STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Spoilers - 15 Unanswered Questions We Have After Watching The Movie

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Spoilers - 15 Unanswered Questions We Have After Watching The Movie

Now that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has finally arrived in theaters, we're taking a look at the unanswered questions the movie has left us with that we're pretty sure must be driving you mad as well!

Feature Opinion
By JoshWilding - Dec 20, 2019 09:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been released to a mixed response and it's fair to say that this is a movie fans are going to spend a very long time talking about (especially as some love it, while many others hate it). Regardless of which category you fall into, though, it's fair to say that this is another Star Wars adventure which leaves us with a ton of lingering, unanswered questions.

Now, we're taking a look at some of the biggest and we think you guys will agree that it was crazy for this finale to the long-running Skywalker Saga to not shed any light on these major plot holes!

From the secrets surrounding Emperor Palpatine to some glaring moments which just don't add up, The Rise of Skywalker is either setting the stage for another trilogy or is just terribly written. Either way, we do our best to address these and make sense out of at least a few of them.

So, to check out this spoiler breakdown, all you need to do is hit the "View List" button below!
 

How Did The Emperor Survive?

Palpatine


While The Emperor tells Kylo Ren that he's experienced death, we never learn how he made his return, why now was the right time for him to do so, or what came next after he was thrown into that abyss by Darth Vader. Was he left in a weakened state (which is why Luke and Leia seemingly never senses his presence) or did his followers not resurrect him until many years later?

These are just some of the questions The Rise of Skywalker fails to answer and while we never knew his backstory during the original trilogy, this was all crucial information which should have been shared with moviegoers. With any luck, answers will come somewhere down the line whether it's in a TV show, another movie, or, more likely, an upcoming comic book or novel.
 

Who - Or What? - Was Snoke?

Snoke


The Rise of Skywalker makes it clear that The Emperor has been impersonating both Darth Vader and Supreme Leader Snoke in order to influence Ben Solo's turn to the Dark Side. However, while we see clones of the latter on Exogol, we never find out whether Snoke was someone Palpatine killed and cloned or if he was just a shell he could use as a puppet through the Force.

Chances are that he was a failed clone and that the reason he was so deformed was because the shell simply couldn't contain The Emperor's spirit for particularly long. Then again, the new Kylo Ren comic book claims that Luke Skywalker scarred Snoke, so perhaps the scars were deliberate to sell the lie?
 

Is Palpatine A Clone?

Palpa


Until he uses Rey and Kylo Ren's bond to rejuvenate himself, The Emperor appears corpse-like and we see that his fingers have burned away. The question is, is this the original Palpatine whose hands were destroyed when Darth Vader absorbed his lightning blasts or another failed clone?

As we mentioned at the start of this post, we don't know, but a particularly creepy explanation is that The Emperor used the Force to somehow inhabit his own dead body in this movie. 
 

Where Did The Ship Carrying Chewbacca Come From?

Chewie


The movie fools us into believing that Chewbacca dies thanks to Rey unwittingly unleashing lightning from her fingertips (just like her grandfather). However, it's later revealed that the Wookie was put on an entirely different ship...which neither we nor the movie's characters never get to see!

Honestly, it feels like Chewie really may have died in an earlier version of the movie but in order to avoid a similar level of backlash to what The Last Jedi received, reshoots changed that. 
 

How And When Did Zorri Bliss Escape Kijimi?

Bliss


The enigmatic Zorri Bliss has only a few minutes of screentime in The Rise of Slywalker and just as we're beginning to enjoy spending time with her, she's gone. Later, the planet she remains trapped on after helping Poe Dameron and his friends escape is destroyed by Palpatine's "Final Order."

As a result, we have absolutely no idea how she managed to escape the planet (just in time) or why she hadn't just left when Poe got there! Perhaps she had a change of heart and wanted to follow him and join the Resistance? That seems doubtful based on her initial attitude, though! 
 

Why Would General Hux Betray The First Order?

