No, The Rise of Skywalker Does Not Ruin Anakin’s Journey
The final chapter in the Skywalker saga, Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker, released on December 20, 2019. With it came many questions and concerns on how this is a fitting end to one of the Greatest film saga’s of all time.
The biggest complaint I have heard so far is how the film does away with Anakin Skywalker’s journey and sacrifice. Making it all for naught.
I have some news for all of you though. It actually enhances everything about Anakin’s journey.
**SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE RISE OF SKYWALKER YET**
The Chosen One
Since the release of the first trailer for Episode IX people have had one question on their mind. “How is Palpatine back!?” Now, since the film’s release and essentially the lack of explanation given to that question. People have transitioned into finding a way to complain about Palpatine focusing on the prophecy of The Chosen One.
The Complaint
“If Palpatine is Alive that means Anakin didn’t fulfill the prophecy of The Chosen One thus ruining what George Lucas intended.”
Look, I can’t sit here and negate that George Lucas confirmed Anakin fulfilled the prophecy of bringing balance to the Force when he threw Palpatine into the reactor during Return of the Jedi. However, I can expand on what Balance of the Force means and how TROS (The Rise of Skywalker) still works and magnifies Anakin’s story.
Balance of The Force
Balance is all about how The Force is “used.”
Contrary to what many believe, Anakin did not bring balance by evening out the Good and Bad sides of The Force. Rather in removing Palpatine it allowed The Force to exist as it is intended.
Dark Force users, or for this example The Sith, manipulate the Force to their will. They utilize The Force for their own gain looking to the future to better themselves and have complete control.
Light Force users, The Jedi, Are Passive. Allowing The Force to flow through them. Living in the moment and not manipulating it for their own gain.
A Dark force manipulating and mangling the Force to their own will is what throws it out of balance.
When Anakin threw Darth Sidious into the reactor it allowed The Force to balance out. During the 30 years since then Palpatine was believed to be dead. If we go based off what he says in TROS “I have died once before.” then he must have been revived somehow.
Now, we can gather that it took a number of years to conjure up the ability to manipulate The Force. Eventually using Snoke to turn Ben Solo and creating an unbalance once again.
The Skywalker Connection
Snoke – “Darkness rises and light to meet it.”
The Force intervened leading Rey on a journey to become a Jedi and to once again eliminate the threat of the Dark.
Anakin Skywalker’s sacrifice and redemption is what led to this moment. allowing him to STILL be the reason balance is restored.
By saving Luke Skywalker and in essence Leia, Han, Chewy, etc. The future was set. Ben Solo, despite his own struggles and personal perils, was able to help in guiding Rey to finishing off Palpatine once and for all. Luke was able to pass on what he had learned. Be it very little in the grand scheme of things. Though, he did explain the biggest lesson about facing fear and how that is the Destiny of a Jedi.
Through Anakin’s sacrifice and essentially his redemption balance was able to be restored.
The Chosen One. A Prophecy Misread could have been.
The Prophecy of The Chosen One isn’t exact in interpretation. All we know is Anakin Skywalker was to be the Chosen One and bring balance to The Force. How that is completed has never been explained within the films, novels, or other media sources in the Disney Lucasfilm canon.
Yes, George Lucas stated in an interview that Anakin’s sacrifice is what brought balance to The Force. However, what happens in this movie doesn’t negate that.
It all boils down to the Legacy of the Skywalker’s.
Anakin’s story is a tragedy. One that turns into a story of HOPE once his Son begins his journey. It is then exemplified when Rey becomes a product of that legacy fulfilling and completing what they started so long ago on Tattooine.
Rey is NOT the Chosen One but Rather a Product of The Prophecy
While her journey mirrors more of Anakin’s than Luke’s. The fact that she is the one who put the final blow on Old Grandpa Palpy does not make her the Chosen One. Rather it shows that Anakin’s influence on The Force and for that matter the Galaxy reached much farther than simply destroying the Sith. Had it not been for his sacrifice and legacy what transpires in TROS would not be possible.
Anakin is STILL the Chosen One. He brought balance to The Force. The Rise of Skywalker does not negate that.
Across the Stars
#Reylo is a thing folks. Whether you wanted it to happen or not JJ Abrams decided to follow through and give the fans what they wanted….. Or did he cleverly connect them to that of Anakin and Padme’s story?
Anakin & Padme / Ben & Rey
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Anakin’s drive and ultimately what turned him to the Dark was his desire to keep the one he cared about from dying. His reasons were dark and selfish. He wanted Padme alive so he could have her in his life not so she could simply live.
