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Is Rey the daughter of Luke? (TFA spoilers)


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Is Rey the daughter of Luke Skywalker?

 

Of the various unanswered questions from TFA this is the biggest, and the one most are talking about.

 

Evidence that she is:

 

-- The lightsaber evokes a vision in Rey. Maz points out that the saber belonged to Luke and Anakin both and has a history. The visions Rey has are all moments from Luke's life. Bespin, the attack of the Knights of Ren, etc. That means the one part of the vision that is Rey's own past is because Luke was there.

 

-- She is clearly strong enough in the force that she is doing things intuitively without training. The only other people who have done that are Anakin and Luke.

 

-- visually, she resembles Padme like WHOA

 

-- her backstory of being orphaned and growing up on a remote world is also an echo of Luke and Anakin

 

-- she mentions a dream about an island-- she finds Luke on an island

 

-- she has the same affinity for piloting and fixing things, again, just like Luke and Anakin

 

Evidence she is not:

 

-- Han and Leia would know who she is, if not by recognizing her, but by knowing her name and where she came from. Obviously, keeping parentage secret is a thing in their family, but not knowing if they were going to find Luke, and knowing they might get nuked by Starkiller-- I doubt they wouldn't tell her

 

-- given the usual time jump between films, and that Rey ends the movie with Luke, that puts her finding out either off camera between films, or Luke waits a few years to tell her even though she's right there... both of those options are pretty weak

 

Evidence that can go either way:

 

-- Maz tells her her past is just that-- her past, and that she can't find what she wants going back-- but forward. Is she saying Rey's parentage doesn't matter, only that her potential to be a Jedi does? Or is she saying she needs to be proactive to find her parents?

 

-- The way Luke looks at her is being interpreted a million different ways. Some people think he recognizes, some people think he is mad-- I just read his face as an outpour of emotion after a long period of being alone. That could mean anything.

 

-- Max Von Sydow must have been a friend of Luke's to have the missing map piece, is it a coincidence or not that he was also on Jakku?

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My answer is: I have my opinions and preferences, but it doesn't matter as long as I like the end product.

 

As said in the main "I've seen it" thread:

I'd genuinely like to see a neat character who literally does come out of nowhere. Not that there's anything wrong with the simple farmboy/pauper/rogue/scavenger who turns out to be long-lost royalty destined to save the world (or galaxy), but I'd be pleasantly surprised if the Force just chose her not 'cause of her highborn blood, but 'cause she's a genuinely cool/good person.

Note: before somebody brings up Anakin, I said neat character.

 

Anyway, my own personal bias finds that approach less lazy and more appealing.

 

But realistically, with Rey, I think it's almost certain we are dealing with a Skywalker or a huge misdirection. Either way, she'll be related to/attached to a major "royal bloodline" of the SW universe. Odds are heavy on Clan Skywalker, of course.

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- As I said in a previous post on here somewhere, she clearly looks to have fallen right off the Padme/Shmi family tree. To me, she looks more like Shmi than Padme. Definitely resembles them both for sure though.

 

- To me, the scene of finding Anakin's lightsaber was to Rey what the Dagobah tree cave was to Luke - but without warning. Remember the dialogue - "What's in there?" "Only what you take with you." Yup. That was her tree cave, and she vs Kylo Ren were to her what facing Vader on Bespin was to Luke. Revelation. Discovery. New sense of self. I really loved the retread of these notions for Rey that Luke experienced. That being said...

 

- I think she's Luke's girl. You could possibly argue that the theme in the tree cave and in the basement happened first with Anakin with his dreams, and that it's a family thing perhaps because the force is so damn strong with them - so it's all so much more vivid and telling of their fortunes, or more simply, that's why we see these things with these thrtee characters. It's all in the family.

 

- For me, Rey becoming a major player and main protagonist instead of Finn was an easy call. Maybe the trailers showed too much of her denouncing any kind of purpose for her life with her insistence that she was no one. That usually means you're someone.

 

- RE: Han and Leia not telling Rey about Luke...

 

Luke: (to Obi-Wan) Why didn't you tell me? - Return of the Jedi

Rey: (to Leia) Why didn't you tell me? - Episode VIII or IX

 

- Huge YES to the first point about the visions being Luke's or shared with Luke

 

- Rey is what Anakin should have been - the age she is when we meet her, the inclination to do literally everything non-Jedi related when we meet her, and the ability to be a Jedi after some prodding. I doubt that was an accident. Maybe a bit of that had to do with listening to fans who said this is how we should have met Anakin?

 

- Meeting a third character on a desert with undiscovered Force abilities, and having them not be a Skywalker after the first two were...well that would be just plain rude at this point...lol

 

- Will we meet the mother? Hear of her? Would Abrams and Disney dare go there..?