Hux


It's no secret that General Hux despises Kylo Ren but what did he think that betraying The First Order would achieve beyond weakening them and giving the Resistance the advantage? He says himself that he doesn't care if they win so it's not as if he's had a change of heart in this movie!

Throw in the fact that Ren is far too powerful to overthrow and it's fair to say that his decision to betray The First Order makes almost no sense, especially when he justifies his actions as being a way of ensuring his Supreme Leader loses. Gunning him down makes this even more pointless.
 

Did Leia Have To Sacrifice Herself?

Leia


Due to the tragic death of Carrie Fisher, Leia's story was always going to have to end with her death in The Rise of Skywalker. However, her reaching out to Kylo Ren one final time in an effort to bring him back to the side of the Light really doesn't make sense as communicating with her son surely wouldn't cause her body to fail her at such an important time for the Resistance?

There are definitely ways this could be explained and J.J. Abrams and company did their best with what they had to work with but it's still a moment that it's impossible not to question. 
 

What Was The Deal With Empress Rey?

Rey1


Emperor Palpatine's plan is honestly laughable. First, he offers his grandaughter the chance to sit atop his throne as Empress Palpatine. Later, we learn that "all the Sith" live within him and that if she strikes him down, he will be able to inhabit her body and once again rule over the Galaxy.

If that's the case, why not just kill himself and possess her? Palpatine's claim that killing him will turn his murderer to the Dark Side has never really passed the sniff test and his motivations and plan just seem incredibly weak. As for the evil version of Rey we see, she's just a pointless hallucination!
 

How Did Ben Solo Survive That Fall?

Kylo3


This is admittedly a little nitpicky but when The Emperor blasts Ben Solo down that ravine in order to get revenge for what Darth Vader did to him decades earlier, how does he survive the fall?

Yes, we see that he's badly injured but considering the fact Ben is incredibly powerful (we've never seen a Jedi or Sith who can keep blaster bolts literally suspended in midair), you'd think he could have deflected Palpatine's Force push. Either way, what follows after Ben does climb out is considerably more satisfying than had that been the way he died in The Rise of Skywalker
 

Who Were The Emperor's Followers?

Emperr


This was very weird. While it's not too much of a stretch to imagine Palpatine being able to secretly rebuild his Empire over the years, who were the thousands of cloaked figures worshipping him? If there were that many devotees to the Dark Side, you'd think that taking Rey out would be easy and given how easily they died, it's hard to say what the point of including them here was. 

Our theory is that The Emperor was so out of his mind at this point that he was probably being worshipped by failed clones of himself but this question is one Lucasfilm will hopefully answer one day.
 

What Did Finn Want To Tell Rey?

Finn


There's a very minor subplot that runs through The Rise of Skywalker which deals with there being something Finn wants to tell Rey. We never get to learn what that is (despite it being mentioned on numerous occasions) but this is one unanswered question we can likely address with common sense!

Despite that kiss with Rose in The Last Jedi, Finn's priority throughout that entire film was getting to Rey and chances are he's in love with her. It seems he's developed Force powers of his own in this movie - another odd decision that leaves us wondering when that happened - so that's another possibility but perhaps Kylo Ren sacrificing himself for Rey just proved to be the ultimate c*ck block?
 

What Was The Point Of The Sith Troopers?

Sith


This is an easy one: they were there to sell toys! Much like the Knights of Ren (it's hard to believe Ben Solo thought it was worth naming himself after that bunch of easily beaten losers), the Sith Troopers bring very little to the table here and are no more formidable than regular Troopers.

Heading into The Rise of Skywalker, there was a lot of speculation about this lot having Force powers or something similar but they're just grunts and bring little to nothing to the movie. 
 

Why Would First Order Star Destroyers Just Blow Up?

FO


Perhaps we missed something but after The Final Order's armada is decimated by the Resistance, First Order ships throughout the Galaxy just explode...how the heck did that end up happening? 