At the end of The Rise of Skywalker we see Ben and Rey embrace and kiss but only after Ben uses a healing technique on Rey to revive her. His act was selfless and because of this he was able to save Rey from death. However, This act costs him his life. A life he no longer wanted to live. A life full of anger and fear. He saves Rey to give her a life to continue being the HOPE the Galaxy needs….And… Because he Loved her.
The reason why it happens like this and not the other way around is because Rey had to achieve what Palpatine, her grandfather never could. Cheating death. Just as Ben had to achieve what Anakin couldn’t. Saving the one he Loved from dying.
This is a fitting end and conclusion to the Skywalker lineage. One that exemplifies the tragedy of Anakin while also showing that the Legacy of Hope will live on through Rey.
Bravo
Who would have thought that Anakin’s story would be so connected in this movie? I give JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio a lot of credit for interweaving these little yet impactful moments into the film.
Hopefully you enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker as it truly is an experience.
Well done, excellent article! The parallels between Rey/Ben and anakin/padme are uncanny and an over site by the typical Star Wars fan. The Rise of Skywalker enhances everything about the skywalker saga, whether it be the return of palps as the dark side inhabiting a husk of a body, to the ring theory showing how history can repeat itself. Maybe in a few months we can see a movie boot-esque Show with the sequel trilogy!
I appreciate the feedback. The movie was fantastic and I cannot wait until I can dive deeper into the film. The promise of connecting all 9 films was fulfilled.
As for the Movie Boot-esque show… It is in the works my friend.
Still doesn’t make me like the movie anymore than I didnt
Not every film will work for everyone. I think this film deserves multiple viewings before being able to grasp how it connects to everything throughout the saga. It sucks it didn’t work for you but hopefully you at least had a good time with one of the sequel films.
In a sense I agree. 9 didn’t destroy Aniken’s journey. The whole new trilogy does. Aniken was said to have brought balance to the force by killing Palpatine and himself dying . And Aniken seems to have died a Jedi. (Ghost form with Ben and Yoda, and dies without his Vader Mask)
So I agree that 9 doesn’t negate his story. But We have Snoke and then Kylo Ren and the revival of Palpatine.
Snoke is not a young looking creature and therefore existed during the time of Vader and if he is an ancient being that existed long before and after the empire, there was never any balance following Aniken’s death and Luke’s rise to becoming a Jedi. Therefore Aniken either wasn’t the child of prophecy or the films messed up.
Ultimately 7-9 is a modern remake of 4-6. They were good movies, but kinda tanked the original point.
Snoke was created and used as a puppet by Palpatine. Something that is quickly shown and explained in TROS. Palpatine’s revival doesn’t negate the Balance Anakin created. His abilities within the Force were limited and only once He was able to Turn Ben (through Snoke) was the Force once again out of Balance. The Legacy of Anakin lived on through Luke and Leia, through Ben and eventually Rey. Anakin WAS and IS the Chosen One. How that prophecy is fulfilled was never fully explained in the films. Simply HE would bring balance to the Force. Whether it be by throwing Grandpa Palpy into the reactor of the Death Star or through his legacy. Either way still works as him being the Chosen One.
I love those parallels, you just made me appreciate ep. 9 even more. The only problem I have is if Anakin is the chosen just because the events in Rise of Skywalker wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him, doesn’t that make Palpatine just as responsible because he created Anakin (Manipulating midichlorians to create life = Anakin) in the first place? Or how about Qui Gon for that matter? If Qui Gon never discovered him things wouldn’t have happened the way they did. So what I’m saying is with that type of reasoning, anyone how had a course altering influence over the events that transpired is also the chosen one (which is more than just Anakin). Perhaps you have an explanation for this, I loved this movie but I just want to be 100% satisfied in regards to the prophecy. Do you have a counterpoint to offer for me?
who*** had^^^
Derek thanks for the appreciation of the article.
My counter would be what you mention about Palpatine creating Anakin. Unfortunately so many people misinterpreted the Vader comic in which this idea comes from. It wasn’t that Palpatine created Anakin. Vader was realizing how he has been manipulated and controlled for his entire life. From conception by the Force to the Jedi training him and Palpatine controlling him.
Finally in ROTJ he is strong enough make his own decision and Destiny. Sacrificing himself to save Luke. Thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Hopefully that helps.
Again thanks for comment and thanks for reading!
A great read and I enjoyed it, but I disagree with you just the same. Don’t hold that against me. I think that they made a lot of mistakes and while this movie did a lot to repair the disaster that was episode 8, it still disappoints. The first forty-five minutes is like a readers digest condensed book. It is like they squeezed two hours of story into that forty-five minutes. Major pacing issues. I think Disney are just going to have to accept that for many fans only episodes 1 – 6 will be considered canon regardless of what the studio says. I have to give Disney 10/10 on the Mandalorian series though. They really listened to the fans on that one. I hope they do the same on the Kenobi series. If they are smart they will show the moment when Kenobi first discovers that Anakin is still alive.
