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kaybohls · 4 years

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Why the ending of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ hurts you so damn much right now

In a post from a few days ago, I wrote about how a big part of why Ben Solo’s death is causing intense grief and sadness is the success of the film’s depiction of the Reylo dynamic and Ben’s progression from selfish to selfless love. But there’s more to the ending of the film than Ben’s death, and I would say the scenes that follow and how they are framed carry the bulk of the responsibility for the emotional devastation people are experiencing right now.

Ultimately, what The Rise of Skywalker lacks in its ending is a sense of catharsis - since we see no meaningful emotional resolution for Rey, the viewer is robbed of any real sense of peace or closure. We witness Rey’s stunned shock in the moment that Ben slips away from her, but the emphasis is then immediately shifted to Leia (we are to understand that she only allows herself to fade when her son passes on, with mother and child leaving the world together).

It’s possible to understand the reasoning behind this (by having Leia’s spirit hold on for so long, suggesting she desperately wanted to be there to guide him into the afterlife, they are clearly attempting to sell the viewer on the extent of her devotion to her child), but it doesn’t work due to the sad reality that the sequel trilogy simply never built up the relationship between Leia and Ben. It’s well known that the original vision for Episode IX was that it would be Leia’s movie, presumably giving her a critical role in her son’s redemption, and it’s clear that J.J. attempted to honour this intention with The Rise of Skywalker despite having very limited footage to work with. In a world where Carrie Fisher were still with us and able to act face-to-face with Adam Driver, convincing us of Leia’s abiding love for her only child and her renewed investment in his redemption (a necessary development, given her despondency regarding Ben in The Last Jedi), the juxtaposition of her ‘passing on’ with Ben’s would have had a much greater emotional impact.

But as it stands, Ben Solo’s last meaningful human connection, as established over three films, is with Rey - and we never really get to see her mourn for him. This not only makes Ben’s fate sting that much more - it also shortchanges Rey herself. Ben’s joy and relief during as he held Rey in his arms were matched only by her jubilation at finally finding herself able to squeeze the hand of Ben Solo, the man she had loved and seen even when he was at his darkest as Kylo Ren. While Ben at least got to die knowing he had saved the life of the woman he loved, secure in the knowledge that she loved him as he loved her, Rey is left bewildered and alone in the crumbled ruins of her grandfather’s sin. She has nothing left to hold on to other than her almost-lover’s clothes.

When Rey returns to the Resistance base amidst the celebrations, we see her looking utterly grief-stricken as she embraces Finn and Poe. But the shots are fleeting and ambiguous, open to the viewer’s projections due to the chronic indecision that cripples the whole film - who are Finn and Poe crying for? Leia, who they had previously mourned? Snap, who only Poe had any sort of tangible relationship with? And what about Rey? Is she crying for Leia? Ben? Her own parents, now she knows they actually cared for her? All of the aforementioned? This sort of ambiguity is great when we can expect a continuation, an answer, but this is meant to be an ending. In view of that, it’s a serious problem that we don’t even know who our leads are expressing sadness for.

This issue is only compounded by the final sequence on Tatooine. Rey travels there with BB-8 alone, undercutting the sense that she has found her family and belonging with the Resistance - she chooses to travel alone with a droid, which is a particularly striking decision when it’s remembered that Rey is shown repeatedly identifying with the suffering of droids throughout the film (specifically, she recognises how D-0 is skittish because he has been treated badly by a past owner). The decisions made surrounding Rey on Tatooine recall how she was in the earliest sequences of The Force Awakens, sledding down slops and trekking the desert with BB-8 - it really feels like she has regressed, becoming a child again instead of achieving maturity. This impression is heightened by the characters she is shown to interact with across the sequence - specifically an extremely rude old woman, who demands her name, and the benevolent Force ghosts of Luke and Leia, who gaze upon her contentedly from a distance.

All of this creates dissonance when viewed in relation to the culmination of Rey’s dynamic with Ben, since we are seeing a young woman who has had her first great love and counterpart in the Force snatched away from her having that massive loss completely erased. Instead of giving her space to grieve and recover, Rey’s final scene is used to serve the legacies of the heroes of a previous generation. When she assumes the Skywalker name, she is also assuming responsibility for the Skywalker legacy. The Skywalker legacy is also Ben’s legacy, but the film has no apparent interest in reminding the viewer of that - there is no allusion to Ben, let alone an appearance by his Force ghost. It’s a bizarre and baffling decision because it’s essentially J.J. Abrams undermining the mythic power of his own characters. Their victories and losses are brushed into the margins of the film, sacrificed at the altar of phoney nostalgia.

