Why Palpatine’s return made perfect sense (+ redeeming the Jedi Order)
Hey it’s time for the the Star Wars Blogathon!
And I decided to write about a Star Wars twist I very much liked.
So…Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker was… a point of contention among most Star Wars fans, I know. And some of the criticisms I agree with! It wasn’t executed well at all. (If you have to both read the novelisation and play Fortnite to get the whole story, something’s gone wrong.) But…
Palpatine actually being there in the first place? In terms of the overall Star Wars story, it makes sense!
Palps has always been the Big Bad of Star Wars. He’s not really a person in a way, more just the embodiment of evil in the world. (Sometimes I think of him as the Star Wars equivalent of the One Ring.) But the prequel trilogy makes pretty clear that the Jedi allowed that embodiment of evil to rise, via neglect, ignorance, arrogance or all three. Like – the individual Jedi are great people, but their system is so very broken. They don’t free slaves, they don’t intervene where they should, they don’t understand Anakin’s connection to his mother… they’re part of the reason for Anakin’s fall. Not on purpose obviously, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
This gifset sums it up really well I thought:
And in the movies – I’m not counting all the secondary material here – it’s something the Jedi never really get to make up for. Anakin’s throwing Palpatine in the pit is a redemption for him but it doesn’t quite redeem the Jedi for their part in things. They just get to die.
Until The Rise of Skywalker! The Jedi are able to finally redeem themselves by assisting Rey. It’s a wonderful scene because it does the thing Star Wars has always been about, making up for the mistakes of the past.
Windu: Feel the Force flowing through you, Rey.
Anakin: Let it lift you.
Adi Gallia: Rise, Rey.
Qui-Gon: We stand behind you, Rey.
Obi-Wan: Rey.
Yoda: Rise in the Force.
Kanan: In the heart of the Jedi, lies her strength.
Obi-Wan: Rise.
Qui-Gon: Rise.
Luke: Rey, the Force will be with you. Always.
I dearly wish we had seen the Jedi in uh… the flesh? In physical form. But hearing their voices was powerful as well. When Rey says “And I am all the Jedi!” to Palpatine it feels deserved, to me at least, because now these other people have finally got the same thing Anakin got – a chance to make up for their mistakes.
And that’s why I liked Palpatine’s return. :)
October 16, 2020 @ 11:58 pm
Definitely not a popular opinion but I like your reasoning. I didn’t really have all that much of an issue with Palpatine returning. I think I had more of an issue with their choice for the rise of skywalker than anything else :)
October 17, 2020 @ 11:14 am
Yeah I think The Rise of Skywalker will always be majorly controversial! And I did have a few issues with it in the end. Luckily nowhere near as many as I thought!
Glad you liked the post. :)
October 17, 2020 @ 10:51 pm
This post is AWESOME. I had absolutely never thought of this, but I love your points!
“If you have to read the novelization and play Fortnite to get the whole story, something’s wrong”–haha true!!
But yes, you’re absolutely right: Rey facing down Palpatine, backed by all the Jedi from generations past, is a true moment of redemption for the Jedi Order. Where they get to atone for their mistakes and bring back their good qualities. I like it a lot. I tear up every time I read the dialogue from that scene, to be honest. “You are not alone, Rey.”
Thank you so much for participating in our blogathon!
October 17, 2020 @ 11:44 pm
You’re very welcome! :) Gosh, for all the flaws of Rise of Skywalker… and I do think there were quite a few… I love that one scene so very dearly.
(without ever having played or even planned to play Fortnite!)
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October 19, 2020 @ 1:22 am
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November 2, 2020 @ 4:53 pm
Oh, I love this! The Jedi were definitely too arrogant, oblivious, etc. And now they can make up for it and help Rey, a relatively new, completely awesome Jedi, defeat the Sith once and for all. <3 It's a great connection and one I hadn't thought of before.
Thanks for participating in the blogathon!
November 2, 2020 @ 7:04 pm
You’re very welcome! :) I love a good redemption story and Star Wars almost always delivers.