Confusing Moments In Rise Of Skywalker Explained

After more than four decades, the Skywalker saga has reached its exciting, surprising, and at times confusing conclusion, bringing to an end the twisting tale of the Skywalker family, their ongoing intergalactic rebellion against fascism, and the competing light and dark sides of the mystical Force. We now know what happens to Luke and Leia, where Snoke came from, who Rey's parents were, and perhaps most importantly, who ultimately prevails in the galaxies-spanning struggle between the First Order and the Resistance. 

While The Rise of Skywalker answered quite a few of the saga's lingering questions, it also presented a few of its own, and we wouldn't be surprised if you came out of the theater a little unsure how it all fits together. Although there are some aspects of Episode IX that are left entirely up to our imaginations, many of the film's more head-scratching moments do have at least an implied in-canon explanation, and we've done our best to detail some of them here. We can't promise you'll understand every part of Rise of Skywalker after delving into our explanations, but we hope we can help you feel at least a little less confused.

The opening crawl of Rise of Skywalker mentions that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), now Supreme Leader of the First Order following his assassination of Snoke in The Last Jedi, is searching for the Emperor, "determined to destroy any threat to his power." The film then immediately reveals Kylo Ren on the surface of a glowing red planet, slaughtering a forest full of faceless opponents before ultimately locating a Sith Wayfinder that once belonged to his grandfather, Darth Vader. That Wayfinder reveals the way to Exegol, where Kylo Ren confronts Palpatine and learns the truth of Rey's parentage.

The battle for the Wayfinder takes place on Mustafar, the volcano planet where Anakin Skywalker dueled his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and suffered the horrific burns and injuries that necessitated the life-supporting armor and helmet that would come to define Vader. Although the movie doesn't give us any information on who Kylo Ren is fighting there, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary tells us that his opponents are members of the Alazmec of Winsit, a cult of Vader-worshipers who traveled to Mustafar in the hopes of tapping into the Dark Side powers that Vader channeled through his Sith fortress. The Alazmec colonists were also responsible for the unlikely forest of irontrees where the battle takes place, which they planted in an ill-conceived effort to reinvigorate the land. Unfortunately for the Alazmec, Kylo Ren had no interest in explaining to them why he needed to access the ruins of Fortress Vader, and found it easier to cut a smoldering path through his grandfather's acolytes than to simply ask permission to enter.

Following the death of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) at the end of The Last Jedi, his twin sister Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) took it upon herself to train the Force-sensitive Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the ways of the Jedi, which we see in The Rise of Skywalker. This might come as a bit of a surprise, considering we never saw Leia receive any Jedi training herself. Of course, she displayed some Force sensitivity as far back as the original trilogy, and we've seen her exhibit some impressive powers, most notably in The Last Jedi when she managed to save herself from the vacuum of space. 

In The Rise of Skywalker, it is revealed that when Leia was younger, she actually did train as a Jedi with Luke, and essentially completed her training, even constructing her own lightsaber. However, on the final day of her training, she had a vision that her Jedi path would lead to the death of her son, which caused her to turn away from becoming a Jedi and give her lightsaber to her brother. So while Leia techncially isn't a Jedi herself, she has all the knowledge, training, and capabilities necessary to continue Rey's instruction where her brother had left off. Later, Luke's spirit presents Rey with Leia's lightsaber, which she uses to defeat Palpatine once and for all.

After finding Ochi's Sith dagger, Rey's team of Resistance fighters momentarily believes that success is in sight, but their hopes are dashed when C-3PO reveals that while he can read the coordinates on the dagger, he is incapable of translating them for the rest of the team. Apparently, his programming forbids him to translate the Sith language under any circumstances. This may seem like a rather arbitrary plot contrivance, but it turns out to make a surprising amount of sense in the greater Star Wars canon.