I wish J.J. had made different decisions and quite simply made a different film, but he did not. However, I am optimistic. I am already seeing fans, particularly female fans, recognise the omissions and gaps in the narrative, taking steps to fill them with their writing, art and discussion. Transformative fandom has rarely been more critical than it is right now, and I’m grateful to everyone that is, to mangle a quote from J.J. Abrams’ own movie, beginning to make things right again.

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kaybohls · 4 years

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Ben Solo’s Resurrection

Resurrection themes have always surrounded Kylo/Ben’s journey, and I think that his journey is not at an end. The resurrection theme is still in play and is implied in multiple ways throughout the trilogy.

The Cross-guard Saber

There has certainly been heavy symbolism in the design of Kylo’s saber. Cross-guard swords were designed in the Medieval times to protect the wielder’s hand. With Kylo this was inverted. The cross-guard saber, unlike the blade, offers no protection and only increases the danger of self-harm, and the self-harm and self-destruction has been an ongoing motif for Kylo. In some ways, the cross-guard was a sign of knights/chivalry. In this case, it was an indication of his chivalry and protection, particularly towards the lady (Rey). Now, for the purpose of this meta, the final theme of the cross-guard carries the most weight: the religious themes of the fall of Lucifer and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Initially Kylo represents the fallen angel who was cast out of heaven (The Jedi Temple) by God the father (Luke) and the padawans (fellow angels). At the end of the trilogy, Kylo transforms back into Ben to serve as a Christ-like figure. Palpatine throws him into the pit (the descent to hell and the harrowing of hell) and he ascends again, this time as Ben Solo again to save Rey (sacrificing himself for the sins of his predecessors). Now that he has ascended from the Earth plane and entered purgatory (world between worlds) we start to see Dante’s Inferno themes. The final resurrection of Ben Solo would be a remerge of the soul, and half of it lives in Rey. The sins are being resolved/absolved in purgatory (world between worlds) and will be reunited with its other half in the land of the living and then finally depart the earthly plane together, as a whole, and ascend back to heaven.

The Dyad, the Cosmic Force, and the Living Force

The word “Dyad,” which is derived from the Greek dyás (δυάς) meaning “pair,” is the most basic human social group. The dyad is the most foundational human relationship, whether it’s husband and wife, parent and child, or teacher and student. No social group could come to exist without this foundational connection.

The Dyad also represents the duality of nature. Light and dark, black and white, night and day, masculine and feminine. One may not exist without the other, for one only exists at the contrasting juxtaposition of the other, and vice versa. There would be no light if the darkness didn’t exist as the contrast. There would be no masculine were there no feminine to provide the contrast, etc. A dyad in the force carries the same principle; there is no balance or even the existence of the duality of the light and the dark if the two parts of the whole aren’t in coexistence. And currently, the force isn’t in balance due to half of the dyad not existing with the living force. Unless the dyad is made complete again, the force will once again be imbalanced, this time in the light.

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If half of the dyad is remaining with the living force, the other half cannot become one with the cosmic force. It will remain tethered in limbo/purgatory until reunited with its other half. Ben cannot truly pass on to become one with the force without his counterpart Rey.

A Dyad is one being split into two corporal forms. Ben and Rey are together are “the original Dyad” or otherwise known as “The Prime Jedi.” Several pieces of imagery in the movies & artwork as well as references in written cannon materials have indicated that the Prime Jedi is reincarnated once more (as Ben . and Rey) and that it has chosen to bring balance to the force once more not by coming to the living world as one being but as two halves, whose coming together will achieve the balance.

A blatant reference to this ancient soul being reincarnated once more is made by Han Solo in The Last Shot: “Little Ben looked up groggily, those dark eyes settling on Han, studying him. Han had no idea how a two-year-old could have such ancient eyes. It was as if Ben had been waiting around for a millennium to show up at just this moment in history.”

The directors have also alluded to this duality in Rey and Ben:

Two sides of the same coin

Two halves of the protagonist

It isn’t until Ben Solo is ten years old and begins his Jedi training that the other half of The Prime Jedi is reincarnated in Rey. That Rey’s birth coincided with Ben Solo’s Jedi training is a form of “activation” by the force. Now that the journey to finding balance has begun with Ben Solo’s training, the other half of the soul is born to complete the activation. The activation is however separate from the “awakening,” which doesn’t happen until “The Force Awakens.”

The Awakening does not occur until the souls come into close proximity with one another, which happens when Ben/Kylo lands on Jakku (for the first time in his life). This “Awakening” is preplanned by the soul to happen at a particular point in time before it chooses to be reincarnated once more. As soon as Kylo landed on Jakku, the fate & destiny are set in motion by Rey meeting BB-8, which subsequently leads to meeting Finn. Due to being affiliated with these two Rey has to board the millennium falcon, leading to a meeting with Han Solo, which brings her closer to her other half, Han Solo’s son Ben Solo. From following Han to Takodana, Rey finally meets her other half, a meeting that was destined to occur at that point in time. And also experiences her “call to serve” with the liightsaber vision.

