Wan Kenobi meets Satine (something shown The Clone Wars) and having a baby would explain why she’s willing to look the other way on the secret wedding between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. Given how strict Obi-Wan is, it didn’t make sense that he was cool with his former student leading a secret double life. But if Obi-Wan had a secret love child, it would make sense that he wouldn’t discipline Anakin. Among other things, he will feel ashamed; otherwise, Anakin may well see that it is a shame for the Force if they have an open discussion about his relationship with Anakin, which would put Kenobi’s future grandson in danger.
Undoubtedly, Rey being Obi-Wan Kenobi’s granddaughter would have added meaning to her final battle with Emperor Palpatine. That fight always seemed futile because there was no emotional impact; it was a fight between someone we didn’t know and someone we thought had died a long time ago. But if Rey carries the blood of Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, it would be a much-anticipated victory for the Jedi Master. At one point, Palpatine killed all his friends and forced him to flee; now, Obi-Wan’s grandson would make sure the man behind Order 66 would never hurt anyone, too.
This is not a complete A solution to the failure of the Sequel Trilogy, of course. But giving Rey such a strong connection to a beloved Star Wars character would fix some of the sequel’s narrative flaws while deepening their connection in the prequels and adding emotional tension to the epic climax Rise of Skywalker. It can even be given Obi-Wan Kenobi show more to explore in future seasons. Unfortunately, Lucasfilm making the character a secret Palpatine has made Rey a confusing character, which may ultimately hurt the franchise if she becomes the anchor character of the next era of Star Wars films.
