Did Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fail Ben Solo and the Skywalkers?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the final movie in the Skywalker saga. But did the film fail Ben Solo and the Skywalker family?

WARNING: This article will contain spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. You should only continue reading if you’ve already seen the movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been playing in theaters for some time, but the debate on the questionable events continues!here is a lot of pressure to finish a saga that is so beloved and has spanned decades. But did the film do the rest of the saga justice or did it fail Ben Solo and the Skywalker family?

The prequel trilogy set up the fall of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, showing how he was manipulated by Emperor Palpatine into his fall to the dark side. The sequel trilogy brought back Palpatine to reveal that he did to Anakin’s grandson, Ben, what he once did to Anakin. Manipulated and pushed him to the dark side.

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It would be natural, then, to assume that the arc of Kylo/Ben was being set up to be the reverse of his grandfather. As he said, he would finish what his grandfather started. Except what that means is that he would finally defeat what caused the fall of his grandfather so long ago and come back to the light.

Some of that was in fact fulfilled. After the death of his mother Leia and an emotional reunion with his father (albeit in his mind), Ben Solo returns to the light and finally puts Kylo Ren to rest. Even going so far as to throw Kylo’s weapon of choice into the water (Skywalker’s are nothing if not a dramatic bunch).

Just as Rey is about to give into Palpatine’s manipulations (who coincidentally is her grandfather), Ben Solo arrives to help her defeat him. He does take down some of the Knights of Ren after Rey sends him a lightsaber through the force, but unfortunately his part in the major battle is limited and it is Rey who takes down Palpatine.

It completely makes sense for Rey to be the major player in the final battle as she is not only the protagonist of the sequel trilogy but also his granddaughter. However, Ben Solo is now the final Skywalker after the passing of Leia (Rey does adopt the name later, but Ben is the last of the actual Skywalker line).

Considering the way his story was meant to parallel Anakin’s, he should have had much more of a role in taking down Palpatine, the man who brought about most of the tragedy that befell his family.

In the end, Rey dies after defeating Palpatine and an injured Ben manages to get to her. With his final moments and strength, Ben gives his life force to bring Rey back to life. In a way, he does accomplish what his grandfather never could and he saves the woman he loves. It was a bittersweet moment for Reylo fans I’m sure, but a sour pill to swallow when you look at the context of the Skywalker family.

The last Skywalker died to bring back the last Palpatine. Luke, Han, and Leia all sacrificed themselves in some way for Ben, only for Ben to die in the end. Rey may have adopted the Skywalker name but Ben was the last true Skywalker, in a movie called The Rise of Skywalker, and with his death the Skywalker line is no more.

Add on to that the fact that this final installment barely mentions Anakin/Darth Vader (except for one quick voice over that’s so fast you can easily miss it). Anakin’s story is what set this whole saga in motion and his story greatly shaped that of both his son and daughter as well as his grandson. Anakin’s presence should have been felt much more in a movie that’s meant to wrap up the Skywalker story.

Star Wars has constantly been called a movie of hope but can it really be called that when the Skywalker saga ends with the whole family basically being wiped out? Not only that, but after Ben’s death, he was not mourned or acknowledged. He did not even show up as a force ghost to Rey when Luke and Leia did. Even when the voices of jedi past came to speak to Rey and help her, none of them tried to speak to or help Ben, not even his own family.

It is true that as Kylo Ren he did terrible things, but so did Anakin. And while Anakin’s story was that of his fall to the dark, Ben’s story was meant to be of his rise to the light. The message this brings is that the only way to redemption is death, and it may be a realistic message but it certainly isn’t a very hopeful one.

Ben’s death makes the sacrifices of Han, Luke, and Leia all seem in vain. It leaves unfulfilled the idea that Anakin’s story could come full circle through his grandson. For the Skywalkers to essentially end at the hands of the Palpatines seems a harsh ending, especially after Ben had only just returned to the light.

The movie was a fun adventure movie to be sure, and the appearances of the characters from the original trilogy was certainly a nice touch. But when it comes down to it, the movie seems to have missed the hopeful message they were going for and instead of giving the Skywalkers a fitting happy end it wiped out the whole family. Rey may carry on the name but everyone with Skywalker blood is now gone and that is anything but hopeful.

What did you think of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Were you satisfied with how the movie ended? Let us know!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is playing in theaters.