I COULD DO BETTER THAN THAT - STAR WARS EPISODE IX

I COULD DO BETTER THAN THAT – STAR WARS EPISODE IX

It’s been a week since the release of Rise of Skywalker. To say that the film was a crushing disappointment is an understatement. The story makes no sense, main characters are reduced to sidekicks with nothing to do, the pacing is so fast that the film feels like a 4-hour film that was cut down to 2 ½ hours by making every scene 30s long. It’s exhausting and boring at the same time. I’ve thought about almost nothing since its release.

As I drove home for Christmas, I listened to an episode of the podcast Blank Check, about Rise of Skywalker. I thought about what I would have done had I been the one to write the final chapter of the saga. I was sure I could do better at constructing a coherent and exciting story that honoured the characters and themes of the series than what we got. So, I spent the Christmas holidays thinking about Star Wars, and ignoring my family.

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Obviously, I have the benefit of both hindsight, and the insight gained from both reading reviews of the film itself and other media like the Blank Check podcast, which of course JJ and Chris Terrio did not have. That being said I think they made some really terrible decisions as the basis of the story which really derailed the whole thing.

The death of Carrie Fisher clearly seems to have ruined their original plan for the story, and instead of going back to page one, they appear to have bent over backwards to try and give her as much screen time as they could using VFX and unused footage. I think this was a mistake, although understandable, and so I won’t be doing that in my version. 

The biggest mistake they made, however, was to bring back the Emperor. The least interesting aspect of the Force Awakens is the mystery of Rey’s parents. At first, I was into the idea that Rey was the Emperors granddaughter, and if that’s your starting point for the story then it makes sense to bring the Emperor back in some form. You can see how they thought that it would tie the whole series together, by giving it the same overarching villain, but it has a number of story ramifications that rob the film and the sequel trilogy of meaning. It also makes the universe seem small, which is the opposite of what a universe should seem.

THE SEQUEL TRILOGY 

The final part of the trilogy needs to tie together the previous films into a coherent narrative whole, but also needs to tie together the whole saga as well. So, you’re attempting to finish off not just the stories of Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, but also the overarching stories of the Jedi and the Sith, the Empire and the Republic and the legacy of the Skywalker Family and its role in the galaxy.

One thing that needs to be addressed, that the Rise of Skywalker did not tackle, is this – why make a sequel trilogy at all? The Return of the Jedi has a definitive ending. It ties everything up nicely. Darth Vader has his redemption. The Empire is defeated.  Luke is a Jedi and so presumably will re-found the Jedi order and bring everything back to where it should be. 

The very existence of the Sequel trilogy at all needs to justify itself. Why is this a story that needed to be told? What does it all mean? What’s it about?

One of the most interesting insights I got from the Blank Check episode was the meta-analysis of the Force Awakens and the Last Jedi. In their view, the films are about reckoning with the past and the future. Who does Star Wars belong to? George Lucas clearly believed for a long time that Star Wars belonged to him and was bitter about the reception of the Prequel trilogy. The truth of course is that Star Wars belongs to all of us. 

The Force Awakens is the first time a Star Wars film has been made without George Lucas at the helm. It’s the first Star Wars film made by people who, like me, grew up with Star Wars. Having grown up watching Star Wars on repeat, it’s become a foundational part of my imagination. As an aspiring storyteller myself, the DNA of Star Wars storytelling finds its way into most if not all the stories I write. 

On a meta level the Force Awakens is about the next generation taking ownership of the story. Rey and Finn and Kylo Ren are characters who know the story of the previous films. They are just as much their mythology as they are ours (“You’re Han Solo?! This is the Millennium Falcon?!”). The characters in the story are shaped by the story as much as we are. Kylo Ren is the direct descendent of both the heroes and the villain. He is literally wresting with the weight of expectation of all those characters legacies as he struggles to define his role in the world as an adolescent.

The Last Jedi takes this further by casting Luke Skywalker in the role of George Lucas himself. He’s had enough. He tried his best and everyone hated it, so he’s saying screw you guys. If you think you can do better, then go for it. I’m out. Although he realises his mistake in the end

It seems like JJ decided that he didn’t want to tell a meta story, and that the decision to make the Emperor the villain and Rey his granddaughter was a simple, gordian knot-esque way to tie everything together, without having to wrestle with what the series is about. I think that’s not good enough. The sequel trilogy exists, and so it must exist for a reason.

Narratively you’ve got another problem as well as the meta story. In A New Hope, and Return of the Jedi, the story ends by the Rebels blowing up the Death Star and saving the day. However, in the Force Awakens we have the Starkiller Base – another giant super weapon. The Resistance blows it up and saves the day, but of course that’s not the end of the story. When the Resistance are planning the attack on the Starkiller Base they even make light of the fact that there will be some straightforward way to destroy it. There always is with these things. 

