Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Novel Reveals How Rey Beat Kylo In The Force Awakens

Up to this point, we’ve seen the official novelization for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker desperately try to fill in the plot holes left by Abrams’ concluding entry in the saga, but who could’ve imagined that the book would also attempt to explain other enigmas in Disney’s messy Sequel Trilogy?

In terms of satisfying conclusions and deep resolutions for both the characters and the story, Episode IX was a lackluster fest of fan-service moments that used nostalgia to justify their presence in the movie. Add this to the fact that at its best, The Rise of Skywalker feels rushed and incomplete, leaving fans with more questions than answers, and you’ll have a finale that’s just as divisive as The Last Jedi. Consequently, fans were hoping that the novel, following in the footsteps of other adaptations of Star Wars movies, would explain some of the mysteries. And luckily, we did get the answer to a few of our burning questions, even if they actually made things worse.

Taking a trip down memory lane though, many people used to criticize The Force Awakens for writing Rey as a Mary Sue who could literally do anything. The Jakkuvian scavenger even managed to beat Kylo Ren, a former Jedi Padawan and dark-side practitioner, in a lightsaber duel despite zero training with the weapon. Now, it appears that the recent novelization has an answer to that mystery.

In one of the novel’s extra scenes, Kylo interrogates an incarcerated Chewie and blames him for his humiliating defeat at the hands of Rey. Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“I have not forgotten that you shot me,” Kylo said. That wound had resulted in a defeat at Rey’s hands. Had he been in top fighting form, the scavenger never would have gotten the best of him.

This refers to the scene when Kylo kills his father Ben Solo and a rage-filled Chewie shoots him with his Bowcaster. And it makes perfect sense, too. The weapon has a powerful blast and had it not been Kylo, who’s strong in the ways of the Force, the shot would’ve been absolutely fatal.

In any case, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now available on digital platforms for streaming, but if you’re keen on learning more about what happened in the movie, don’t miss out on the newly released novel.