‘Star Wars’ Fan Theory Explores Why Rey Is So Powerful in the Sequel Trilogy
If you’ve ever watched the Star Wars sequel trilogy, you may wonder how Rey got so powerful so quickly.
You wouldn’t be alone. But upon closer examination, one fan theory suggests that Rey’s power actually fits in with the rest of Star Wars’ lore quite nicely.
The premise of the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy
In the original Star Wars trilogy, viewers follow the exploits of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa as they battle Darth Vader the forces of the evil Empire. Luke trains with Obi Wan Kenobi, then eventually Yoda, to become a Jedi Knight.
Luke confronts his father and, sensing good in him, is able to turn him to the light side from where he came. Vader destroys the evil Emperor, helping Luke and his friends defeat the Empire once and for all.
The sequel trilogy picks up 30 years later. The Empire is gone and in its place is the dastardly First Order led by Kylo Ren. Once known as Ben Solo, he is the son of Han and Leia and has turned to the dark side of the Force. Leia leads a resistance against his forces.
She enlists the help of Poe Dameron, a Resistance pilot, Finn, a former stormtrooper, and a powerful scavenger named Rey.
Who is Rey?
When we first encounter Rey, she’s looking for junk on the desert world of Jakku. She’s almost immediately shown to be an athletic and adept fighter, able to defend herself. She meets Finn’s droid, BB-8, and decides to help it find its master. From there, she’s pulled into the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order.
Rey and Finn link up with Han and his co-pilot Chewbacca, attempting to return BB-8 to the Resistance forces. They’re ultimately successful, though Ren takes Han’s life in the process. Rey then travels to Ahch-To to train with the legendary Jedi Master Luke, though he at first refuses her. Luke eventually comes to his senses and trains her in the ways of the Jedi before sacrificing himself.
In the third and final film of the sequel trilogy, Rey discovers she’s actually a descendant of Emperor Palpatine. She fights off her dark past, helps turn Kylo back to the light side, and they defeat Palpatine together. The First Order is defeated. Throughout the films, Rey shows herself to quickly acclimate to being Force-sensitive. It led some to question why a character could become so powerful so quickly. One fan theory has an idea.
The ‘Star Wars’ fan theory that explores why Rey is so powerful in the sequel trilogy
Star Wars fans took to Reddit to discuss why Rey was so powerful. While they discussed multiple ideas, many of the fans discussed the need for balance in the Force.
Rey’s power on the light side could have risen to match Kylo’s great power on the dark side. Rey and Kylo make up what is known as a “force dyad,” which is when two Force users connect to become even more powerful than the sum of their parts.
One fan summarized why Rey’s power makes sense in the greater context of the entire series of nine films:
“All three trilogies deal with a Force prodigy that excel at the Force with little to no training.
This is one of the main themes: That despite the canon lore that a Force user needs extensive training to become a powerful Force user, these nearly unique individuals just sort of fumble their way into become these powerful beings.
It makes no sense, it goes against what’s been established….and then the movies eventually explain why. It’s part of the mystery, I guess.”
Some fans online complained about Rey’s immediate power and competency in the ways of the Force, but is she really very different from Luke in the original trilogy or young Anakin the prequels? Each Star Wars trilogy is about a phenom. Just like Luke and Anakin before her, Rey happened upon her powers and then fine-tunes them as she becomes more acutely aware of what she could do. It aligns well with the rest of the films.