This really isn't all that different to The Avengers when Earth's Mightiest Heroes magically stopped an entire army by just closing a portal and it comes across as an easy and lazy way to bring The First Order to an end once and for all. Again, we may have missed something but it's still disappointing. 
 

Is This Really The End Of The Skywalkers?

Luke


It certainly seems that way. However, it seems appropriate in some ways, especially as The Emperor was the one who created Anakin Skywalker in the first place! With Ben Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker all dead by the time The Rise of Skywalker concludes, this bloodline is no more.

However, Rey declares herself "Rey Skywalker" so they may live on in some form even if it is one that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. "Skywalker" certainly isn't going to be the new name for the Jedi that many fans predicted when the movie's title was revealed, so that settles that one. 
 

What Comes Next?

Rey-2


That's the big question! While the Skywalker Saga is now over, there are a lot of unanswered questions (obviously) and plot points which are never fully wrapped up. The future of the Jedi is in Rey's hands now and that could either set the stage for stories set hundreds or years in the future or another sequel trilogy which continues the stories of these newly introduced characters. 

Do you guys have any answers to these questions? What did The Rise of Skywalker leave you thinking about? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section!
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Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 12/20/2019, 10:03 AM
I didn't think they could shit on Star Wars canon any more after TLJ

Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:08 AM
Star Wars: Sorry about The Last Jedi
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 12/20/2019, 10:14 AM
@Inktown03 - Dude, you could've put all these titles in one comment. Don't spam the comments please
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:19 AM
@Nightwing1015 - dude get off my back
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 12/20/2019, 10:20 AM
@Inktown03 - It's just some friendly advice man, Better I tell you than the mods just remove all your comments without letting you know
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:22 AM
@Nightwing1015 - nah I’m done I’ve vented enough lol
SerKurtWagner
SerKurtWagner - 12/20/2019, 10:35 PM
@Inktown03 - Yep, pretty much. It definitely feels like this whole movie was written by an angry fanboy who wanted to retcon the entirety of TLJ and replace it with fan service. Which was expected, because that's basically Abrams' style in a nutshell. The man doesn't have an original idea in his body.
NGFB
NGFB - 12/21/2019, 12:32 PM
@SerKurtWagner - As a "fan" I want "fan service". All day long, and twice on Sunday.
SerKurtWagner
SerKurtWagner - 12/21/2019, 6:17 PM
@NGFB - As a fan, I want my favorite franchises to be represented by quality film-making that makes sense. But maybe that's just me.
NGFB
NGFB - 12/21/2019, 7:14 PM
@SerKurtWagner - I get it. If I want quality filmmaking I'll watch a Scorsese, Kubrick, Hitchcock or Coppola film. For my sci-fi I want laser swords and spaceships and fan service. To each their own.
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:10 AM
Star Wars: Your parents were no one/You’re Palpatines granddaughter
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:11 AM
Star Wars: I want Kylo Ren to lose
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 12/20/2019, 10:11 AM
.....where did Kylo get the Tie Fighter he used to get to the Emporer's planet at the end?
Armageddon26
Armageddon26 - 12/20/2019, 10:21 AM
@OmegaDaGrodd - I assumed it was left in the Death Star since it was a classic one
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 12/20/2019, 12:24 PM
@Armageddon26 - Interesting. I'd never thought of that, and I didn't even pick up on it being the classic design. That's actually pretty understandable, probably something that would stand out better on a repeat viewing
Kyos
Kyos - 12/20/2019, 1:39 PM
@Armageddon26 - it was left in the Death Star

GreedoSarducci
GreedoSarducci - 12/20/2019, 3:19 PM
@OmegaDaGrodd - a good story, for another time.
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:11 AM
Star Wars: Anakin didn’t really kill me
Inktown03
Inktown03 - 12/20/2019, 10:13 AM
Star Wars: I have something to tell Rey, I might be force sensitive? 🤷🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/20/2019, 11:04 AM
@Inktown03 - they never got to that did they. It was either he was force sensitive or he loved her. Well, we will never know haha.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 12/20/2019, 10:13 AM
Here are my unanswered questions/nitpicks:


1. What was that ending? Why is Rey back at the Lars Homestead? Is she going to live there? Why is she burying the lightsabers there? They should be in the jedi temple. The only reason we’re back on Tatooine at the end was for nostalgia. Neither Luke nor Anakin actually liked that place. All they ever wanted to do was leave. So it literally makes no sense to bury those lightsabers there.

