Stories & Musings

That’s probably true.

Episodes 1-3: Dark Side wins

Episodes 4-6: Light Side wins

Episodes 7-9:… Balance? 🤔

I hope so. They did say the Skywalker story was coming to a conclusion with the current trilogy. We know two things:

1) This family is dramatic af (which is okay I mean it’s a space opera; actions are usually hyperbolic)

2) The dynamic between light and dark is heavily intertwined with their story.

The light side was dominant at the time before Anakin’s fall. The Sith were thought to be extinct after all. But we all know what happens when one side is more dominant? The other side tries to meet it.

Snoke did say:” Darkness rises and light to meet it.”

Then Anakin falls. Dark side wins for the time being. Then the Light gets back in the game through Luke who helps redeem his father and tries to establish a new Jedi order. Light side wins. What happens next? Snoke and the creation Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo, the last of the Skywalker line. Dark side wins again. Now Rey, embodiment of the light comes to save the day. But will light win? Or will there finally be balance?

It’s an eternal war. Empire vs Rebellion then First Order vs Resistance. Palpatine then Snoke. Death Star then Starkiller Base. When TFA came out there were complaints about borrowing too much from the past trilogies. I think it’s intentional. I think the story is trying to say that in order to stop all this, there’s got to be ~~balance~~.

The Sith are pretty bad, but it’s a mistake to think that the Jedi are ultimately good. They’re the extremes of a mean: balance. Past all the force lightning and evil laughs and speeches about ruling the galaxy, the Sith are, at the core of their philosophy, liberal, but extremely so. They see the force as this power that should be used and maximized. Jedi on the other hand are conservative folk. Fun fact: they can use lightning but choose not to since it is too powerful. Now they may look like the good guys of the story, but think about it. They’re too restricting. Even Luke in TLJ pointed out they weren’t perfect since they were the ones who let Palpatine rise to power. Anakin had no one to turn to except the dark side when he simply wanted to save the woman he loved. Luke tried to establish an order with the same conservative tenets, only to fail again. If either side wins, the war will go on as always. History repeats when we don’t learn from it.

So the question is: will the new generation (Rey, Kylo, Finn, Poe, Rose) learn from this? I hope they will. TFA and TLJ, as I’ve said made several callbacks to the trilogies (Starkiller base, a fallen skywalker, a new jedi, the millennium falcon, luke training rey like how yoda trained luke, rey defying luke to save Ben like how luke defied yoda to save his friends).

Then we get the throne room scene of TLJ, my favorite scene in the movie. Here we have another disfigured evil emperor, his fallen jedi right hand and a young jedi hopeful. If you think about it, it’s basically the climax of Return of the Jedi. But the interesting part is, this is not only a callback to ROTJ, this is where the new trilogy explicity breaks off from the other six episodes. How? When Rey and Ben fight alongside each other. There is harmony, synchronization. There is balance. That fight showed us what could be achieved through balance. That the “true enemy” will be struck down. They’re Yin and Yang. Ben still feels the pull to the light, and Rey wants to understand the dark. (I mean they did say she’d… flirt with it *wink*)

But Rey or Ben don’t know that yet. They don’t know that they’re “two halves of one protagonist”. They’re stuck in the center of their own narratives, where there can’t be balance. Where Rey joins the First Order, where Ben joins the Resistance. Neither of that is going to happen.

But their visions are true. They will stand together, just not in a way they’d expect. At least they have confronted their pasts at some point. Rey knows she is no one and Ben chose not to kill Leia. All that is left is to build a better future than their parents built. They can have peace and they can be with each other (platonic or romantic though there are several cues for the latter) if there is balance.

Like Rose said, “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.”

TLJ wasn’t perfect but it understood the characters. It gave us a profound understanding of Rey and Ben’s struggles. Rey was a strong capable Jedi woman who realistically had desires. Yes. A female character can be strong and still fall in love. We needed that true depiction of a heroine. We needed a girl from nowhere. A girl who was no one but a hero who could relate to everyone.

And Ben was a vulnerable, conflicted character who suffered from manipulation by Snalpatine hiding behind the fearsome mask of the darkside warrior Kylo Ren. The perfect example of a male character suppressing his roiling emotions in favor of a hardened exterior when he shouldn’t. When he needs help. When we needed a character to show how accountability, healing and atonement can happen while someone was alive.