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She is. It's the simplest way to tell her backstory, and SW loves to keep it simple. If she's not you have to explore some weird tangent that doesn't involve SkywalerSoloSomething, and why would you do that? Doing so would mean not using Luke's baby mama as a major plot point, which will almost certainly be a part of the next one.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Luke's exile has a lot to do with protecting her and the kid and so forth.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

Yes, I think Rey is a Skywalker, and I believe she is Luke's daughter. Aside from the evidence already presented for that, here's what I am thinking.

 

It's often said that Luke was an analogue to King Arthur, the jedi were the Knights of the Round Table, Obi Wan was Merlin, Han Solo was Lancelot, Leia was Guinivere (who ends up with Han, the Lancelot of the story) and Anakin/Darth Vader was Uther Pendragon.

 

The sequel trilogy is a retelling of it of sorts and if Rey is Luke's daughter, that basically makes her the King Arthur, and maybe a bit of the Galahad of this new trilogy. The lightsaber is definitely an analogue to Excalibur, to me. In fact, isn't it interesting that Rey means King in Spanish ( derived from rex in latin)? Also, for the sequel trilogy, Luke is filling both the Merlin, and the Uther Pendragon roles this time around, with perhaps a little of the King Arthur prior to the final confrontation with Mordred. That would also make Kylo the Mordred of this trilogy, and as I recall, Mordred was also the nephew of King Arthur (some tellings, his illegitimate son through his half sister Morgana Le Fey! Read into that if you will!). Luke's Camelot and Round Table were broken, when Kylo betrayed him, and like how Luke's job was to redeem his father Anakin, and bring balance to the force and bring back the jedi order (and he did for a while), it is now Rey's Holy Grail quest to find the missing Luke Skywalker (which she did), to again bring balance to the Force, and reestablish the jedi order, as her father did before her.

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I dig that!

 

If Rey is Luke's daughter I hope that Mara is right and something went wrong with her hiding and Luke didn't know where she was.

 

I don't like the idea of Luke-- who showed us compassion can win despite what the Jedi thought, is a dead beat dad.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

I dig that!

 

If Rey is Luke's daughter I hope that Mara is right and something went wrong with her hiding and Luke didn't know where she was.

 

I don't like the idea of Luke-- who showed us compassion can win despite what the Jedi thought, is a dead beat dad.

Yeah I think Mara is onto something there. It would be unlike Luke to just abandon his offspring, and intentionally have them go through what he went through. At least not without good reason, and it was the lesser of two evils.

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i hope so. If he's just been standing around... I NEVER liked the idea that Yoda and Obi-Wan just stopped trying.

 

I hope we get anObi-Wan anthology movie that shows him working with the Rebellion or doing something other than watching Luke (from miles away).

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Guest El Chalupacabra

To me, it's in Luke's nature to try to do as much as he can, without risking someone else's life. If Rey is his daughter or niece, it would have to be a good reason for him to willingly abandon her.

 

Also, I would LOVE an Obi Wan trilogy with Ewan McGregor, actually. But I would settle for one GOOD movie.

I refuse to believe that Obi Wan did nothing for 19 years. If the Sith can operate in secret for 1000 years, why can't Obi Wan? Or Yoda, for that matter?

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Bail Organa is one of the architects of the Rebel Alliance. He is also still a member of the Senate, making him a double agent, and he's the rule of Alderaan. AND he is the only person that knows Obi-Wan and Yoda are alive.

 

Jimmy Smits is an amazing actor when he has good material. Ewan McGregor is good enough that he was one of the only good things about the PT.

 

One movie, with the two of them would rule.

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I dig that!

 

If Rey is Luke's daughter I hope that Mara is right and something went wrong with her hiding and Luke didn't know where she was.

 

I don't like the idea of Luke-- who showed us compassion can win despite what the Jedi thought, is a dead beat dad.

Another theory - Kylo spared Rey's life and stashed her on Jakku out of guilt. That's why he's like "WHAT GIRL?"

 

I've seen the movie three times now (shut up, I know), and each time I see more emotion in Luke's face at the end. He has so many looks going through his eyes at one moment - longing, heartbreak, hope, resignation, love. The fact that he turns around without her saying anything, doesn't ask who she is, looks at the saber with such recognition - I just can't understand how anyone doesn't think she's his daughter. That scene is so powerful and it doesn't work if she's some random person. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced.

 

(Who says Mark Hamill can't act? DUDE CAN ACT.)

