I watched the final part of the Skywalker saga, and overall liked it. It had plenty of elements to invoke nostalgia and make me feel emotionally comfortable. However, I think the ending could have been better, but don’t we all feel so about most of the fantasy series out there? Without caring about the wider Star Wars epic and limiting myself to just the Skywalker sage, here is how I would have liked the series to end.
I would advise you to not read the rest of the post until you have watched the final movie of the Skywalker saga.
Return of the Jedi ended with Luke Skywalker defeating Emperor Palpatine with the help of Anakin. We all thought that the dark side had been defeated and balance restored to the Force. Luke went on to become a legend. We were all happy, content, satisfied. But Disney had other plans. It decided that the story wasn’t done yet and brought back Emperor Palpatine!
From the moment I read about the Palpatine rumours, I had been wondering about the reason for doing so. What could be gained by undoing Luke’s achievement? Why did the story need a do-over? Balance of the force?
The Last Jedi laid bare the fear and failings of Luke Skywalker. Clearly, the balance hadn’t been restored when Luke defeated Palpatine. Snoke emphasizes this — darkness rises, and light to meet it. When Palpatine and Sith lords became too powerful, Anakin rose up to balance them. Darth Vader had Luke. Later when Luke gained power, Snoke and Kylo Ren provided the balance in the force. So how does Rise of Skywalker balance the force in the end? I don’t think it does. A recurring theme throughout the saga has been that a single person has failed to balance the force. This is where I thought the Skywalker saga could have been revolutionary and taken a bold step!
In the final trilogy we are introduced to Kylo Ren and Kenlo Rey. They are both powerful, but have faults. Doubts. Uncertain. Their faults rooting them to the other side of the force, keeping them grounded. Together, they are balanced.
This is how I wish the saga had ended. Where a single Jedi always failed, a pair of masters — one of dark side and another of the light — could have been successful in balancing the force. If only Rey had accepted Ren’s repeated invitation to join him, although coming from nefarious angle it could have been a winning gambit. This final world would also have achieved Luke’s desire — the Jedi must end.