Therein lies the problem. There’s always going to be another big superweapon to destroy. Blowing up the big weapon is not the end of the story, or it would have been in both A New Hope and in Return of the Jedi and in the Force Awakens. In Rise of Skywalker we have essentially a bigger version of the Death Star again. A giant fleet of star destroyers with super weapons which the Rebels have to destroy. This is a bad story decision in my opinion. It fails to address the fact that there’s always going to be some other super weapon to destroy, and of course bigger than the last one, and so the ending of the film is unsatisfying because we know this is not the end. It’s been established already, repeatedly. (Not to mention it’s a Chekovs Gun that makes no sense. You can’t introduce a weapon like that and have it not do anything, so JJ has one star destroyer go and destroy Kerry Russell’s planet. Except that the fleet is supposed to be hidden inside a labyrinth of cosmic pathways that it’s almost impossible to navigate without a wayfinder, its only one ship, the rest of the fleet does nothing, when the fleet gets destroyed at the end of the film that one star destroyer is still out there presumably, and there’s no peril because the big battle takes place at Exogul, where there’s no danger that anyone innocent is going to be in harm’s way, so there’s no stakes at all… It’s a bad idea, executed badly.)

The final film of the saga needs to have an answer to this problem that there’s always another super weapon, and another villain like the First Order, to defeat. The Rise of Skywalker does not address this, even though JJ clearly set it up in the Force Awakens. In fact, it wants us to believe that the Emperor was the main bad guy all along, and so by defeating the Emperor (for real this time!) the heroes are defeating evil once and for all and the story really is over this time. This is a cop out. It goes against the themes set up in the Force Awakens, but most damningly it also undercuts the need for the Sequel Trilogy to exist at all. If it’s all about defeating the Emperor, the story was better left after Return of the Jedi. 

The sequel trilogy needs to be about something more, for it to exist at all.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT THEN?

If I’m going to present an alternative to the story as given, I need to define not just what it’s not about, but what it is about. 

On the surface Star Wars is about Good vs Evil. This plays out on political level – the Republic and the Separatists, the Empire and the Rebellion, the First Order and the Resistance. What makes Star Wars special is that it also plays out on the spiritual level – The Jedi and the Sith. The battle between light and dark in the soul. The never-ending conflict within the hearts of men for their own souls. The fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker.

This might seem obvious, but Rise of Skywalker barely wants to deal with it. The central story of the sequel trilogy is about Rey and Kylo Ren. These are two characters who, like us, have grown up with the story of Star Wars. The redemption of Kylo Ren is the reason for the story to exist at all, because Kylo Ren has fallen to the dark side precisely because he knows the story of Star Wars. Star Wars is his story. His parents were the heroes. His Grandfather was the villain. His uncle was his spiritual guide. He has become an adult with the greatest burden you could possibly imagine. The whole weight of the galaxy and its soul rests on his shoulders. 

In much the same way that the corruption and fall of the Republic is played out metaphorically through the corruption and fall of Anakin Skywalker, so the redemption of the galaxy must metaphorically be tied to the redemption of Kylo Ren. At the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren has risen to be the leader of the First Order and so the stage is set for the metaphysical and political battle to be fought. By making the Emperor the villain this conflict is abandoned. The battle becomes one between the Emperor and Rey. The redemption of Kylo Ren becomes an irrelevance. 

Rey on the other hand is the perfect foil for Kylo Ren. Where he fell because of his family and the weight of expectation on him, she has no family. She’s no one. She is incorruptible precisely for this reason. She knows the story of the Jedi and the Empire, but she understands the message of the story and so can stay in the light, and consequently be the one to bring Ben Solo back to the light as well. 

The original plan may have been to have Princess Leia be the catalyst for Kylo Ren’s redemption, but I think this is a mistake. The sequel trilogy is about the next generation. The story belongs to Rey and Kylo Ren. The best thing to have done would have been to let them lead the story themselves. Bending over backwards to shoehorn in old footage of Carrie Fisher weakens the central conflict between Rey and Kylo Ren – the protagonists of the story.

The story of the Star Wars saga is also the story of the Jedi and Sith as religions. If you are going to write the final story of the saga you also have to deal with the weight of those two institutions. The Rise of Skywalker tries to do this by making the final fight between Rey and the Emperor symbolic of the fight between the Jedi and the Sith, and this is along the right lines, but it doesn’t work because this is the story of Rey and Kylo Ren. That final victory in the story needs to hinge on the redemption of Kylo Ren. Bringing the Emperor back as the villain does not have emotional weight to it, the way that the conflict in Kylo Ren’s heart does.

By making Rey the granddaughter of the Emperor, the emotional weight of the saga is transferred to Rey’s shoulders, which works in a way. You can see why they decided to do that, but it has the effect of making Kylo Ren’s redemption irrelevant. Rey needs no redemption so the final conflict is simply one of fighting and killing the emperor. There’s no catharsis there, because we’ve already had that in Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader killing the Emperor on the Death Star 2 was an act of redemption. This is just a fight. It doesn’t work.

Rey and Kylo Ren must be the metaphorical representations of the Jedi and the Sith in the story.

