Rise of Skywalker Thoughts · 3:26pm Dec 29th, 2019
So, saw Rise last night. Now, if you want to avoid spoilers, don't go beyond the Page Break.
I'm going to talk more about something, namely the Chosen One Prophecy. One possibility is Qui-Gon jumped the gun a little and it was meant to refer to Rey.
Another possibility, the Chosen One Prophecy was meant to refer only to the Sith of Luke's time, even if he came back later. Palpatine was still killed on Death Star 2 after all. Another way of looking at it, Anakin gave Rey a bit of help from the afterlife to defeat Palpatine once and for all.
Or maybe it's all bunk. This is what I love about a good prophecy, it's so easy to interpret n so many different ways. Also, headcanon. The Mandolorian and his ship were so in that crowd of the final battle fleet, because nobody touches his kid. Not even an immortal Emporer. Hell, Baby Yoda was probably right in the passenger's seat as always.
Also, testament to Adam Driver, he doesn't speak at all as Ben but he doesn't have to. You know it's Ben and not Kylo. Actually, on Ben's redemption scene really, it's so well done. Han's ghost/memory/whatever you chose to believe is so well used, and seeing Ben -Ben not Kylo- toss his lightsaber into the seas of Endor was so satisfying. A Sith he is no longer. Also, the Knights of Ren were totally underused. They go down easy as Stormtroopers. Granted, I will be fair as they were up against their boss but they hardly seemed like Jedi Killers.
Also, glad to hear Finn's force sensitive. Even if JJ had to confirm it, I've always had this suspicion that he was ever since he handled a lightsaber back in Awakens.
Also, Snoke being a puppet king more or less for Palpatine. Yeah, I'm cool with this. It explains a lot really, and really makes me feel better about his rather underwhelming death. He played his role in making Kylo one of the perfect bodies to jump into for Palpatine. Hell, Palpatine in general throughout this whole film was a joy to watch, even if he didn't get a good final battle. Though his lightning storm ability was badass. Also, Final Order? Real subtle there JJ.
This was a grand adaption of Dark Empire, and all the cameos voice or otherwise. Wedge, Ashoka, Wicket, Kanan, Erza!
This... this is how you conclude a forty-year saga.
I really enjoyed this movie. Yes, it was really rapid-fire in a lot of its storytelling, but damn it, Palpatine was great, I loved seeing Luke return as a Force Ghost, Han and Ben's scene was amazing, and this movie really sold me once more on Rey and her story. (And, not gonna lie, seeing Luke and Leia as ghosts at the end? Hit me hard.)