From the very beginning, cannon materials heavily imply that these two recognize each other and that they are drawn to each other.

She had seen this man before…in a daydream. Or a nightmare.

She found herself inexplicably drawn to…to….“YOU”

The girl I’ve heard so much about

Don’t be afraid, I feel it too

These aren’t actual memories or recognition of each other in this incarnated lifetime. It is from cellular memory on the spiritual plane. Half of the soul recognizes the other half and has memories of the other half that transcend this life cycle.

Since the activation occurred on Jakku, the two halves of the soul have been subconsciously and through the cosmic force seeking to be united with each other. Like magnets drawn to each other, they seek completion. The merge of the halves officially occurs when Rey and Ben enter each other’s minds. Once the merge occurs it can no longer be undone. Once the merge begins, it keeps strengthening to bring the halves to each other, which we see in their ever-strengthening bond. The merge transcends space time, eventually strengthening to the point that the halves can enter each other’s physical surroundings.

In TLJ, we see the soul beginning to “know” the other half once more. We see Rey being drawn to the darkness and being drawn to the light.

This dynamic is drawn from Taosim, Buddhism, and Gnosticism. And the imagery littered throughout the sequel trilogy is drawn heavily from those belief systems. We see continuous parallel shots with Rey and Ben to represent this duality. Both are presented in contrasting surroundings that represent the duality of the masculine and the feminine. In many shots half of their figure is bathed in light and the other half is bathed in the darkness. This is the process of coming to “know” the memory of the other half of the soul following the merge.

At the end of TLJ we see the halves creating an unnatural separation between themselves, but this is folly because the separation is not sustainable and is not one that can be created through the living force, for the soul is merged through the cosmic force. Naturally, when “the bond” reopens at the beginning of TROS, it is stronger than ever. Objects can be transferred through the bond and can be activated on purpose by each other, which we see Ben doing several times in the beginning to try to reach Rey.

This connection is as spiritual as it is romantic. As Jason Fry explained, romance is merely the analog we have in the living force for this deep spiritual bond. In the living world, the halves of the soul finds unity through romantic coupling, which is the basis for the concept of “soulmates” or “twin flames.” This is a form of bond that cannot be broken and was destined to occur due to the soul being split in order to seek completion in the physical plane. One cannot live and be happy without the other, and we see this frustration/anger in Ben at the beginning of the movie. He has become increasingly angry and thrown-off balance into darkness once more due to being separated from his soulmate. We see that Rey is also thrown off balance and regressed completely into the darkness due to being separated from her souulmate. Both are incredibly frustrated at this outcome and are struggling to connect with the cosmic force due to this separation. We see this struggle in Rey from the beginning when she’s meditating and try to become one with the other Jedi but cannot achieve this until she is completely merged once more with the other half of the soul (which we see at the end of the film). We see Ben struggling to reach his grandfather and other predecessors on several occasions throughout the trilogy, and although we do not see it on screen, much like Rey, Ben could not have found the strength to climb out of the pit without assistance from the cosmic force. The living force between them had dwindled (equally) and the strength of the cosmic force was necessary for Ben to climb, reach the other half, and transfer the remaining living force to revive Rey.

Now this transfer of the living force is NOT a transfer of the other half of the soul into one being. The living force is separate from the cosmic force. The soul exists in the cosmic force. Without enough living force to sustain the cosmic force of the soul in the physical plane, Ben’s soul is no longer existing in the physical plane. However, as long as the other half of the soul continues to exist in the physical plane, becoming one with the cosmic force is not a possibility for the soul that has been split in half. This is why we do not see a force ghost for Ben. He cannot become one with the cosmic force as half a soul. Only the two of them together can become one with the cosmic force. Therefore, Ben’s half of the soul is being tethered in the in-between world (the astral plane, limbo, purgatory, world between worlds, etc) by Rey’s half of the soul remaining in the physical plane, unable to become one with the cosmic force or the living force due to the living force being diminished for half of the soul. The living force must be replenished in the other half of the soul during its stay in the in-between world, remerge once more with the other half on the physical plane, and depart TOGETHER at the end of the soul’s life cycle in order to become one with the cosmic force.

We even hear Palpatine allude to this: “Die together!”