But what is the story of the Jedi and the Sith? The final part of the saga must answer this question as well. The Last Jedi starts the process by asking the question. Luke dwells on the failure of the Jedi, and his own failure. He thinks the best thing to do is to end the Jedi, because as a religion it failed and must be fundamentally flawed. Kylo Ren wants to end the Jedi and the Sith, because he is also burdened by the weight of responsibility for both. He thinks the only way he will ever be free of the legacy of his family, and free to be his own man, is by ending both the Jedi and Sith forever. His solution is to end the Jedi and the Sith by joining with Rey and starting something new.

However, what he does not understand, which Rey does, is that if Rey were to join him, she would fall as he did.

For Episode IX to satisfactorily conclude the story of the Jedi and the Sith it must dramatise exactly what the purpose of the Jedi is, as an institution and justify its existence or destruction. Rian Johnson in the Last Jedi does a good job of setting up this final conflict. Distraught at yet another failure, Luke Skywalker decides to burn down the Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, when he is visited by the ghost of Yoda. Yoda explains to us in characteristically metaphorical way the purpose of the Jedi, that Luke has seemingly forgotten.

The Jedi exists to pass on the wisdom of the previous generation to the next generation – and this is exactly what the sequel trilogy is about. The transfer of power from one generation to the next.

Power will always have a corrupting influence on the soul, and there will always be people who are strong in the force. Without a guiding influence, and the wisdom of previous generations, then people with power will fall. This is why the Jedi must exist, and this is the story of the Skywalker Saga. 

(By bringing back the Emperor, Rise of Skywalker takes away responsibility from Kylo Ren for his downfall. It also reduces him to the level of apprentice again. At the end of the Last Jedi, Kylo Ren has become the Supreme Leader of the First Order, and so has risen to the level of master. Taking that away from him by bringing back the Emperor pulls the rug out from under his journey. In story terms this is unforgivable in my opinion. A fundamental misunderstanding of what Star Wars is about.)

The Star Wars Saga is a generational story. It is about the weight of the past on the present, the way that children are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents, and the importance of passing on wisdom and knowledge from one generation to the next. On a fundamental level the story of Episode IX must be about this.

The theme of the film must be that the battle between good and evil, that wages throughout the galaxy and in the hearts of all men, is not one that can be won forever. It is an eternal war that must be continuously fought, always, against the corrupting influence of power.

If this is not the message of the sequel trilogy then it has no reason to exist.

REIMAGINING THE STORY OF EPISODE IX

So that is my concept for the story of episode IX and the starting place for the story I want to tell. However, since I am lucky enough to have Rise of Skywalker and the benefit of hindsight, I can also feel free to take things from the film for my version of the story. It’s not like it’s going to get made anyway. 

For example, one thing that I really did like was the inclusion of Lando Calrissian, although I did not like what they did with him, I thought the concept in general was sound, so I’ll be including him in my version.

I really do not like the structure or pace of the Rise of Skywalker. In the classic Star Wars films the structure tends to be that the first act takes place on one planet, the second on another, and then the final confrontation on a third. Rise of Skywalker jumps around all over the place, visiting a planet and then a few minutes later on to another. This is even joked about in a meta way by the lightspeed skipping that Poe Dameron does in the Falcon at the start. A funny gag that also deftly deals with the issue of lightspeed tracking established in the Last Jedi. In my version I will stick to the three planet structure.

I also do not like the way that Rise of Skywalker dealt with the characters of Finn and Poe. They were essentially relegated to sidekick status, undoing all the great character development in the Last Jedi. In my version I will give them both much more to influence on the story as a whole. Too much time is spent on pointless exposition and narrative dead ends in Rise of Skywalker. The plot is too complicated. It needs to be character driven. Rise of Skywalker is not character driven at all.

Finn in particular is a great character and fundamental to my concept for the final film. He is a storm trooper that has joined the rebellion. On paper that’s a great idea but it also sews the seeds for a final revelation that is absolutely necessary for the theme of the film which is this – the soldiers of the Empire/First Order are not all bad. The redemption of the Republic/Empire (as played out metaphorically through the redemption of Kylo Ren) can be dramatised through the character of Finn. Finn represents the seed of good in the heart of the Empire in the same way that Luke could feel the good inside Darth Vader. 

The Empire cannot be defeated by blowing things up. That goes against the core theme of the story, because there will always another Death Star or First Order. The Empire has to be redeemed from within. We know this is possible because of the redemption of Finn. 

(Rise of Skywalker touches briefly on this with the character of Jannah, who leads another group of defected Storm Troopers, but it is not developed as an idea at all. She has basically no relevance to the plot.)

By relegating Finn to the role of sidekick, who simply runs around shouting and shooting people, JJ seems to be showing that he didn’t even understand the character he created in the first place.

Another big disappointment of the Rise of Skywalker is the role of the Knights of Ren. In the film they are basically silent henchmen. They exist solely for Kylo Ren to have someone to fight at the end. Now in principle this is not a bad thing. That’s what I’m going to do as well, but I think they represent something greater. They’re Kylo Ren’s apprentices.

