Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) developed a Force connection in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, bridging their minds and emotions, but how was Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) able to see the bond? The exact limitations of certain Force powers, like Force-bonds and Force Ghosts, aren’t always clear. Force Ghosts were once believed to be unable to interact with the physical world, but the sequel trilogy shows Luke and Yoda doing this on Ahch-To. The Last Jedi implies, at first, that only Rey and Kylo could perceive their bond, but there are several potential reasons why Luke could see it.
Force bonds were powerful connections between two Force users, who oftentimes were connected on a personal level. Luke Skywalker and his father, Darth Vader, appeared to communicate via their Force bond in The Empire Strikes Back. A similar bond existed between Count Dooku and his former Jedi Master, Yoda, as shown in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. A Force bond was inadvertently created in Star Wars Rebels between Ezra Bridger and his enemy, Maul when the two fused a Jedi Holocron and its Sith counterpart.
Similarly, Rey and Kylo Ren became enemies in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, after Ren captured, tortured, and attempted to kill Rey, yet a Force bond between the two was mysteriously created during Rey’s time on Ahch-To. In their case, as with previous instances in the Star Wars canon timeline, nobody was present with them while they spoke via the bond, and it seemed as though only they could see each other. Upon reconnecting with the Force, Luke walked in on the two, seeing Kylo Ren in the Ahch-To hut with Rey as if he were truly there. There are several possible reasons for this. Force bonds may be perceivable to anyone with Force sensitivity, and Luke may have been so powerful that he saw the bond or the planet Ahch-To itself affected the bond.
Force bonds, like Force Ghosts, might be seen by anybody with Force-sensitivity. Luke was alone when communicating with Vader aboard the Millennium Falcon, but nobody else on the ship was Force-sensitive. Sidious used a Sith ritual to spy on Yoda, using his and Dooku’s bond, possibly confirming this. Moreover, Snoke took credit for bridging their minds, so if a third party created the bond, perhaps others could see it too.
Luke Skywalker is also one of the galaxy’s most powerful Force users. Throughout the Star Wars franchise’s non-movie material in canon, Luke performs astounding feats of strength with his Force powers. This continued in The Last Jedi, where Luke projected an image of himself across the galaxy. With this in mind, Luke could have had a strong enough connection to the Force to see what others might not, such as Rey and Kylo’s Force bond.
Ahch-To itself, like other planets with a particularly strong Force connection (such as Dagobah, Tython, Moraband, and Exegol), had a unique effect on Force powers. The two instances of Force ghosts interacting with the physical world were on Ahch-To, implying that this was a feat only possible on a Force-rich planet. The world might have allowed Luke to see a bond that would otherwise be invisible. However he was able to see it, Luke’s unsuccessful tutelage of Rey ended when he discovered her Force connection to Kylo Ren, leading Rey to seek training elsewhere after Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
