Few relationships have fascinated Star Wars fans quite in the way that the sequel trilogy's central relationship between heroine Rey and villain turned antihero Kylo Ren has. From the beginning of the trilogy, it was clear that there was something special between these two, something the likes of which the live-action Star Wars universe had never explored before.
Though their relationship was only teased in The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi brought the nature of their unique Force bond to the forefront. The Rise of Skywalker brought their relationship to a whole new level - emotionally, romantically, and in the end, tragically. Here, we're taking a look back at the best moments to come from the ill-fated romantic relationship that fans have dubbed Reylo.
"Let the past die."
The Last Jedi dives in headfirst with elevating the intimacy between these characters through their unexpected Force bond moments. In one particularly intimate moment, the two characters find themselves linked through the Force when Kylo is half undressed in his quarters.
Though the scene starts with some awkward chatter relating to the inconvenience of the moment, the conversation soon shifts to heavier matters, including Rey's need to cling to the past and Kylo's insistence that the past be forgotten and killed if it need to be. These two characters are diametrically opposed to one another in this moment, but it's one of the first moments they've been allowed to hear each other out.
"Don't be afraid. I feel it, too."
Rey and Kylo interacted far less often in The Force Awakens, but their scenes immediately established the importance of their dynamic. In their most noteworthy scene, Rey finds herself Kylo's "guest," and is soon subjected to rigorous interrogation and the first of many Force tugs-of-war between these two characters.
As both Rey and Kylo probe each other's minds for their vulnerabilities, Kylo Ren observes, "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too." What exactly it is that he feels remains a mystery at this point in time, but the mere suggestion of something more - a bond that words can't quite encapsulate - is more than enough.
"You come from nothing. You're nothing. But not to me."
Time and again, both Rey and Kylo reach out to one another, offering unsuccessful proposals of union and help. The most poignant of these occurs at the end of The Last Jedi after the duo has teamed up to defeat Supreme Leader Snoke once and for all. Empowered by the defeat of his mentor, Kylo reaches out to Rey, offering her not only his hand but the chance to rule side by side.
At this point in time, Kylo envisions a future in which he and Rey - his one true equal - can rule together and create a world they want. But Rey, desperate and torn, rejects his offer, knowing better than to give in to the darkness that he still clings to, no matter his genuine emotion.
The elevator scene
The back and forth of Kylo and Rey's yin and yang relationship is perfectly encapsulated in their brief scene in the elevator in The Last Jedi. Reflecting on their shared Force bonds, and the intimacy that has grown between them, both Rey and Kylo admit to having witnessed visions in which they are working together.
Rey believes that Kylo will turn to the light and stand by her side, but Kylo believes his vision to have meant that Rey will succumb to the darkness and join him. It's unclear what exactly their vision was, or who was in the right. But their rapport, echoed in the blacks and whites of the background, highlights the continued push and pull of the light and dark that they embody.
Rey passes Ben the legacy lightsaber through the Force
The Rise of Skywalker continues the narrative of Rey and Kylo's Force bond, but elevates it to an entirely new level in so many ways, especially once Kylo has redeemed himself and returned as Ben Solo. When Ben arrives to assist Rey in the final showdown against Emperor Palpatine, the two immediately connect wordlessly through the Force.
Through mere subtle nods and communicating via their eyes and minds, Rey is able to pass Ben the legacy Skywalker lightsaber through the power of their Force bond, enabling him to join the fight by taking out his own former Knights of Ren.
"I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand."
The emotional moment at the end of The Last Jedi, when Rey wordlessly rejects Kylo Ren's misguided proposal, receives an additional payoff in The Rise of Skywalker. After a fierce duel between the two of them amidst the Death Star wreckage, Rey stabs an unwitting and weakened Kylo after he hears his mother reach out to him through the Force.
After using the Force to heal his wound, Rey shares a quiet, reflective moment with him. It's then and only then that she finally admits that she had wanted to accept his proposal - but it was one she could only have accepted had he once again identified as Ben Solo, and not as the fractured Kylo Ren persona.
Ben and Rey kiss
Over the course of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, it became increasingly clear that the intimacy and emotion that defined the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren was unlike anything the Star Wars franchise had ever depicted before. As a dyad in the Force, and with a Force bond stronger than anything seen in generations, these two were about as close as the Star Wars canon could get to confirmed soulmates.
After all, the film even describes them as two souls that are one. So it's no wonder, then, that after their heroic victories and sacrifices, the two are allowed the momentary relief and joy of an epic kiss - no matter how short-lived the moment may have sadly been.
Ben heals Rey
After Rey tragically succumbs following her defeat of Emperor Palpatine, Ben Solo finally gets the big heroic moment he's always deserved. Ben hauls himself out of the pit that the Emperor flung him into, and crawls on broken and battered limbs to be able to check on Rey.
Once it becomes clear that there's only one thing he can do, Ben quickly sets to work on grounding himself, entering a tranquil, meditative state as he places his hand on Rey's stomach and uses all the Force he has within him to revive her. The moment that Rey's previously lifeless hand moves to lay against his stands out as one of the film's most memorable, and most emotional, moments.
"You're not alone." "Neither are you."
Rey and Kylo have both lived lives full of loneliness and isolation, even if their paths couldn't have been more different. That's a large part of what makes their Force bond narrative in The Last Jedi so profoundly satisfying and deeply emotional, as it represents the first time that these two disparate figures have had someone who truly understands what they have been going through.
In the most surprising of all their Force bond scenes, both Rey and Kylo reassure one another that they're not alone anymore. And in a moment that shocks the both of them, they learn that they are able to physically reach out to one another through the Force, brushing fingertips in a profoundly intimate moment.
The throne room sequence
The balance between the light side and dark side of the Force is something that the Star Wars galaxy has been in search of since the days of the prequel trilogy. But it wasn't until the climactic battle in Snoke's throne room in The Last Jedi that viewers truly received a glimpse of what it could look like to see the light and dark working in harmony with one another.
After Kylo kills Snoke, Rey and Kylo work in perfect tandem with one another to dispatch his Praetorian Guards, meeting each other measure for measure and anticipating each other's every move. They complete each other, in every possible way, in every possible scenario. And it's truly beautiful to behold.