ST The Skywalker Family in Episodes VIII & IX

Lets talk about the Skywalker family. As of right now the only known living members of the Skywalker clan are Luke, Kylo Ren, and Leia. Leia and Luke are both older and beyond the age to have kids (Luke still could but if he hasn't by this point in the story it is extremely unlikely he would start now.) So, Kylo Ren is the only known member of the Skywalker family in his youth. Will Disney and Lucas Film allow the franchise family name to end with a man who killed his own father/is evil? The marketing/story implications of this are huge. What is/will be the fate of the Skywalker name. Is it simply cursed? Is there another member we don't know about? Maybe Rey? Could Kylo Ren redeem the name, or could he be forever tainting it?

 

I do hope this family saga ends at IX.

 

I wouldn't be happy if Kylo is the only new legacy character for the very reason you have mentioned. If they really want to continue the Skywalker story and it's certain themes of family conflict, the best way to do it is making Kylo's opponent another Skywalker. That's why I hope Rey is a Skywalker through Luke, cousin vs cousin is a conflict that, although it is not that popular than brother vs sister, could be very engaging if executed well and it could also create tension on another level between their parents Luke and Leia (so we would have, although more sidelined, still have a brother vs sister conflict there).

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Non-issue... Rey is a Skywalker through Luke, so there is no wondering if Disney will allow it to end with Ren.

 

I believe Rey is a Skywalker. Whether she is Luke or Leia's I'm not 100% sure, but I have no doubt she's related.

It would be horribly depressing if the Skywalker lineage ends with Kylo. And I'm also not of the camp that wants to see a redemption arc with his character - we've seen that before, and to me, he's gone too far for me to believe that he can be forgiven.

 

If Pablo Hidalgo hadn't debunked one of the only ways "Rey is a Skywalker" could work, I'd be inclined to agree with you, but it's looking less and less likely that Rey is a legacy character, unfortunately.

 

If you're referring to him debunking "Face me cousin" from the video game, that is not debunking anything...link or reference if this is some other comment he made?

 

Are you referring to the Top 10 questions/answers list Pablo posted? All he said there was that Kylo is 29/30 during TFA and Rey is 19. True he did question why someone would jump to the conclusion that Rey's abandonment on Jakku and Kylo's turn would be related but he never stated that they weren't and didn't clarify the timeline. The only answers he gave were what was stated in the Visual Dictionary as well.

 

The dynamics of the Skywalker family since ROTJ to TFA is unfolding, and that in itself is the prosthesis of the new trilogy and I am loving it!! Leia has Ben somehow gone to the Dark..Luke has(I believe) Rey to the light it seems...but we may see a role reversals here..good/bad...I have no idea what happened to Ben, to turn him, so that is something I am very much interested in!

 

btw.. anyone else think that Skywalkers should just never, ever have kids. Period.

Two fascist dark side tyrants from one family (and counting) ...

 

But also a Jedi Master, a General and founder of the New Republic, and a very promising Jedi-in-training

And of course a great mother in Shmi!

 

The Skywalkers have a great tendency to fall to the Darkside, but they also have a great tendency to save the galaxy.

 

... from themselves

 

The Destroyer of Worlds, the Redeemer, and the Bringer of Light: The Skywalker Family

I'm beginning to play around with a theory that each generation of Skywalkers, has a specific role/function for the Force. Even though that's probably a no-duh statement at this point, it's beginning to become pretty clear, in theory, what the roles are, and how they might be achieved. This is a working theory, based on just seeing the movie, so things will change, or probably not even happen.

In the OT, we started out by following Luke as he accepted his destiny, grew as a Jedi and finally overcame darkness. In the process, he redeems his father, who then destroys the Emperor. The OT left us wanting more; we dreamed of Luke going off and creating a New Jedi Order, as Yoda instructed him to do. We wondered what the Old Republic was like, and how his father was seduced to the dark side. We imagined many possible scenarios, books were written, entire expanded Universes were created trying to tell those tales.

As this Saga grew, we became introduced to new concepts; chosen ones, prophecy, balance. Some played out as we always theorized, and others were surprises. In the PT, we saw how the Republic was eaten from the inside out. How it became ruthlessly corrupt. How liberty died and then became a technological horror, a shell of it's former self, a dark marvel. We saw that just as darkness spread over a once great Republic, so too did our hero, Anakin Skywalker. He started out on the side of light, just as the Republic did. He slowly become more conflicted and corrupted, just as the Republic did. When Anakin finally fell to the dark side, and died, so too did the Republic. And when Anakin, was reborn as Darth Vader, a technological monster, so too did the Republic, in the form of the Empire.

