No child of Star Wars is abandoned randomly.
Chances are that you’ve already seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens if you’re reading this article. If not, know that there are spoilers ahead. You may also want to give Rob Hunter’s spoiler-free review a read if you’re looking to scratch an itch before seeing the movie.
For those who have seen it and want to discuss, there’s quite a bit to talk about. We’ve already this day published 15 Questions Left Unanswered by the film. But there’s one question that deserves a bit more thought and discussion: who are Rey’s parents?
In the quest to answer this question (an answer that will likely become a major element of the new trilogy overall), a few popular theories have already emerged:
Theory #1: Rey is Luke Skywalker’s daughter.
The movie isn’t shy about telling us that Han and Leia’s son is Kylo Ren. And the movie presents us with plenty of opportunities for Han and Leia to talk about any other children they may have together. So if we aren’t convinced (because the movie doesn’t explicitly tell us) that she’s a Solo, she must be a Skywalker, right? Star Wars has always been Skywalker saga, after all.
There’s plenty to support the idea that she’s Luke’s daughter. There’s a great deal of emotion in the look that Luke gives her in the film’s final shot. That’s a look of longing. Whether it’s for the Lightsaber or his long lost daughter is to be determined.
The big question here is why Luke would maroon his own daughter on a harsh desert planet (something with which he’s very familiar). In this scenario, Luke would have had some kind of romantic relationship in the 30 years between Jedi and Force Awakens, a story that could be told over a campfire on Jedi Island. And when Ben Solo broke bad, he decided that the best thing to do was to take a page out of Obi-Wan’s book and hide the kid somewhere far away. The only difference is that unlike Obi-Wan, who stayed close to Luke’s childhood home on Tatooine and left him in the care of Owen and Beru, Luke took off across the galaxy in search of the original Jedi temple. For a guy who was also abandoned for his own protection, he surely didn’t learn anything about “how to keep your abandoned child safe.” Maybe he threw out that section of the Jedi handbook.
It’s true that the Lightsaber, as we see in Maz Kanata’s basement, “calls out” to Rey. And touching said Lightsaber triggers a flashback in which see sees the following: Luke Skywalker lovingly touching R2-D2, Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren in the rain, and the ship that stranded her on Jakku flying away (Note: she appears to be younger than 10). It’s easy to assume that since this Lightsaber was once wielded by Luke, that it has a little bit of his Force stank on it. But remember, that Lightsaber was originally Anakin’s. That means that anyone in the Anakin Skywalker family tree might have a connection with it. Which leads us to our next theory…
Leia knows something.
Theory #2: Rey is Han and Leia’s daughter.
This is the theory I like better, even though there’s some evidence that works against it. If Rey is the child of Han and Leia, why didn’t one of them tell her? And wouldn’t Kylo Ren know if he had a sister? He seems intrigued by her, but more so because she is Force positive.
Here’s my own theory: Rey is the younger daughter of Han and Leia. But this is a fact that is not known to Han. The chronology might be a little funky, but it feels as if it happened like this: Han and Leia have Ben, probably not long after the events of Return of the Jedi. Around this time, Luke begins setting up his Jedi Elementary School and within the first few years of his life, Ben goes off to become an apprentice of Uncle Luke (Remember, Jedi are best when their training begins very early).
In the years that follow, Ben is lost. Perhaps abducted by Supreme Leader Snoke and The Knights of Ren. This is an event that sends everything spiraling out of control. Han and Leia have a falling out, Han leaves, Luke sets a course for seclusion. Right around this time, Leia discovers that she’s once again pregnant. Seeing as she and Han are not on good terms and her first child had a little too much of Grandpa Vader in him, she decides to keep everything secret. If there’s one of Anakin’s kids that would be in favor of hiding a secret kid, it would be Leia. She’s always been the pragmatic one. She hands her daughter off to a trusted ally (I’m guessing Max von Sydow’s character, Lor San Tekka, who indicated in The Force Awakens that he knows Leia), who takes her to Jakku and watches over her from a small distance.
This theory explains a number of things. Han instantly takes to Rey, striking up the kind of familial kinship that might exist if a storyteller were trying to drop hints. Also, Chewie likes her. And Chewie always liked Princess Leia in the same way. And it explains (this is perhaps the biggest indicator) the very long, motherly look and hug that Leia gives Rey when they finally meet at the end of the movie.
If this is true, why doesn’t anyone tell Rey? Han doesn’t tell her because he doesn’t know. Leia hadn’t told him and as he’s clearly very broken about having lost their son to The Dark Side, Leia’s pragmatism kicks in and she holds on to the information. It was a story for another day that will never come, at least not for Han. Why doesn’t she tell Rey at the end? Maybe she does and we don’t see it. That seems less likely. Perhaps it’s something that Rey knows when she sees Leia for the first time. She’s strong with The Force, her feelings can easily be searched. Or perhaps Leia doesn’t want to tell her yet because of what happened with Ben. If one child had too much Vader in him, perhaps that could be true with the second child, as well. Best to send her off to Luke so that he can find redemption in her training.
Why I Like The Han and Leia Theory Better
Having Rey be Luke’s daughter requires a more complex narrative that involves a lot of campfire exposition. Considering the tone and pace of the movie J.J. Abrams made to start this trilogy, I don’t see this new franchise being one that dwells on complexity. The simplest answer is that the only person who knows about Rey’s parentage is Leia. And that will be revealed to both audience and characters when it becomes something we need to know. It’s also far more tragic that Han Solo died not knowing that he had a second child. And if there’s one thing that’s a hallmark of Star Wars, it’s scratching the surface of really dark territory.
The other thing that makes the Han and Leia theory better is the notion that the trilogy will ultimately be a rivalry between two siblings who don’t really know about each other until later in the game. This also plays into one of the long-gestating theories about Kylo Ren, that he may ultimately have a redemptive arc. The Force Awakens made it abundantly clear that (a) there’s still some light within lil’ Ben and (b) it’s not going to be easy to pull him back from The Dark Side. If his father couldn’t talk him out of being a Goth Prince, who can? Perhaps his Force-strong sister will be the one who swings him back to the Light Side just in time for a final battle with the evil puppeteers behind The First Order. That’s the kind of redemptive arc that could make for a great trilogy, much as the original trilogy found a redemptive arc for the too-far-gone Darth Vader.
It just doesn’t work as well if they are cousins, or if Rey is somehow not related. I think the theory that she’s Obi-Wan’s granddaughter is fun, especially as it sounds like Alec Guinness’ voice says “Rey” during her flashback. But it’s not Alec Guinness, he’s no longer with us. It might be Uncle Luke. Either way, there’s less punch to Rey being more distantly related to Kylo Ren. Call it a gut feeling at this point, but Han and Leia feel like the most likely pair to have created both of the new trilogy’s most prominent kids.
For more coverage of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, click here.
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