2. They don’t even bother to explain perhaps the biggest event in the film, the return of Palpatine. Are we really going to believe he survived the Death Star II explosion?

3. What did Finn actually want to tell Rey? I wouldn’t mind them not revealing it but they kept teasing it throughout the film. And Finn isn’t romantically linked to Rose anymore? What happened there? Why is none of this explained?

4. Is Kylo actually trying to kill Rey on that sand planet? If he wants to kill her why doesn’t he just blast her from the sky? Why does he fly so low to the ground and allow her to destroy his ship?

5. The level of escalating threats in the sequels is unbelievably childish. The writers thought to themselves “what’s worse that a space station that destroys a planet”? They then came up with the stupid idea of a Starkiller base, that destroys 5 planets at once. But apparently, that wasn’t enough. Apparently, all Star Destroyers now have this capability. This is the dumbest, most anti-canon decision Disney has ever made in regards Star Wars. It took 19 fricken years to build the original Death Star. It literally took a station the size of a moon to power the laser. And now we are seriously expected to believe that there are 1000s of these lasers that can fit inside comparatively tiny Star Destroyers. It is complete madness and is nothing more than bad, fanficiton.

6. I understand because of Carrie Fisher’s death, their options with Leia were limited. But I thought the way she died was really terrible. If Leia could’ve brought Ben back to the light side at the cost of her life at any time why didn’t she try it before? People said Anakin’s turn to the dark side was rushed and forced. But Ben’s turn to the light side is far worse and has way less justification.

7. The idea that you can essentially teleport objects through the force is beyond stupid. They keep adding all these new force powers that have never been seen in previous film/TV shows and they just break the logic of the universe. Why have no jedi ever made use of the power before now? Same goes for force healing? Couldn’t Obi-Wan have used that power to save Qui-Gon?

8. It would’ve been so much better to actually see the force ghosts that were talking to Rey at the end rather than just hear voices. Aside from anything, most of the moviegoing public won’t even be able to identify any voices except for maybe Yoda and Mace Windu. The scene will be meaningless to them.

9. Palpatine is so powerful that he shoots hundreds of ships with force lightning. And somehow Rey manages to deflect all of that force lightning with one lightsaber. Palpatine’s death was also pretty anti-climatic. Not to mention the blatant Endgame dialogue rip-off.

10. The Kylo/Rey romance is really stretching suspension of disbelief. This guy has murdered thousands of people and tried to kill Rey’s friends multiple times.
KingGrimlock
KingGrimlock - 12/20/2019, 10:39 AM
@Nightwing1015 - If your Number 8 happened, it would have been an absolutely amazing scene and honestly, by it not happening, that was my biggest problem with the film, ESPECIALLY when we heard Ahsoka. That would have been great to see her on screen for even a few seconds.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 12/20/2019, 10:44 AM
@KingGrimlock - Yeah I feel like it would honestly be the best scene in the saga if 4-5 important force ghosts physically appeared to guide Rey and Kylo while fighting Palpatine together. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that they missed. It makes me question where Obi-Wan and Anakin's force ghosts are and why they never appeared in the trilogy.
KingGrimlock
KingGrimlock - 12/20/2019, 10:48 AM
@Nightwing1015 - Exactly. I also think people would have bought in more to Rey and why she was able to defeat the Emperor in such an anti-climatic fashion. If they had all these force ghosts, Mace, Obi, Anakin, etc. backing her up. I guess trying to get these actors would have been very costly but honestly, it would be a one day shoot to bring in Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewen McGregor, etc. It could have been THE scene of the entire franchise.
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