A post by a Star Wars fan on Reddit recently blew up for pinpointing the single dumbest moment in the entire Skywalker Saga. And, surprisingly, it’s from J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker.
The last movie in the Skywalker Saga opened to a mixed reaction from critics and fans alike. This isn’t to say that there aren’t any redeeming qualities in Episode IX, though. The movie is visually spectacular and emotionally rich, the latter of which is hugely thanks to Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Princess Leia. But backtracking from essentially everything The Last Jedi set up, catering to fan requests, and cramming in as many fan-service moments as possible ultimately proved to result in a lackluster and unfulfilling experience.
But besides these obvious shortcomings, Abrams’ concluding entry suffers from several plot conveniences. For one thing, the entire Sith Wayfinder arc was a stretched-out MacGuffin that didn’t really pay off in any way in the movie’s third act. Not only that, but it also led to a particular scene on one of Endor’s moons that fans now consider to be one of the most nonsensical moments in all of Star Wars.
A user on Reddit recently pointed out the sequence where Rey uses the Sith dagger and the shape of the Death Star ruins to locate the Throne Room, writing: “Without a doubt, one of, if not the dumbest moments in all of SW.” The post, which you can check out here, has since gone viral, with more than 74,500 upvotes and 6,900 comments.
When you think about it, the scene doesn’t really make any sense whatsoever. How was Rey so conveniently on the exact spot to use the hidden lining of the dagger to find the Imperial Vault? How did the maker of the artifact know that the ruins would remain in perfect alignment with their design? And why did that twist have to be a thing in the first place? I mean, Rey could have just as easily found the room by herself.
These are the question that’ll certainly haunt hardcore Star Wars fans for many years to come, and perhaps one of the reasons why the last installment was so mediocre, if not downright underwhelming.