Star Wars: The End of Rise of Skywalker connects Kylo Ren with Prequel Anakin
The Rise of Skywalker does a thorough job and remembers the original trilogy. Most allusions to the past have something to do with places or objects: we get Darth Vader’s musty old helmet, Luke’s old X-Wing, and even a shot of these cute little Ewoks on Endor. Then there is Kylo Ren, who was introduced to the audience in The Force Awakens as the new Darth Vader, but who unwittingly or unwantedly mimics the Anakin Skywalker of the prequel trilogy more than anyone else. In the end, Anakin and his grandson are tied to a recurring theme in the Star Wars universe: love.
[Ed. Note: This post contains important spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker.]
For Anakin, love is both a channel for power and for the suffering he endures for himself and others in the universe. When “The Chosen One” first meets the Jedi Council in The Phantom Menace, the Jedi immediately test and criticize the fear that dwells in him. The fear is directly related to his mother Shmi, who was left behind in a life of enslavement on Tatooine. Despite his age and far older than the other trainees, the Jedi Council believes in their ability to get Anakin to the Light Sade and in their thinking using the Jedi code. One of these codes is that “attachment is forbidden”, which means that Jedi should not have romantic relationships and should discard any relationship they have aside. There is no deviation from the code.
But Anakin cannot suppress his love for others. In Attack of the Clones, he develops feelings for Padme Amidala while feeling guilty and worried about leaving his mother behind. Love ultimately strengthens Anakin throughout Episode II as he moves further away from the Jedi Code and kicks in the arms of his future master Palpatine. The future emperor uses Anakin’s love for Padme and the fear of her death to manipulate him into further atrocities. While an occasional observer feels that this is a step towards darkness that is exaggerated, it says a lot about the Jedi Order and the strict, unfeeling code that says Anakin feels like he has no choice have to turn against everything he had ever taught him. For him, being Jedi is nothing without Padme.
Picture: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Kylo Ren also suffers from love, which can be seen in his confrontation with Han Solo during The Force Awakens. In the end, while he is murdering his father, it is love that makes him want to get rid of Han. Kylo’s actions in this scene show the exact opposite of Anakin, who does not believe that love weakens him and his strength in the least. From Kylo’s point of view, the Sith code is an inverse of the Jedi code. Instead of “there is no passion, only serenity”, the Sith code says: “Peace is a lie, there is only passion. I gain strength through passion. “Unlike Anakin, Kylo is encouraged to feel passion and love, but still decides to suppress it. Since the Jedi and Sith want two different things from them – repression and passion – Anakin and Kylo are two sides of the same coin, the latter unwittingly following the Jedi “code” rather than the Sith. But in the end, Kylo is able to do what Anakin couldn’t.
In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine seduces Anakin to turn against the Jedi teachings with the legend of Darth Plagueis, a Sith lord who uses the power of the Midi-Chlorians to prevent people from dying. Here Anakin’s love for Padme overtakes common sense and is ultimately transformed. Since George Lucas loved dramatic irony, his anger at the Jedi and even Padme himself makes him part of what kills them. Despite all efforts, Anakin misses his targets and turns into Darth Vader.
In Rise of Skywalker, Kylo repeats and achieves Anakin’s goals by saving Rey through power healing. In this way, Kylo is no longer the Sith for whom he was groomed, but returns to Ben Solo, a Jedi warrior. Or maybe not – Ben breaks the old code in an act of love. The step intentionally spits out the old style of Jedi order and eventually pulls it away to allow a fresh start so that users, not Jedi or Sith, become who they want to be.
It is the ultimate message of the two arches by Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker. Both were torn apart and put back together by the love they felt for the people around them. However, both faced obstacles that were undeniably due to the Jedi Code and the Order’s uncompromising pursuit of ideals, which did nothing but push the people they hoped to form into something powerful but controllable, just that to be the former.
But it is the break of the Jedi order and Kylo Ren’s last moment that, like all Jedi, fades after death, which makes the power of love, the choice to believe in it, so powerful. When choosing love, Kylo Ren chooses to follow Anakin’s footsteps and help Rey pave the way into a future where users are not Jedi or Sith, but themselves. And that’s something that none Rules can ever regulate again.