Thanks for the comment. And I agree the pacing in the beginning of the film was too rushed. Rumor has it Lucasfilm considered making this a two parter or Episodes IX and X. The fault is in how they allowed Johnson to make Episode VIII. It wasn’t a strong enough film to be the middle chapter. Regardless of how you feel about that movie it didn’t do what it needed to being the second film in a trilogy. Overall though I think TROS was a great blend of Fan Service and Storytelling to help wrap up a 9 film arc and encapsulates the Legacy of the Skywalkers really well.
The Mandalorian had a fantastic first season. And Obi-Wan should be just as good….if not better. Fans have been clamoring for this story for years. And the dread and agony Ben will feel learning about his former apprentice being Darth Vader will crush him.
IMO its a great time to be a Star Wars fan.
Thanks for reading man!
the author of this rubbish and largely the people in the comments have no idea what they are talking about. As soon as you validate anything to with the prequels or sequels, you’ve already lost all credibility. The fact that you’re enough of a sucker to buy into any of the “ring theory” bullshit only reinforces that fact. You people are what is wrong with Star Wars “fans” as you clearly have a fundamental misunderstanding about what Star Wars is, probably because you were kids when the prequels came out and thought they were cool. News flash… they are terrible. Not subjectively, not in my opinion… FACT. If you need an explanation, look no further than the almost 4 hours of Plinkett reviews on Red Letter Media for a complete, detailed analysis of why the prequels are a narrative mess, a visual mess and just a giant steaming pile of horse shit overall.
Oh, but the Mandalorian, I hear you say. Well, if you’re the kind of person who lacks critical thinking skills and give it a 10/10 (that’s a perfect score, btw) then you’re an idiot. There are at least four, if not five, throw-away episodes of the Mandalorian that contribute nothing to the story arch and are merely filler to pad the series length. Is it overall pretty good? Yes. But the bar has been set so low and as demonstrated by ‘Book of Boba Fett”, there are too many people making Star Wars properties that don’t understand Star Wars. Just look at “Obi-Wan Kenobi”…. sweet fucking Jesus what a shitty mess. It shits all over the source material, looks cheap and is laughable in parts.
This is what Star Wars has been reduced to, in no short order, because of people like you. Fucking lapdogs who lick up the crumbs and call it amazing. Fuck you.
Hello, I am the author of this post. I see you are against anything but the OT essentially. That is pretty unfortunate because even with the flaws of the Prequels and Sequels there are things that are interesting and great to explore.
The Ring Theory was confirmed by George Lucas many years ago. He has stated everything in Star Wars is cyclical (a Ring). But if we get past that, I will admit that what happened with Rey and Kylo could have been an accidental connection. However, sometimes those make for better story experiences. ((shrugs)) I find it odd that neither JJ or Terrio have really discussed at length their process for writing this film and even I have become less and less fond of it as I go on.
Now for you to sit there and say non of us understand Star Wars. That is just completely untrue. Film is subjective…. the way we interact, interpret and appreciate film is different for everyone. Yea there are aspects of movies that are not subjective… but to say we are all wrong with our take is crazy.
You point us to a 4 hour long video on why something “sucks” but the entirety of the video is from THEIR and apparently YOUR interpretation and perceived notion of what those films should be. I am not a big fan of the Sequels, I have moments of them I enjoy.. .but overall I don’t think they are good Star Wars movies. That doesn’t mean those who LOVE them are wrong. To many THOSE are what Star Wars is. For me the OT is near and dear to my heart. The Prequels, while they have many flaws are great as well. But again… that is my Subjective opinion and I understand why some may not enjoy them.
As for modern Star Wars. I actually agree. While I LOVE The Mandalorian I also see the faults it has. Too much filler for such a short episode count. BoBF was underwhelming to say the least and the Kenobi show was too long for the story they wanted to tell causing them to add unnecessary characters and elements to the story bogging it down and making it less than it could have been.
I absolutely see the issues with Star Wars, I am never afraid to call them out. Check out my Youtube Channel.. when I review things I go off of what I am feeling and seeing at that moment. I try to keep my speculation and expectations away from my excitement. The Obi-Wan show is a great example as I Loved the show early on… but each episode made me less and less excited. I was pretty critical in my review of the Finale.
I don’t lick up anything that Lucasfilm drops. I feel I appreciate them adequately. Yea there are some out there who overly praise the product. But again, that is their view.. people will see things differently than any other person.
You need to accept that and move on. If Star Wars is no longer for you, That sucks. But you still have the stories that you loved at one time you can go back to. Those have not been taken away.
Thanks for the comment and the read. I urge you to check out my other content because I don’t think we are as far off from our opinions as you make it seem