Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has seen a resurgence in discussion over the past few days, as Daisy Ridley revealed in an interview that questions about Rey's parentage hadn't been entirely settled during the shooting of the film. While Rise of Skywalker has her related to Palpatine, one of the other potential options was to have Rey related to Obi-Wan Kenobi. This has had fans discussing which option would be better or make more sense; however, this misses the point. Both options would be equally bad.
The question of Rey's parentage was a huge fixation point for the third trilogy of films. Introducing it in the first movie created an air of mystery, as well as a parallel between Luke and Rey. However, that mystery was created by J.J. Abrams, who then left the series, handing off directorial duties to Rian Johnson for The Last Jedi.
This film answered the mystery, but not in the way some fans expected. The Last Jedi told fans Rey's parents were nobodies, junk traders who, "sold her for drinking money." From the moment Episode VIII presented its explanation, it set off in a vastly different direction from what Star Wars fans had previously seen.
It's important for a film that its audience is able to trust the creative team responsible. While a story might introduce twists or kill off characters unexpectedly, it should then follow through on those choices. The reason Palpatine being Rey's grandfather feels weak as a storytelling choice is because it is obvious backpedaling. It wasn't set up in either of the previous films, and it was invented during the filming of the third one, as Ridley's comments prove. It also goes one step further than simply being unsupported by the previous films; it actively contradicts them.
Part of The Last Jedi's message was a rejection of old traditions. It saw Yoda burn down the repository of ancient Jedi texts. The new generation took over from their elders, with Kylo Ren rejecting his predecessors' teachings and killing Snoke. The young Sith even had a line summing up this entire ethos, claiming to, "Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to."
In spirit with this message, the movie rejects the idea presented in previous films that blood ties are needed to be strong in the Force. Rey is a nobody, and her parents were nobodies. However, she is still strong with the Force. This is a positive message, and one The Last Jedi is to be lauded for.
Then The Rise of Skywalker came around, and creative control was transferred to Colin Trevorrow, who wrote an earlier version of the script before leaving and handing the director's chair back to Abrams. It's clear the creative team for the final film in the trilogy was uncomfortable with following Johnson's new direction, so they chose to revert to an earlier, safer choice. While it would have been fine for Rey to be related to any number of famous Jedi or Sith, Johnson had established in the previous film such an idea wasn't the case. In doing so, Abrams made the story wishy-washy and ineffectual.
While Obi-Wan Kenobi might have been a better fit for Rey's parentage than Palpatine, it's important to realize neither would have been "good." It's even more important to realize the immense weakness this belies in Episode IX. The film refuses to play nicely with the choices of its predecessor, and in doing so it fractures itself.
The return of Palpatine serves double duty to showcase this point, as his return is a quick improvisation to replace Snoke, the trilogy's former antagonist. The Rise of Skywalker could have been an excellent film, but it's clear fear at rocking the boat or even riding the wave created by The Last Jedi resulted in a multitude of creative choices that feel like unsupported, last minute changes.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is now available on Digital HD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and Disney+.