Right as Threepio is in the midst of explaining why he can't translate Sith, the group is interrupted by a giant sand serpent that distracts them from the dagger. But as everyone is reacting to the serpent, Threepio can clearly be heard telling them that the rule was passed by the Imperial Senate many years before. As we know from the prequels, Palpatine spent years manipulating the Senate from within in order to serve his dark purposes, and eventually dissolved the Senate entirely. Knowing this, it makes sense that Palpatine would've enacted legislation making it impossible for droids to translate Sith. In the early days when he was attempting to quietly consolidate his power, keeping Sith communications secret would've been instrumental in his ability to keep his true identity and master plan hidden from his peers.

Early on, The Rise of Skywalker sets up the intriguing mystery of a spy within the First Order who is passing crucial bits of information to the Resistance, including the fact that Palpatine is back and plotting a devastating, galaxy-wide attack. This spy is later revealed to be none other than the sniveling General Hux, much to the shock of Finn and Poe, who are (along with the audience) completely blindsided by the First Order officer's turn. After all, Hux spent the entirety of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi fervently opposing the Resistance and fighting to advance the First Order's conquering agenda.

So what changed? Based on Hux's explanation to Finn, he still isn't actually a friend to the Resistance, and has no investment in their ultimate victory. But as much as he hates the Resistance, he hates Kylo Ren more, and seems to have been pushed to switch sides following Ren's ascension to Supreme Leader at the end of The Last Jedi. While Hux didn't like Snoke's use of the Force, he tolerated it since Snoke allowed him to exercise power above his station. But with Ren taking Snoke's place, Hux was stripped of that power, and found himself taking a backseat in Ren's plans, which relied far too heavily on the mysticism of the Force for Hux's liking. He seemed to hope that by aiding the Resistance, he could topple Kylo Ren and subsequently seize that power for himself.

At first glance, it might seem as though Kylo Ren turned back into Ben Solo on a sudden whim after Rey healed him, in an about-face so abrupt it could give you whiplash. But upon closer examination, Ben's decision to abandon his Dark Side persona is something he's been struggling with for a while, since at least The Last Jedi, when both Rey and Snoke sensed the extreme conflict within him, despite his protests that his mind was made up. 

Before his duel with Rey in The Rise of Skywalker, he tells Rey that he can never go back to his mother, indicating that he believes the Dark Side is the only option available to him. But when Leia contacts him during their duel, he realizes the truth — he can go back, and the only one holding him back was himself. Later, he envisions his father, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), who methodically refutes his every argument to stay on his current path. Ben tries to argue that with both his parents gone, he's beyond hope, but his vision of Han reminds him that as long as he's still alive, he can still do the right thing. 

Ben repeats the last thing he said to his father before he killed him, and Han assures him that this time, he has the strength to do what must be done. Finally, when it seems as though Ben wants to apologize, Han replies with his iconic, "I know," communicating his enduring love and forgiveness. Afterward, Ben tosses his Sith lightsaber into the ocean, having finally found the strength to turn back to the Light Side thanks to the combined, loving efforts of his parents.

After Palpatine drains Rey and Ben of their combined Force energy and tosses Ben down a chasm, Rey lies on the floor of the chamber watching the battle rage overhead, seeming as though she's lost hope. But then she once again attempts the Force exercise that's been eluding her throughout the whole film, trying to channel the Jedi who have come before her. This time, it works, and Rey is strengthened by a number of Jedi voices speaking her name and feeding her the encouragement that enables her to rise to her feet and face Palpatine again.

If some of those voices seemed familiar, there's a reason for that. The Rise of Skywalker brings back every significant Jedi from past Star Wars movies, including Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Frank Oz as Yoda, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and of course, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. Additionally, the scene includes voice actors from Star Wars animated series who portrayed now-deceased Jedi — namely Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan Jarrus, Olivia D'Abo as Luminara Unduli, Jennifer Hale as Aayla Secura, and Angelique Perrin as Adi Gallia. The combined strength of Rey and the spirits of the past Jedi is enough for Rey to reflect Palpatine's Dark energy back on himself, killing him. Since Palpatine technically causes his own death, his spirit doesn't pass to Rey as he'd planned, and the Sith line is ended.