The Jedi and the Sith are built on a master/apprentice relationship. When Kylo Ren kills Snoke and assumes the role of Supreme Leader he also becomes the master of the Sith. It is well established in the Saga already that this is the way of things with the Sith. The apprentice kills the master and assumes his position. So, at the climax of the story, when Kylo Ren has his redemption, the thematic and right thing to do, is to have his apprentice assume his position. This then sets the stage for a climactic lightsabre fight that we expect at the end of these stories.

THE STORY

Obviously this is just something i've put together in a couple of days. Its more of an intellectual exercise than anything else. Hopefully you've agreed with my reasoning above and can see the thought processes that went into the construction of this story. I'm also well aware of the shocking arrogance of me thinking I could actually do better than Oscar Winning screenwriter Chris Terrio and acclaimed filmmaker JJ Abrams.......

THE TITLE: I really hate the title The Rise of Skywalker. It’s just a terrible title. It’s too reminiscent of other films of its ilk, like the Dark Knight Rises, Dawn of Justice, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It just feels generic and meaningless. I hate it. You may not like mine better, but I wanted to give the story a title more reminiscent of the original Star Wars: A New Hope. It also fits nicely I think with the catchphrase of the New Rebellion – The spark that will light the fire that will burn down the First Order. I also wanted it to feel like the last hope in the darkness. Hopeful but foreboding.

STAR WARS EPISODE IX – A SPARK OF LIGHT

My story starts immediately after the ending of the Last Jedi. I personally like the way that the sequel films mirror events of the original films, but with a twist. The Return of the Jedi begins with Darth Vader arriving on the Death Star 2, so I feel the right thing to do is begin with Kylo Ren, just as Rise of Skywalker did.

THE CRAWL

In the crawl we establish that the First Order is now in control of the entire galaxy. The Resistance has been destroyed. As far as the galaxy at large is concerned all hope is lost.

CORRUSCANT

We pan down to a star destroyer in orbit above Corruscant, the former capital planet of the Republic and the Empire. A shuttle sets off and descends to the planet. Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren go to the Imperial Palace, which was once the Jedi Temple. In the throne room at the apex of the palace, Kylo Ren looks out over the city. We establish that the Senate building still exists. The Emperor did not have it destroyed. It sits empty (this will be important later).

Kylo Ren sits on the Emperor’s throne and declares himself the new Emperor. The First Order will now be named the New Galactic Empire.

THE REBELS

The last few members of the Resistance are aboard the Falcon drifting through space. In a dialogue free scene, we see our heroes have a meal together. Princess Leia and Rose serve food. Rey is sat apart from the group, reading the sacred Jedi texts. When the food arrives, the others beckon her to join them and she does. We show the rebels as a family.

Another thing that I really dislike about the Rise of Skywalker is the way that the music is used. The pace is so fast, and it’s all action and explosions mean that the music never gets a chance to do the heavy lifting. The music is so fundamental to Star Wars that this is a crime in my opinion. I would do this entire scene with just images and music.

I think the right thing to do with the story at this point is deal with the death of Leia. After dinner Leia and Rey wash the dishes. Leia collapses and dies. Again, all without dialogue. Letting the music tell the story.

THE FUNERAL & CORONATION

I would then have a scene cutting between Leia’s funeral and Kylo Ren’s coronation. Through the link in their minds the two each attend the other’s ceremonies. Kylo Ren, sat on his throne, but his mind is with his mother.

Once again Kylo Ren begs Rey to join him and rule together. Again, she rejects him. 

I think it’s important to establish that Kylo Ren has now achieved complete power. This is another theme of the film that I think is important. When your sole objective is to gain power, when you’ve fallen to the dark side, eventually you will reach a point where there is no more power to gain. When you reach the top where do you go from there? It is the fundamental paradox of the dark side. When you have everything you thought you wanted but you’re still not happy, because power in and of itself is not fulfilling. It’s just a means to get more power.

I like the idea of cutting between these two scenes for thematic reasons as well, because it is the final passing of the torch from the old generation to the new.

Kylo Ren gathers his villain cohort together. He asks about the progress of his new flagship – the Leviathan. Hux tells him that it is nearly finished. It will be a weapon to rival the death star itself. We also establish that the Imperial fleet is spread out across the galaxy consolidating power.

At this point I would establish a new super weapon. I think a Star Destroyer with a planet killing weapon is a fine idea, although it was silly having thousands of them in Rise of Skywalker. 

Kylo Ren gathers the Knights of Ren and makes them swear fealty to him again. He then orders them to go out and find Rey and bring her to him.

THE NEXT MOVE

On board the Falcon, Rey is again studying the sacred texts. She opens a book she hasn’t read before, but she can’t read it. C3PO helps her translate. It’s about the Khyber Crystals and the creation of a lightsaber. 

R2D2 intercepts a transmission announcing the New Empire and ordering all planets to compliance.

The heroes discuss their next move. The others look to Poe for leadership. With Leia’s death he is now the leader of the New Rebellion. They need to rebuild the rebellion if they are to defeat the New Empire. Poe decides to take them to see an old friend of his – Zorii Bliss. 

