The Rise of Skywalkeris filled with fan service, but does it all make sense? J.J. Abrams did his best to please everybody and ended up creating a lot of things that don’t really add up. Making a movie within theStar Warsfranchise is never going to be an easy thing to pull off, no matter how much time and effort go into mapping out a movie in advance. Some things are going to slip through the cracks. With that said, we compiled 13 of the biggest things from the movie that make absolutely no sense. There areSPOILERSforThe Rise of Skywalkerbelow, so read ahead at your own risk.
13Emperor Palpatine’s ReturnMakes Zero Sense
When the first footage fromThe Rise of Skywalkerdebuted,Star Warsfans were shocked to hear the iconic laugh of Ian McDiarmid. But how can this be? The villain was killed duringReturn of the Jediback in 1983 and the latest sequel trilogy hasn’t brought him up once until now. J.J. Abrams doesn’t explain it in the movie and only leaves us with a vague quote from the prequels: “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” That’s it. No mention of a contingency plan, no world within worlds, no cloning, nothing. He’s just alive and really decrepit. Deal with it.
12Rey Burying the Lightsaberson Tatooine
Why does Rey go to Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia’s Lightsabers? Leia was previously Jabba the Hutt’s scantily clad slave on the planet, while Luke couldn’t wait to get out of there. Never mind the fact that his father was a child slave on the planet, his grandmother was murdered there, and his aunt and uncle were burnt to a crisp by Stormtroopers. That doesn’t sound like the best place to pay tribute to Luke and Leia at all. Naboo would have been a much better choice for all involved and it would have also served as a good nod to the prequels.
11Instant Force Healing?
Technically, Force Healing was introduced in the Extended Universe, but was not considered to be officialStar Warscanon until now.The Mandalorianintroduced it on the small screen right beforeThe Rise of Skywalkeropened in theaters. However, without any real background knowledge, Rey out of nowhere senses she can heal a giant underground snake-like creature? And then she’s able to save Kylo Ren’s life after she stabbed him with a Lightsaber? And Ben Solo can do it too? Why didn’t Palpatine heal Anakin Skywalker back in the day? Instead Darth Vader is left to be a miserable half-cyborg man? Like Palpatine, we are given zero explanation for this, though it will probably be included in the many comics and books that come out along the way.
10Han Solo Force Ghost, Not Really, But Really
After Kylo Ren gets stabbed and then Force Healed by Rey, he sees his father, Han Solo. Harrison Ford is back inThe Rise of Skywalker, but he’s not a Force Ghost, but he kind of is. Instead of looking like a ghost, he looks like Ford rolled out of bed 5 minutes before to deliver a few lines against a green screen in his backyard before going back to bed and collecting some dough. So, the Force can bring back characters through vivid memories to have deep life discussions now? It’s not explained, but as Solo would say, “I know.”
9Knight of Ren Aren’t Explained
The Rise of Skywalkerbrings back the Knights of Ren after their slumber duringThe Last Jedi. However, who, or what they are is not explained on the big screen, leaving viewers to guess. Or if you’re a diehardStar Warsfan, you’ll already know about Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 hitting newsstands earlier this week. We get a little backstory, but not a whole lot. Instead, we learn that Ren is a name for the Lightsaber, which they worship, which basically means their name is actually the Knights of Lightsaber and Kylo Ren is really Kylo Lightsaber. It’s more than a little confusing, but the comic does say that the Knights are able to use the Force while in battle, though they’re not strong users.
8Poe Dameron All of a Sudden Has Han Solo’s Backstory?
InThe Rise of Skywalkerwe learn that Poe Dameron used to be a spice runner before becoming an ace Resistance pilot. This is more or less the same backstory as Han Solo for some reason, though it’s never really talked about again. The information comes to us on Kijimi when Keri Russell’s Zori Bliss originally wants to chop off Poe’s head and then suddenly wants to run away with him. Bliss ends up giving the Resistance the First Order medallion which they use to board Kylo Ren’s Resurgent-class Star Destroyer.
7Where Did Maz Kanata GetLuke’s Lightsaber?
Ok, this one goes all the way back toThe Force Awakensand it’s still a mystery inThe Rise of Skywalker. Some fans will say this is the classic mystery box method from J.J. Abrams. Others will say it flat out doesn’t make any sense. Luke lost his Lightsaber, which was originally Anakin Skywalker’s, during the battle on Bespin when his hand is sliced off. The Lightsaber in question then falls down the air shafts of Cloud City. Apparently, Cloud City isn’t too far from Takodana, which could explain how a scavenger found it? More mystery box for us to ponder.
6Finn Suddenly Feels the Force?
One of the more curious aspects of the movie comes when Finn starts to all of a sudden feel the Force. It’s never confirmed that’s what he’s feeling or using, but Finn starts to become more mysterious as the movie goes along as he gets in touch with his feelings. When Finn meets another former Stormtrooper, Jannah, they decide that it was the Force that caused them to rebel. Obviously this is never explained and we have no idea what he wanted to tell Rey throughout the whole movie. Was he going to tell her that he can feel the Force? Was he going to say that he loves her? Does she have something stuck in her teeth? We won’t know until they release the Finn comics or a standalone book.
5Where Does Lando Get that Huge Rebel Fleet?
TowardsThe Rise of Skywalkerconclusion, the Resistance is getting beat badly by the Emperor and the Final Order. Just when all hope is lost, Lando and Chewie come save the day with a hugeRebel fleetthat seemingly comes out of nowhere. At the beginning ofThe Force Awakensthe Resistance is tiny and by the end ofThe Last Jedi, there is nothing left and nobody responded to their distress calls on Crait. But suddenly, Lando is able to rally the troops to take down the Final Order. Maybe it was his smooth talking. Whatever it was, it worked and it saved the day. Much like Anakin’s Lightsaber, it’s probably a story for another time.
4What Decides Who Disappears in Jedi Death?
Why does Ben Solo disappear, but Rey didn’t, and Darth Vader didn’t, but Yoda did, and Obi-Wan Kenobi did? This is another frustrating piece ofThe Rise of Skywalkerpuzzle. Most Jedi disappear when they die, this has been shown to us multiple times in the last 40+ years. But Rey stays here for quite a while, which allows Ben Solo to resurrect her, which in turn kills him. Leia does disappear, but she waits for her son to go first, though that was more than likely supposed to be an emotional moment for audiences to grasp ahold of. Anakin Skywalker didn’t disappear either, but that one falls on George Lucas andReturn of the Jedi.