The Destroyer of Worlds: Anakin Skywalker
Introduced in the movie was a loose prophecy of the chosen one, where by someone would balance the Force. It wasn't spelled out in crystal clear form, and the Jedi themselves probably misread it. Some believe that since both dark and light were reduced to two good guys and two bad guys, it was a literal balance of two sides. Even though that's an easy concept to lean towards, it wasn't the case. Balance simply meant harmony. The Jedi, at least when they weren't also corrupt and bound by strict dogma, were in balance with the Force. The Force, governed by both the light and the dark, both natural elements to the Universe, were in balance. The Jedi respected it, used it, but allowed the Force to use them. The Sith, however, used the Force selfishly, for their own pursuits, to cheat death, for unnatural means, and control the entire Galaxy. They were the imbalance. They were like a cancer, spreading and corrupting the healthy body. If you had cancer, and wanted to be healthy, to be in harmony, to be in balance, would you want your healthy body and the cancer to be equals, would you want the cancer to take up as much space and the healthy cells? No! In order to have a healthy balance, the cancer needs to be removed entirely. Anakin's fall to the dark side, or the Jedi Purge for that matter, probably wasn't part of the prophecy. But as with a cancer, if it grows enough, you're probably going to lose other healthy cells in the process. Anakin's part as the chosen one, as the one to bring balance to the Force, included destroying the world that came before. In the process of wiping out the Sith, the old world was cleaned as well.

The Redeemer: Young Luke Skywalker
The darkness that spread over the Galaxy in the form of the Empire, was, like Anakin himself, a stage of near death. Where the technology and use of the Force, kept two powerful Sith practitioners alive. Where it allowed them to continue the abuse the Force, and control the entire galaxy with an iron grip. The Republic that came before should have died, but like Anakin, it remained on life support. It was like limbo, where a soul is lost and wanders a barren landscape waiting for salvation. And salvation finally came, in the form of Luke Skywalker. He confronted his father, and the Emperor, and rejected the darkness that consumed both of them and was now being offered. The only person who could have redeemed Anakin, was Luke. Anakin, despite being seduced to the darkide started out as a good person. His need for making things right, combined with his fear of loss, of abandonment, of servitude, and loosing the one's he loved allowed him to become power hungry. But if Anakin Skywalker could create something as good and noble as Luke, then there must be some good left in him somewhere. Anakin found that last shred of good in him, hurled the Emperor into the Pit, and fulfilled his destiny as the one to balance the Force. The pendulum now swung ever so much back to the side of light. The fight between the sides of the Force, between the dark Emperor and Good Luke, was determined by the chosen one, the who to choose which side prospers.

As the OT wrapped up we were left with the words of Yoda, who instructed Luke to 'pass on what you have learned'. To many of us, that was a charter to build a new Jedi Order. But what if it wasn't really? Yoda simply instructed him to pass on what he learned. No where in that were the words, "build a new Jedi Order". Misread the prophecy could have been, by us.

As we see in the ST, so far, Luke may have tried to build a new Jedi Order, only for it to fail at the hands of new darksiders. The Luke that we see at the end of the movie, was a man who exiled himself out of failure, and out of reasons we probably don't have answers for yet. Some have theorized that he was a coward. That he gave up. That he was simply written poorly. That his character was ruined. But what if it's something more special.

The Gatekeeper: Old Luke Skywalker
We've heard some rumors describe Luke as both light and dark. That's the Luke we always knew. He was always able to balance both sides of that in himself. That's the Luke we see at the top of the Jedi Temple. He's been living in between, not only two sides of the Force, the light and the dark, but two sides of civilization; the past, and the future. Luke is now the only Jedi left (again) and besides his role as the Redeemer, he's also the Gatekeeper of the Force. He's the one who has to pass on the keys to the kingdom. He's the one who has to find the right individuals to carry on the legacy. His burden is to make sure they keys fall in the right hands.

Kylo Ren wants the keys. As a son of a Skywalker, he probably grew up idolizing his grandfather, good and bad. He probably thought that he would one day, inherit the wisdom passed on by Luke and would one day rule the Jedi Order. Perhaps Luke, however, realized early on that Kylo was a bad seed. We know that Leia and Han sent him to learn from Luke, because he was already conflicted. And perhaps Luke realized that the knowledge couldn't go to him. This could have enraged Kylo further to the dark side. He accepts what the Force is telling everyone, that he's not a Jedi. We're introduced to him as a frustrated, half trained force user, who is determined to find Luke, and is determined to prove to his new master, Snoke, that he is loyal to the dark side.

Luke's burden then becomes to make sure Kylo never gets the wisdom. And what is Kylo's favorite force power; mind raping. Perhaps his is why Luke sends Rey off and then hides in exile. Luke knows that if Kylo were to get ahold of Luke, the knowledge of the Jedi's would be in dark hands. And perhaps this is why Kylo is determined to find Luke Skywalker at all costs.

The Bringer of Light: Rey Skywalker
We have very little information on the next generation of Skywalkers, obviously. We know that Kylo is one half of the equation. We assume that Rey is the other half. I'm beginning to think that Luke isn't the one who builds a new Jedi Order. That thought will probably upset some fans, as they've always dreamed of ST Luke leading new Jedi's in to battle. Of him crafting a whole new order. But if Luke is the Redeemer, and the Gatekeeper, then his role is different than what we always expected. He'll pass on the cherished wisdom to a worthy individual, help her/him become a Jedi, and show her/him what needs to be built. The new Generation will then go on and create something new, something not corrupted by the old ways. You see, as good as Luke is, he still has that dark side in him. Perhaps it's a bit like Frodo and the Ring, from Lord of the Rings. There's a reason, why at the end of the books (spoilers, ha) that he has to go away, is that, Frodo, as good as he was, was affected by the darkness. He was changed by it. Maybe something similar happens with Luke. For a new dawn of Jedi, a new pure Force age to prosper, it has to come about from a clean source, new generation, a new force user; Rey Skywalker.