One thing I enjoyed in the Rise of Skywalker was the hint at Poe’s past as a criminal before he joined the rebellion, so I would develop that idea here. They are going to need allies and ships, but when they sent out the call at Crait, no one came. They need to look to their friends first, and Poe’s friends are in the underworld.

THE CRIMSON DAWN

The rebels go to meet Zorii Bliss who is working for the Crimson Dawn (established in SOLO). She is an old flame of Poe’s. In fact, he left her when he joined the rebellion. She’s not happy to see him. It takes some persuasion to get her to help them.

Zorii Bliss takes them to see Qi’ra, now an old woman and the leader of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. 

The rebels make their case to restart the rebellion, but Qi’ra rejects them. Why should she join their fledgling rebellion? They just got wiped out. The New Emperor is in total control of the galaxy. Not only that but with the return of the empire that’s a good thing for the criminal underworld – they made a lot more money under the Empire than they ever did under the Republic.

Besides, they’re criminals, not terrorists. Rose is affronted at being called a terrorist. Qi’ra asks, you aren’t? You’re not going to blow up a bunch of things and try to start a revolution?

Our heroes leave, dejected, and head back into the space port. At this point one of the Knights of Ren arrives and there’s a big action sequence in the space port. He is a force wielding Sith with a red lightsaber. 

At some point in this fight I would establish that Poe is in tune with the force, by having him resist the power of the Knight of Ren. In the Rise of Skywalker, it’s alluded to that Finn is strong with the force, but this doesn’t make sense to me. He’s sensitive yes, but most people would be horrified by the massacre of a village. Poe on the other hand often performs feats of superhuman flying, that suggest to me that he is strong in the force. It also gives Poe a little more character development and importance to the story other than just being a leader – which he already is by the end of the Last Jedi.

The fight is difficult. The Knight of Ren uses dark force power against them. Rey does not have a lightsaber, because hers was destroyed in the Throne Room sequence in the Last Jedi. Rey manages to disarm the Knight of Ren and steal his lightsaber. They capture him and take him back to the falcon.

INTERROGATION

Back on the Falcon they interrogate their prisoner. He is strong in the dark side of the force and resistant to their questions. They need to know how they were discovered. Is there a traitor in their midst?

Poe and Finn pressure Rey to use the force to find out the answers they need. Rey is reluctant – she was interrogated the same way by Snoke. It’s the dark side of the force. But her friends insist, and she relents. She gets the information out of the Knight of Ren. They discover who he is – his name is Kuruk Ren - he used to be one of Luke’s students. They guessed that Poe would seek help from his past. They’re safe – there’s not a traitor. Poe casually executes the Knight of Ren.

Another scene I liked from Rise of Skywalker was the scene where Rey accidentally destroys the transporter with Chewie aboard using force lightning. The final part of a Star Wars trilogy definitely needs to establish the hero as being corrupted by the dark side. In Return of the Jedi the first time we see Luke he is force choking one of Jabbas guards with the dark side. Rey’s use of force lighting was a cool idea, but it was unintentional. It’s much more powerful for the hero to use the dark side intentionally for good reason. That is ultimately the way that people fall – doing the wrong thing for seemingly the right reason.

However, now Rey is disturbed by her own use of the dark side. Finn tries to comfort her, but she pushes him away and retreats into her books again – looking for spiritual guidance. She opens the page again on the lightsaber crystals. She makes a decision. She must finish her training and become a Jedi. 

Finn begs her not to go. He almost tells her that he loves her but doesn’t. She reassures him that she will be back. He insists that he is not letting her go alone so she relents and allows her to join him. In the background Rose is heartbroken.

Rey, Finn and BB8 leave the Falcon and their friends. They need a ship – and there in the space port is the shuttle belonging to the Knight of Ren. They take the shuttle and fly away (a nod to the Return of the Jedi when our heroes fly to Endor in a stolen imperial shuttle).

Poe, Chewie etc fly away in the Falcon. Rose asks Poe – Where now? Poe doesn’t know. Maybe Qi’ra was right. No one is going to help them. It’s futile. People see them as terrorists. What are they going to do, blow up a bunch of stuff? The rebellion blew up the Death Star twice and the Empire just came back. 

Rose is adamant, we’re not terrorists! We’re not fighting to destroy the Empire but rather to protect the liberty of the people being crushed by the Empire. We’re fighting to protect the ones we love. Poe agrees. They aren’t going to win the war by trying to raise a fleet to destroy the Empire. They need someone to protect.

I think this is an important theme that is established in the Last Jedi and allows the rebellion to mirror the purpose of the Jedi. It’s got to be about protecting the ones we love not destroying the ones we hate. That’s a fundamental theme of Star Wars. Of course, Rise of Skywalker doesn’t get anywhere close to this idea.

R2D2 has an idea. They should track down a hero of the original rebellion – Lando Calrission is now the leader of his own system. They should ask him for help. Poe agrees and they set a course for Lando System. (obviously not called Lando system, but for the sake of making something up, I’m calling it that here).

MUSTAFA

Kylo Ren travels to Mustafa to Darth Vader’s castle, as established in Rogue One.

