Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead

Towards the end of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) finally tells Force-sensitive Rey (Daisy Ridley) who her parents were: nobodies - "filthy junk traders who sold you off for drinking money." This revelation comes as something of a bombshell after of two years of fan theories and speculation about Rey's heritage, and some fans believe that Kylo Ren might have been lying. After all, he is the bad guy.

When Disney/Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams revived the storied sci-fi franchise in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a whole host of new characters were introduced to the galaxy far, far away. The war between good and evil had resurfaced, this time between the Resistance and the First Order, with each side having a young Force-user positioned for a major role in the trilogy. In the case of the First Order, that's Kylo Ren, the son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) who turned to the dark side after an incident with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

Related: Daisy Ridley Was Moved' By Rey's Parents Reveal

For the Resistance, their greatest hope is Rey, whose parentage was a huge talking point among fans after The Force Awakens. Theories bandied about online that Rey was a Skywalker or a Kenobi, with many fans operating on the presumption that she must be the daughter of a previously introduced Star Wars character. We knew going into Star Wars: The Last Jedi, that the question of Rey's parents would be addressed in the film. Now that Rian Johnson's Star Wars installment has hit theaters, we seemingly have an answer to who Rey's parents are - or do we?

Throughout The Last Jedi, Rey and Kylo Ren form a Force bond through which the two can communicate, and the pair learn more about each other. During the course of her Jedi training on Ahch-to Rey also ventures into a dark cavern and has a vision about herself. While she doesn't see her parents, Kylo Ren later tells her that he had a similar vision that did reveal Rey's parents. However, it's not until Kylo has betrayed Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and asked Rey to join him that he reveals who her parents are. So, should we take his revelation at face value, or is Kylo Ren lying to Rey about her parents?

What Exactly Does Kylo Ren Tell Rey?

After Kylo kills Snoke, and he and Rey fight off a room full of Praetorian guards, he tries to convince her to join him. Kylo, effectively disillusioned in the First Order, refuses to order Snoke's forces to stop firing on what's left of the Resistance. Instead, he wants to "let it all die." He wants to let Snoke, the Sith, the Skywalker line, the Jedi, and the Rebels all die so that he and Rey can rebuild a new world order with them as leaders. Rey, of course, understands this moment is Kylo rededicating himself to the dark side, and pleads with him not to go down that path.

Related: What Does The Last Jedi Reveal About Snoke's Backstory?

But, he does. And Kylo tries to convince Rey to follow him, using what he knows of her parents as a means to do so. In an effort to win Rey over to his side, Kylo tells her:

Kylo: Do you want to know the truth about your parents? Or have you always known? And you've just hidden it away. You know the truth. Say it. Say it.

Rey: They were nobody.

Kylo: They were filthy junk traders who sold you off for drinking money. They're dead in a paupers' grave in the Jakku desert. You have no place in this story. You come from nothing. You're nothing. But not to me. Join me. Please.

So, Kylo very explicitly tells Rey - and viewers - that her parents were nobody. They don't have any connection to other characters within the Skywalker Saga, and Rey is just a girl with nameless parents who happens to be Force-sensitive. Kylo suggests within his revelation that because Rey's parents were nobody, she doesn't need to have a stake in the battle between the First Order and the Resistance - but, of course, she does. Kylo's revelation doesn't manage to sway Rey to his side like he hoped. However, considering he only told Rey about her parents in an effort to win her allegiance, it's unclear if we can trust what he said.

Kylo Ren Lightsaber Star Wars Last Jedi

Can Kylo Ren's Revelation Be Trusted?

Now the question becomes whether fans - and Rey - can take what Kylo revealed about her parents at face value. There are a number of factors about the scene in which the revelation takes place that cast doubt on his integrity. First of all, though Kylo and Rey have formed a bond over the course of The Last Jedi, we know he's not necessarily above manipulation to get what he wants. We saw that side of him in The Force Awakens, when he was interrogating both Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and later Rey. Kylo plays on the emotions of those he's interrogating to get what he wants - in the case of Poe, that meant feeding the pilot's arrogance, and for Rey, that meant appealing to her loneliness. When Kylo is attempting to persuade Rey to join him in The Last Jedi, he falls back on those same emotionally manipulative tactics in an effort to get what he wants.

It's also evident that Kylo is desperate for Rey to join him. At that point he's lost everything. His first master - Luke - turned on him, and he killed his second master, Snoke. He killed his father, and for all Kylo knows, Leia is also dead. Rey is the only person left in Kylo's life and Kylo is desperate to make sure she doesn't leave, so he tries all the tricks in his book. It's possible that simply means he reveals the truth about her parents to Rey, that they're nobodies who wound up dead on Jakku. Or it's possible he thinks a lie about her heritage will be more likely to win her to his side. Though, of course, considering how quickly this scene plays out, Kylo may not have had time to decide to lie and come up with that lie.

Related: Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Ending Explained

In terms of what we know from The Last Jedi about Kylo's truthfulness, he is more honest with Rey about the incident that turned him to the dark side. Rey - and the viewers - get three versions of the night that Ben Solo turned against Luke and became Kylo Ren. In the first, Luke misleads Rey by leaving out his moment of weakness in which he considered killing Kylo Ren. Rey first hears about Luke thinking about murdering his nephew from Kylo and though Luke eventually tells Rey the truth, Kylo was honest from the start. Since he was honest with Rey all throughout The Last Jedi, it certainly seems likely he's honest with her about the identities of her parents. But, of course, the circumstances in which he tells Rey about her parents - especially the fact that he desperately wants something from her in that moment - cast doubt on his integrity.

Looking at the overall story, thematically it makes sense for Kylo to be telling the truth about Rey's parentage. Throughout The Last Jedi, writer/director Rian Johnson makes a point of highlighting the so-called nobodies of the Resistance. Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) is a maintenance worker who becomes a hero, and her sister was depicted as a hero during the evacuation of D'Qar. Further, the final scene of The Last Jedi hammers home the film's point that anybody can become a hero of the Resistance - and anyone can be Force sensitive. Rey having insignificant parents thematically ties into The Last Jedi, especially when contrasted with Kylo, since he's the son of Han and Leia, and the nephew of Luke. So, if we look at what Johnson aims to be achieve with The Last Jedi, it would indicate Kylo can be trusted when he reveals the truth of Rey's parents.

Ultimately, there are elements introduced over the course of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi that suggest Kylo could be telling the truth, and that he could be lying. Viewers will have to decide for themselves whether they believe Rey's parents are insignificant junk traders who have no bearing on the latest trilogy in the Star Wars saga or if there's more to the story. Since there are two years until Abrams closes out this trilogy with Star Wars: Episode IX, fans have plenty of time to debate the truth of Kylo's revelation and what it means for the Skywalker Saga.

Next: So, What's Episode IX Going To Be About?

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