Halves cannot die separately. One cannot depart while the other is still alive. Additionally, the balance is once again thrown off in the living force by only half of this great cosmic force existing on the plane. Palpatine remarked that Ben and Rey’s bond is strong enough that it is a form of life in itself. By only Rey existing in the physical plane, the scale is once again tipped, this time to the light side. In order for balance to attained fully, Ben Solo must be resurrected and reunited with his other half, Rey.

We only see Rey rising in TROS. We do not see Ben rising. “Darkness rises and light to meet it.” Conversely, if the light must rise, so should darkness to meet it in order to achieve balance. If one must rise, so should the other. Therefore, Ben must “rise” once more in the physical plane for the cycle to be complete.

The World Between Worlds

In Rebels, we are introduced to the concept of “The World Between Worlds.” Although not infinite like the cosmic force, the WBW is not constrained by the laws of space time. On this plane, anything that has ever happened or will ever happen exists simultaneously, not in a linear fashion such as the time experienced on the physical plane.

In Rebels, Ezra sees Ashoka battling Darth Vader (which occurs in the past on the physical plane). In order to save Ashoka from her impending death at the finally blow by Darth Vader, he pulls her through a doorway which brings them both back to the physical plane. To clarify, the souls who have already become one with the cosmic force cannot be returned to the physical plane and the living force unless they choose to reincarnate. Only the souls who are trapped in the in-between world may be brought back to the living world. Those who are one with the cosmic force can return to influence the physical plane as “force ghosts” but those who are in the in between world cannot do this. They are essentially trapped in the world between worlds until they are either merged with the cosmic force or “resurrected” in the living force. We do not see a force ghost for Ben, which indicates that he is not one with the cosmic force and is currently trapped/tethered in the world between worlds.

Another movie that explores this higher dimension in depth is Interstellar. Cooper is drawn into a “world between worlds” or a dimension higher than the physical plane through a black hole, in which time does not exist in a linear fashion. All of the moments that have happened or will ever happen in his daughter Murph’s bedroom are organized into a tesseract system by beings of higher dimensions so that cooper may influence these events and send Murph messages through manipulating gravity within her bedroom.

Other hints or foreshadowing of Ben not being one with the cosmic force after he vanishes

“My son is alive.” -Han Solo in TFA and TROS This quote in particular is emphasized throughout the trilogy. While it means that Ben Solo can still be redeemed, like many statements in the sequel trilogy, it has a double meaning. This is also a foreshadow that Ben is still “alive.”

“Skywalker lives! As long as he does, HOPE lives in the galaxy!” - Snoke in TLJ Many of us have noted how this “Snoke-ism” was referring to Ben, particularly because he pops into the frame as soon as the word “hope” is said. This is also a multi-meaning foreshadow. Hope cannot exist in the galaxy if Ben isn’t in the living world, reunited with his half.

“The last Skywalker.” - Palpatine referring to Ben in The Rise of Skywalker Although we are all rightfully disgruntled about Rey taking on the Skywalker name, I do not believe that the title was meant to refer to her. Particularly when paired with Palpatine’s description of Ben as the last Skywalker, the title of the movie is rather curious. Much like many other statements, it is likely a foreshadowing of Ben’s eventual rise to complete the “Skywalker” with Rey.

“The Story Lives Forever.” - TROS trailer over a shot of Ben and Rey Another foreshadowing that although the saga is ending, the characters that the trilogy is about does not end. This phrase was not put over a shot of Rey, but over both Ben AND Rey, which can only imply that their story won’t be over at the conclusion of the saga.

“We’re not done yet.” - Kylo to Rey in TFA A really early foreshadow that Ben and Rey aren’t “done yet.” The story is not “done yet.”

“I’ll come back for you sweetheart, I promise.” - Rey’s dream in TFA novel Many of us have picked up on the similarity to Han Solo in that term of endearment. It is believed in many cultures and belief systems that we enter higher dimensions in our dreams. Some claim of accessing the astral plane through their dreams. In this dream when Rey hears this, she goes looking for the person who said it and comes face to face with Ben. Ben only exists in her future so this was Rey being attuned to a dimension not limited by space time. And we know that even though Rey appears to be upset about Ben’s “passing,” she doesn’t seem distraught, which she absolutely would be if she started sobbing so strongly when she stabbed him on the death star. This statement was said by Ben to Rey after they kissed through their bond before he leaves her. This is why Rey is not distraught. She knows that this parting is not their end due to this assurance.

The multiple instances of healing and resurrection we see in TROS Many are healed and resurrected both physically and spiritually: The creature, Ben Solo, Palpatine, and Rey. All of this resurrection foreshadows that the last Skywalker can also be resurrected.

In any case, “Hope is like the Sun. If you only believe in it when you see it, you’ll never make it through the night.” -General Leia Organa

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