He is seeking spiritual guidance. He has achieved everything he wants. He has surpassed even Vader by becoming the master of the Sith. He has ultimate power but is still not satisfied. In Vader’s chambers he finds an array of Darth Vader suits in cases. He speaks directly to them, asking what he should do. He gets only silence in return.

He links minds with Rey. He confesses to her what he is feeling. They discuss his fall. We learn the story of how Snoke seduced him to the dark side. He tries to justify himself by telling her she would never understand the pressure he was under as the child of the great Han Solo and Princess Leia. How could anyone grow up to meet those expectations? 

She would never know because she’s no one. Yes, she agrees, accepting finally her place in the galaxy. She is no one.

He boasts to her about how he has exceeded his family’s legacy – he has ultimate power now. More power than even Darth Vader. She asks him – the power to do what? He has no answer. He begs her to join him again. She refuses and breaks the link. 

Kylo Ren stands in silence looking out over the lava fields of Mustafa.

KING LANDO

The Falcon flies to Lando System. They are greeted by the systems defence forces and escorted to the planet surface under guard. When they land, they are immediately arrested and taken to Lando (reminiscent of when they get to Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back).

Lando is now a self-styled King. I just think this a funny idea. A bit like King Conan, or maybe Denethor in Lord of the Rings. The final battle should take place in a kingdom, acknowledging the roots of the Star Wars saga as a fairy tale in space.

Stood beside Lando’s throne is an imperial official and a mix of Lando’s guards and Storm Troopers. All systems are now controlled by the Empire. Lando had no choice but to submit.

The Imperial Officer realises who they are and demands to know where Rey is.

Poe makes the case for the rebellion and Lando decides whether to join them. One of the storm troopers beats Chewie to the ground. That’s enough for Lando. He kills the Imperial and his guards capture the storm troopers.

THE CRYSTAL CAVE

Rey and Finn arrive on Jedha. They fly over the devastated remains of the city that was destroyed in Rogue One – foreshadowing the destruction to come if they fail.

Some Imperials stationed on the planet chase them. There’s a bit of an action sequence with Rey and Finn working together to defeat the Imperials.

They arrive at the crystal caves. Rey tells Finn and BB8 to guard the ship. She must go alone. She decides to take the red lightsaber inside with her – just in case… She leaves the ship and makes her way through the valley towards the caves. 

Inside the cave she has a vision of herself and Kylo Ren together on the throne in a Sith temple. She has fallen to the dark side. 

She turns on Kylo Ren. They have a lightsaber battle. He taunts her, asking if she wants ultimate power for herself? They continue to fight, and now they are on Jakku at her small hovel. On the wall are the markings she made of the days since she saw her parents. Kylo Ren asks her if she is happy to be someone at last? She backs away and sheathes her lightsaber. She closes her eyes and he strikes her down with his lightsaber.

The vision vanishes and she is back in the cave. Her crystal is before her.

This idea of a vision of herself on the dark side is discussed in Rise of Skywalker, but it happens off screen apart from a brief flash when she’s on the Death Star. I think it would be more powerful to play out here as a test. I also like the idea of Rey going on a quest for a magic sword. It feels like something that should happen in the final chapter of a fantasy saga, before she goes to confront the villain for the last time. The Khyber crystals are alluded to in Rogue One as well, further tying that story into the main saga.

INDEPENDENCE

Lando makes an announcement to the whole of his city what he has done. He has declared independence from the New Empire. It’s likely that the Empire will soon be arriving, so people should prepare to leave or fight, if they want.

Poe, Lando, Rose and Chewie discuss what to do next. They are the spark that lights the fire. If other systems know that they are willing to stand up for themselves maybe people will join them. It’s really their only hope. To establish independence and prepare to defend themselves. The city has its own defences and a small fleet, but it won’t be enough to hold off the entire Empire.

We cut to Kylo Ren who is now on the bridge of his Star Destroyer. A communications officer gets a signal. He puts it on the big screen. It’s Poe Dameron. He declares the independence of Lando System and makes an impassioned plea to other systems to join them. Kylo Ren orders the fleet to gather, however he is told by Hux that it’s impossible, the fleet is too spread out. 

Kylo Ren force chokes Hux to death and promotes another officer in his place to carry out his order.

He orders the return of the Knights of Ren.

GHOST LUKE

Outside the caves Rey contemplates her crystal and the red lightsaber. Ghost Luke comes to her. She tells him she doesn’t think she’s strong enough to do what’s needed of her. She doesn’t even know how to make a lightsaber. How can she be a Jedi?

Luke asks if she has read the sacred Jedi texts? She replies that she has but that it’s not helpful. There’s nothing in there to teach her how to become more powerful. Just a bunch of old stories and fables.

Luke tells her it’s not an instruction manual for using the force. He asks if she’s read the story of the origin of the Jedi and the Sith? He tells her a fable of the first Jedi. 

THE FIRST JEDI

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a world that was a paradise. On it were a family, a man a woman and two twin children, that were so in love that they became strong in the force. They lived apart from their villagers but used their connection to the force to help the village prosper. 

