Regardless of your personal feelings towards Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, you have to admit that it leaves out a lot of information which would have made the story easier to swallow. Whether extra clarification was present in early versions of the script or in the original cut of the movie, we don’t know, but the fact is that Episode IX has a few plotholes. In most cases, though, The Visual Dictionary tie-in book has helped plug them. But this is one example where the book only digs the hole deeper.
In TROS, it’s not clearly established where the Resistance’s latest base is, so there’s no real issue with the First Order failing to find them. However, The Visual Dictionary reveals a lot of new information about the planet which, in hindsight, makes Kylo Ren seem like a bit of an idiot for not realizing where his mother and the rest of enemies were hiding out.
First of all, their HQ is Ajan Kloss, an Outer Rim moon previously used as a safe retreat by the Royal Family of Alderaan during times of crisis. It was also where Luke trained Leia shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi (seen in flashback in Rise), until she gave up the life of a Jedi when her son Ben came along. Luke continued to use the location as a place to train his first Jedi students, though. Hence the training course that Rey uses towards the start of the movie.
This is all fine and dandy until you remember that Kylo was one of Luke’s first students and would have trained on Ajan Kloss himself. He might not be familiar with its history as a place of sanctuary, but he would remember the world from his own past. So, you’d think it’d at least be on his radar as a contender for where the Resistance could be holing themselves up.
The only explanation is that he would’ve worked out their location if his attention hadn’t been distracted by the return of Emperor Palpatine, leading him on a single-minded quest to hunt down Darth Sidious’ own secret hideout.
Tell us, though, what do you think of this new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker plothole? Have your say in the usual place down below.