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It never made sense to me why Vader and Palpatine would assume they were dead. They never see them again after their duels and Vader was the only one of the four that was injured. In Rebels after Vader discovers Ahsoka is part of the Rebellion, he talks to Palpatine and Palp mentions she may lead them to other lost Jedi, to which Vader adds, "such as Kenobi." Palpatine responds with, "perhaps, if he still lives." I always wonder why they would think he isn't?

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Bail Organa is one of the architects of the Rebel Alliance. He is also still a member of the Senate, making him a double agent, and he's the rule of Alderaan. AND he is the only person that knows Obi-Wan and Yoda are alive.

 

Jimmy Smits is an amazing actor when he has good material. Ewan McGregor is good enough that he was one of the only good things about the PT.

 

One movie, with the two of them would rule.

YES.

 

I really really really hope they get Jimmy Smits to cameo in Rogue One.

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I dig that!

 

If Rey is Luke's daughter I hope that Mara is right and something went wrong with her hiding and Luke didn't know where she was.

 

I don't like the idea of Luke-- who showed us compassion can win despite what the Jedi thought, is a dead beat dad.

Another theory - Kylo spared Rey's life and stashed her on Jakku out of guilt. That's why he's like "WHAT GIRL?"

 

That's an interesting theory. It could certainly make sense. He definitely seemed quite interested in who she was from the beginning.

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I dig that!

 

If Rey is Luke's daughter I hope that Mara is right and something went wrong with her hiding and Luke didn't know where she was.

 

I don't like the idea of Luke-- who showed us compassion can win despite what the Jedi thought, is a dead beat dad.

Another theory - Kylo spared Rey's life and stashed her on Jakku out of guilt. That's why he's like "WHAT GIRL?"

 

I've seen the movie three times now (shut up, I know), and each time I see more emotion in Luke's face at the end. He has so many looks going through his eyes at one moment - longing, heartbreak, hope, resignation, love. The fact that he turns around without her saying anything, doesn't ask who she is, looks at the saber with such recognition - I just can't understand how anyone doesn't think she's his daughter. That scene is so powerful and it doesn't work if she's some random person. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced.

 

(Who says Mark Hamill can't act? DUDE CAN ACT.)

 

 

Because you're SUPER projecting what you want it to be and you're a Luke uber fan girl. He reads pure emotion, it could be anything. No one can discern exactly what he's thinking beyond the fact that he has been alone and contemplative and now his past (be it his saber, a potential Jedi strong in the force, or his daughter) has caught up with him.

 

But the more I think about Rey's vision the more hard it is to deny her connection to Luke. After a few viewings can you name all the pieces of it? I know there's the corridor in Bespin, Vader's breathing, Luke and R2 by the fire, the Knights of Ren, and Rey watching her parents leave. Did I mis anything?

 

i agree with you that she is likely his daughter-- but I think your read of Luke's expression and R2 awakening cause Rey was near to be implausible. :)

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I'm projecting but you agree with me. Okay. :p

 

I was actually going back and forth the entire first viewing. I can't remember how many times I leaned over to my husband and said "I think she's Han and Leia's kid, no wait, she has to be Luke's, no wait, she's probably Kylo's sister, no wait...." You get the idea. I was actually looking for reasons why she was Han and Leia's kid, not Luke's, because I know my biases.

 

I do, however, agree that the read with Artoo was wrong because he woke up before Rey was inside. Also, I'm buying more and more into the idea that Luke didn't know Rey was alive. (So many parallels with Vader not knowing he has children, but with a much happier result).

 

I do, however, think Luke programmed Artoo to "wake up" at a certain moment.

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But the more I think about Rey's vision the more hard it is to deny her connection to Luke. After a few viewings can you name all the pieces of it? I know there's the corridor in Bespin, Vader's breathing, Luke and R2 by the fire, the Knights of Ren, and Rey watching her parents leave. Did I mis anything?

 

(Missed your question beforehand.)

 

I really need a clip of that scene just so I can pick out all the parts. I'm going again tonight and need to pay close attention to it. In addition to what you listed, there's a few lines from Yoda about the Force (it's energy surrounds us), and someone yelling what sounds like "BEN!", but I'm not sure exactly what it is.

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Other clues/similarities:

 

- The way she treats droids like people

- The way Han treats her is exactly like he treats Luke; he even offers her a job, just like he does with Luke before the Death Star

- Chewie takes to her right away, just like he did with Luke

- She has an X-wing pilot helmet that she wears, and an X-wing pilot doll in her AT-AT house

- That music cue after she picks up the lightsaber is the same music cue from Luke's call to action (after he returns to the homestead and sees Owen and Beru dead)

- Her first instinct is to deny the Force, which would make sense if she has a traumatic past

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