One day some men arrived and attacked the village. The couple used their power to defend the villagers and drove away the men. But the husband grew fearful. He was afraid they would attack again, and he wouldn’t be strong enough to defend his wife and children. So he sets off to find the men, and using the power of the force he attacks and destroys them. In doing so he falls to the dark side.

When he returned his wife didn’t recognise him. She was afraid, and he grew angry. She rejected him, and he grew angry and killed her. But when he saw the fear in his children’s eyes, he realised what he had become and his love for them brought him back to the light. From then on, he dedicated himself to protecting others and taught his children to never to use the force in anger or fear.

Rey asks, but I thought love was forbidden in the Jedi? Well, Luke says, all that came later.

Given that we are telling the final story of the Jedi, I think it’s important to tie it back to the very beginning of the Jedi order. We can set up an allegorical relationship between the last Jedi and the last Sith – Rey and Kylo Ren – that can play out as a mirror of their origins. Like the Genesis of the Jedi. The Rise of Skywalker does something similar with the voices of all the Jedi but I don’t think it works at all. It doesn’t feel set up or earned in the film we got.

Why are you telling me this, she asks? He doesn’t know. He thinks about it sometimes. His father killed his mother. Rey says, I thought she died in childbirth? Maybe, he says.

Luke confesses his failure to her. He tells her the reason for the Jedi to exist. That there will always be people tempted by the dark side of the force, but each generation needs to pass on the wisdom of the last, especially their failures. In essence he passes on the wisdom he received from Yoda in the Last Jedi and gives her the courage to carry on.

She opens up the red lightsaber and takes out the crystal. She crushes it and inserts her own crystal and fires up her new green lightsaber.

Luke tells her, she’s not a Jedi, yet. She must confront Kylo Ren.

She gets back to the ship. Finn tells her she’s not going to believe what Poe has done. They need to get going.

THE NEW REBELLION

Poe and Lando have set up a new base of operations in Lando’s palace. They get a signal. A ship has dropped into the atmosphere – It’s Zorri Bliss! She’s brought a bunch of other ships as well. More ships drop out of lightspeed around the planet. The rebel fleet is reborn.

Rey and Finn arrive to find a whole fleet of assorted ships around the planet. They make planet fall and join their friends. There’s a big reunion, but it’s short lived as a trio of Star Destroyers drop out of light speed above them.

On the bridge of his star destroyer Kylo Ren takes in the fledgling rebel fleet. He senses Rey on the planet. 

One of his Knights of Ren has returned to him – this is Ap’Lek Ren, strongest of Kylo Ren’s apprentices. He asks him, are you loyal? Ap’Lek Ren replies that he will serve him until his death. Kylo Ren orders him to lead the ground assault on the city, find Rey and bring her to him.

THE FINAL BATTLE

The battle in space begins above the city. On the ground the city is in chaos. Civilians are rushing around trying to evacuate.

A drop fleet takes off from the Star Destroyers and begin to descend towards the planet. A huge gun platform in the city activates and turns on the ships blowing up a couple of them. The others fall back. On the bridge Kylo Ren orders them to land outside the city and then destroy the defence battery from the ground. One of the star destroyers breaks off from the battle and moves around the planet so that the drop fleet can descend in safety away from the city.

Once safely on the ground it unloads its cargo of tanks and walkers who make their way towards the city. The city guards take up positions on the battlements, ready to defend the city. Poe and Lando command the battle from Lando’s Palace. Rey, Finn and Chewie join the defenders on the front line as the siege begins.

In space the battle is going badly. A big rebel ship gets destroyed. More Star Destroyers arrive. Some of the rebel ships decide to flee into hyperspace. The others drop down into the atmosphere where they are protected by the city defence guns. The Empire fleet surrounds the planet blockading them in.

The ground forces breach into the city, and the rebels fall back. The Imperials blow up the defence guns (reminiscent of when the rebels blow up the shield projector in Return of the Jedi) and the Empire fleet drops down into the atmosphere and destroy the remaining rebel ships, including Zorii Bliss, who sacrifices herself to allow a handful of ships to escape. A crushing blow for Poe, watching from down on the planet.

The city appears lost. A star destroyer squats in the air above the city. A giant hologram of Kylo Ren’s head appears in the sky. He gloats over his victory. He tells the people of the city to surrender and give up the rebels and he will spare them.

The star destroyer begins to bombard the city, destroying buildings indiscriminately. 

Kylo Ren joins minds with Rey for a third time. He tells her he will stop the slaughter if she joins him. All she has to do is surrender herself and the city will be saved.

In the palace, Poe offers to give himself up but Lando delines the offer. They need to destroy that Star Destroyer. Lando orders his army to evacuate the civilians into the catacombs beneath the city.

Finn and Rey hold off the ground forces so that the civilians can evacuate underground. Rose coordinates the evacuation.

They head back to the hangar where the Falcon is parked. Lando opens another hangar door, behind which is a handful of small rebel fighters including an X wing. Chewie takes the Falcon. Poe jumps in the X Wing and the small band of ships takes off to go and take on the star destroyer.