And they were a dyad. They were one. They were balance. So I don’t understand why the ending was so lopsided. When Palpatine stole their power they should have shown that their bond was still strong enough to beat him together. The force ghosts should have spoken to them both. Imagine the spectacle, the action, the excitement of having the last Skywalker strike down the demon who has plagued his family alongside his lady love. Imagine Ben healing Rey like Anakin could not heal Padme and but getting through it because of Leia, who was the last of her trio, the last to sacrifice in the name of a living Ben Solo.

So I rewatched Star Wars Rebels “World Between Worlds” episode (Season 4; Episode 13 - 2018), because of course I would. Ezra Bridger hears several voices there (when he’s on a mission to get the fallen Ahsoka Tano): Yoda, Obi-Wan, etc. This place knows no time and space: it’s all timelines at the same time, basically. He hears Maz Kanata saying to Rey: “I see your eyes. You already know the truth.” and “The belonging you seek it’s not behind you, it is ahead”. And Ben saying “Help me”. And then Rey says “We’ll see each other again”. Ben again “grandfather”. And Rey again: “I believe that.”

Ezra was able to access the WBW through a portal on the Jedi Temple of Lothal, in the Outer Rim. This temple is hidden beneath the planet’s surface and its entrance can only be exposed by the use of the Force. Rey’s future path as a Jedi Temple Guard and Jedi Sentinel might lead her to this temple and of course she can find her way in and get into World Between Worlds and get Ben back.

Ben is not dead

That’s why Rey was completely whatever at the end

Her and Ben made a plan to meet after Rey went back with the resistance and made sure all of her friends were okay.

That way the whole galaxy would just assume the first order was destroyed and their leader is dead.

Ben was off picking up supplies while Rey got them all set up at their new home.

Which is why Rey only saw Luke and Leia’s force ghosts..

Rey and Ben are literally of one soul, if one dies, the other dies....

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 principle 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 have 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 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 Divine Comedy (purgatorio) 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 Ben’s soul will be reunited with its other half in the land of the living and then they will 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 absolute 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 living force will once again be imbalanced, this time in the light. 

Artwork source

If half of the dyad is remaining with the living force, the other half also 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 living force once more not by coming to the living world as one being but as two halves, whose coming together will achieve the balance (Keep in mind though, the foundational darkness in the Prime Jedi is not the same as the perverted darkness created by Palpatine). 

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 cosmic 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. As soon as Kylo landed on Jakku, their 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 (which has curiously been on Jakku, waiting for her until the awakening), 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 lightsaber 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 from 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 Ben being drawn to the light. 

This dynamic is drawn from Taoism (Yin and Yang), Buddhism, and Gnosticism. And the imagery littered throughout the sequel trilogy (as well as the star wars universe itself) 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. The more they persist with trying to create this unnatural separation, the stronger the reaction becomes every time the separation fails. Therefore, when “the bond” reopens at the beginning of TROS, we see that 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 light due to being separated from her soulmate. 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 finally see at the end of the film). We also 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 couldn’t have defeated Palpatine without help, 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 must darkness to meet it in order to achieve balance. 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 timeline, which is how time is experienced on the physical plane. 

In Rebels, when he enters the WBW, Ezra sees Ashoka battling Darth Vader (which occurs in the past on the the linear timeline of the physical plane). In order to save Ashoka from her impending death at the final blow by Darth Vader, he pulls her through a doorway/portal which brings them both back to the physical plane, with Ashoka alive again. 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 by another 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 (a being of only three dimensions) 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 another 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, the title was not 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” together 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 in this life cycle 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. 

“No one’s ever really gone.” - Luke in TLJ referring to Ben  This is another multi-meaning foreshadow that was on the surface referring to Ben’s return from the persona of Kylo Ren but is also a foreshadow about Ben not really being “gone” at the end of TROS. 

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 

GIF source 

1. His soul merged with Rey’s because they are a dyad. He now “lives on” in Rey, and this may explain why she did not mourn his death. It would also explain why he wasn’t shown as a force ghost at the end, because his sould is not one with the force, but one with Rey. (This is my least favorite explaination,but the one I feel like is the most plausible.)

2. He became one with the force. His body disappeared the same way Luke and Leia’s did. Some people are wondering how he would be able to do this, as in canon it takes training and study. I think Leia waiting to disappear until Ben died might indicate that she used her force spirit to take Ben’s with her. However, why is it that Ben did not appear as a force ghost as the end? Probably bad storytelling, but...

3. Ben is not one with the force in the traditional sense. He is somewhere else, such as the world between worlds or some other netherworld purgatory, and has the ability to come back. This could also explain Leia’s late disappearance, because she may have used her life force to somehow save Ben and guide him to one of these places.