With the release of the incredibly popular LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga game, the upcoming premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+, and various Star Wars celebrations in May, fans have taken to rewatching the Skywalker saga, and have a few questions about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in particular.
Taking to Reddit, Star Wars fans have been debating everything from Palpatine's choice to return and the whereabouts of his Sith Loyalists, to how Rey is supposed to train the next generation of Jedi all by herself. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker might have been the most controversial movie in the saga, but at least it's getting fans talking several years later.
Why Did Palpatine Decide To Return?
Often referred to as the most powerful Sith of all time, imbued with the knowledge and abilities of dozens of Sith before him, Palpatine/Darth Sidious was a master of tactics as well as the dark side. Having pulled the galaxy's strings for decades from the shadows, he never revealed his presence before it was absolutely necessary.
"Palpatine is a master in waiting to make his plans work...What event caused Sidious to do the same thing in Rise of Skywalker?" asks SpecialUnitt. MindYourManners918 posits, "Luke officially being dead...Kylo becoming the new Supreme Leader [and] Rey getting more powerful." Indeed, his old enemy dying, an easily-manipulated follower emerging, and the promise of a potential vessel to transfer his consciousness into made excellent options.
What Is A Force Dyad?
In marketing literature for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there is a "strange connection" mentioned, resulting in Rey and Kylo Ren's rivalry verging on flirtation. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, they communicated across space, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker introduced the concept of a "Force Dyad" to legitimize their bond, confusing parts of the fandom.
After finally seeing the movie, ForeverOk8661 asks, "What the heck is a Force Diad? Would've been nice if that was at all set up before now, so we know what it is and what it does." A Force Dyad is, canonically, a powerful bond between individuals connected through the Force and capable of great power. Why Palpatine didn't know about it when he was controlling Snoke and didn't harness its power then, is the real question.
Why Is Poe Dameron So Disrespected?
Despite being an ace star pilot whose parents fought for the Rebel Alliance, Poe Dameron is constantly forced to prove himself in the movie. Arrogance is one of Dameron's worst traits, and he's definitely chastised for his recklessness during missions, but is that reason enough to make fun of him, especially when other characters don't offer viable alternatives?
"Everybody has either something smart to say to him, basically ignore him, make fun of him, or he’s the butt of everybody’s jokes," complains StarDestroyer50. "It was to create artificial drama, you know the ''group of friends'' treating each other like crap to create fake tension," explains Orodreth97. Unfortunately, fabricated tension that's unwarranted doesn't make sense; it just makes for character inconsistency.
Why Was The Sith Dagger Made?
In order for Kylo Ren or Rey to find the secret location of Exegol, they have to use a Sith wayfinder, which provides its exact coordinates. Kylo Ren locates his on Mustafar, in the ruins of Darth Vader's castle. Rey uses an ancient Sith dagger, which reveals her wayfinder is in the ruins of the second Death Star.
8bitShik asks, "Can someone explain to me why someone would make a dagger that shows the way to the map?" "The dagger's owner is Ochi," responds StarWars365Timeline, "a Sith loyalist who's been tasked with bringing Rey to Palpatine on Exegol." It might seem odd that Palpatine would want anyone to find his secret hideout, but it's in keeping with the theatricality and the arrogance of the Sith, and the fact that the Star Wars franchise is steeped in destiny and fate.
Why Didn't Star Destroyers Use Planet-Killing Weapons?
The Final Order seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker boasts an enormous fleet of Star Destroyers, each with its very own superweapon capable of annihilating a planet. With so much firepower, some fans are still surprised that the Resistance won the Battle of Exegol.
One Redditor asks, "Why didn't they make use of the planet-killing weapons for the Star Destroyers in Rise of Skywalker?" "Small starfighters would be a hard target to hit," explains OverlyAnalyticalFan. "and if a stray shot hit the planet you're on everyone goes boom." Weapons of that caliber during dog fights — which the Resistance specialized in — would have been overkill, but an arrogant Sith like Sidious wanted the Resistance to be intimidated nevertheless.
What Happened To The Sith Loyalists?
When Ben and Rey take on Palpatine in the throne room, they're surrounded by hundreds of chanting Sith Loyalists. Some fans have wondered if any of these faithful followers escaped after the confrontation, or if their fate was an afterthought, destined to be one more thing that didn't make sense about Exegol.
After rewatching the movie, one Redditor asked, "Did the Sith Loyalists or Sith Eternal fleet escape when Palpatine was defeated?" While some fans like to think so, TLM86 states, "The ones in the arena are all destroyed by the lightning and falling rocks. The fleet is destroyed." While it's possible a few cloning acolytes escaped, and there might have been a few Final Order members posted elsewhere in the galaxy, the fates of the Sith loyalists seem certain.
How Would The Galaxy Look After Rey Trained Jedi?
"Given we have a Single Jedi on one backwoods world and what looks to be a ton of force sensitives and force users coming into powers," points out Drxero1xero, "what does the galaxy look like 100 or 1000 years?" "I'd like to see 'The Jedi' and 'The Sith' as simply 2 factions in several 'Force' factions that have risen up, they're everything from pure good, through the shades of grey to pure evil," responds 5startoadsplash.
Given that Rey was the last known Jedi at the conclusion of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker just as a new generation of Force users was discovering its abilities, it's hard to imagine her being able to train all of them. Perhaps moving beyond the dogmatism of the Jedi and the Sith and a new spectrum of factions would be better for the galaxy.
Are The Sith Extinct?
With Palpatine gone for good by the end of the movie, fans have been wondering what happened to the Sith. Given that the Force always requires balance, and that Rey exists as the last known Jedi, wouldn't a Sith reappear at some point?
Outside-Ad7117 wonders, "Are the sith finally extinct, or is there a holocron somewhere to reignite the order?" Frank_the_NOOB thinks, "The Sith is an idea as much as a religion and it’s nearly impossible to totally kill an idea." Indeed, there are Sith ruins throughout the galaxy, each with its own esoterica to reignite devotion, and fans even have theories about Palpatine after Episode IX.
Did Fans Enjoy Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker?
Even several years after its release, Star Wars fans are curious about whether or not the movie holds up. Time has been kind to George Lucas's prequel trilogy, and even fans who hated Star Wars: The Last Jedi have come around to respecting the creative risks it took and its visual storytelling.
OnionLord21 asks, "Did anyone actually enjoy Rise of Skywalker?" "I like elements of it, enough that I'll rewatch it from time to time," responds another_busted_robot. It seems that certain sequences, like Ben and Rey facing the Emperor, new characters like Babu Frik, and scenes like Lando arriving with the cavalry have merit to fans, but not the movie itself taken as a whole.
Why Was Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Bad?
There are many reasons why fans were disappointed with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it was released, but even years later, some of them are still scratching their heads about how the capstone of the Skywalker saga could turn out to be so awful.
WhenAmWeThereYet simply asks, "How on earth was the rise of skywalker so bad?" to which bigrobosaurus responds, "That’s what happens when a studio cares more about farting out as much of a popular IP as quickly as possible." In general, fans believe that if Disney had treated The Rise of Skywalker with more narrative care, and put the story ahead of profit, the movie would have been a fitting and respectful ending to the Skywalker saga.