Why Didn’t Luke And Leia Tell Rey She Was A Palpatine?
So, Rey’s a Palpatine. After years of speculation, Daisy Ridley’s heroine turned out to be the granddaughter of the Emperor. We only just found out about it in Rise, but apparently both Luke and Leia have always sensed it about her. So says Luke’s Force ghost when Rey travels back to Ahch-To after discovering the truth.
If this is the case, then why didn’t either of them tell Rey this at any point over the past two films? Well, it’s vaguely conceivable that, if Leia really knew, she wouldn’t tell her to protect her from finding out this dark secret and hurting her. But what about the disillusioned Luke of The Last Jedi, who was so afraid of Rey’s raw power? Wouldn’t he have said anything? Perhaps he feared the revelation would simply push her to the dark side?
And let’s not forget Kylo Ren – if Luke and Leia sensed the truth through the Force, why didn’t he? Could it have something to do with the fact that he never knew Palpatine before Rise whereas Luke and Leia were familiar with him?
So Force-Healing Is A Thing Now?
Following The Last Jedi’s major additions to what the Force can do, The Rise of Skywalker adds another whopper (with a little help from the latest episode of The Mandalorian): Force-healing. The concept is introduced when Rey heals a creature on Pasaana, with it coming into play more significantly when she saves Kylo Ren on the Death Star.
This helps Ren redeem himself and ultimately he gives his life to resurrect Rey with the same power. So, Force-healing doesn’t just work on injuries but can also, in extreme circumstances, be used to bring someone back from death.
You might think this sounds like a Sith-y kind of ability, harking back to Darth Plagueis. However, there is one key difference. Whereas the Emperor needs Rey to give into her anger and murder him so he can be reborn, Force-healing is derived from love and sacrifice. Looks like Palpy was wrong about the greater power of the Dark Side, after all.