Rey comes face to face with Ap’Lek Ren, leading the ground forces. A lightsaber battle begins in the streets, with the battle raging around them.

In the sky Poe and Chewie manage to disable the star destroyer but the victory is short lived. It crashes down into the city below causing even more damage than the bombardment. 

Rose gets the last of the civilians into the catacombs. The people are safe for now.

In the atmosphere another ship arrives - The Leviathan super dreadnaught. On board are the remaining Knights of Ren. Kylo Ren orders them to make planetfall and help with the battle.

Kylo Ren appears in the sky again. He now has the ability to destroy the entire planet. He asks Rey again, join him or he will end the battle and kill everyone.

In the sky Poe and Chewie and their small group of fighters decide to try and destroy the Leviathan alone. They race up into the sky towards the entire Imperial fleet. 

On the ground the battle between the city defenders and the storm troopers rages on. Rey is still fighting Ap’Lek Ren. He taunts her. Give up and do as his master commands. Finn begs her not to do it.  

In the sky the Leviathan powers up its main weapon, ready to destroy the planet.

Rey lowers her lightsabre. She decides to give herself up. Finn begs her – don’t do this. They can escape together. Fight another day. Finn tells her he loves her. 

She has no choice – this is the only way. If she can turn Kylo Ren back to the light, he can stop the war. She knows there is good in him. She can feel it. 

Finn says, but someone else will just take his place. The Empire is evil, not just Kylo Ren. He asks her, why do you care so much about Kylo Ren? He makes a comparison between himself and Kylo Ren. He was a storm trooper, but he’s already changed to the good side.

Exactly she says. If Finn can change, others can too. It’s not too late. She has to try.

As outlined above I think this is exactly the reason for Finn’s character to exist. Its baffling that JJ didn’t explore this in the Rise of Skywalker, since he is the one who set it up in the Force Awakens. It almost seems like he didn’t even understand his own character.

Rey surrenders herself to Ap’Lek Ren. They board his shuttle and take off towards the fleet above.

Kylo Ren orders the Leviathan to power down its main gun. Poe and Chewie move in and attack the Leviathan.

Rey arrives on the flagship destroyer and is greeted like a queen. She is escorted to the bridge where Kylo Ren is waiting for her.

The battle on the streets continues. Finn and the city guards fall back to the palace.

On the bridge the Imperials report that the city has nearly fallen. The last defenders are holed up in the palace. Kylo Ren orders them to take no prisoners. Rey begs him to stop. Kylo Ren realises that she has not decided to join her. He tells her if she is not here to join him, then she will die. They begin to fight.

He demands that she join him. She tells him that she cannot. If she joins him then she will fall as well, as he did. She begs him to stop the battle, and to come back to the light. She can feel the good inside him. 

He refuses. She gives up and lowers her lightsaber and kneels head bowed. He stands over her with his lightsaber raised above her ready to cut her down, but he hesitates.

She asks him – what will he do once she is dead? What is next? What is the point of having all this power if you aren’t going to use it for anything? What will he do without her?

On the ground the imperial army breaks into the catacombs. The civilian population is helpless before them. Rose is there with C3PO and R2D2, she radios Finn and tells him goodbye. The storm troopers stand ready to kill them all.

Rey kneels before Kylo Ren still. She tells him he has to come back to the light and end the war. He can use his power to remake the republic and bring peace to the galaxy.

He tells her, there’s already peace and order in the galaxy. Yes, she says, but at what cost? 

She tells him to strike her down. If he does, he will have ultimate power but will have lost everything. Either way, he must become Ben Solo again. 

 (An inversion of the ending of Return of the Jedi when the Emperor taunts Luke - If Luke joins them he wins. If Luke kills Palpatine he will fall and the Emperor still wins.)

She tells him – I love you. Kylo Ren screams in anguish, and swings down, killing Rey.

He kneels over her body, but it vanishes. Amongst her robes on the floor he picks up her lightsaber. 

Ben Solo says – I love you too. He has come back to the light.

Rey’s force ghost appears before him. Behind her are the ghosts of Luke and Leia, and Anakin Skywalker. She says – I know.

Ben orders the army to stand down. Ap’lek Ren turns on Ben. He accuses him of treason. Ap’Lek Ren assumes command of the fleet and orders the storm troopers to kill everyone in the city.

Ben Solo fights Ap’Lek Ren on the bridge of the star destroyer with Rey’s green lightsaber.

On the ground Finn and Lando see the confusion in the ranks of the imperial army. They work out that Rey must have been successful and turned Kylo Ren back to the light.

Finn uses the city broadcasting system to broadcast a message to the Imperial army in the streets. He makes a big rousing speech about how he used to be a storm trooper, but he realised the truth. You don’t have to follow orders. You have to do what’s right. Massacring a city isn’t right. Join them instead.

The storm troopers listen to this speech and then one by one begin to remove their helmets. The imperial army turns on itself.

In space Poe and Chewie fight off endless tie fighters around the Leviathan. Poe scans the ship and identifies a weakness. If they shoot just the right place, an exhaust port, it could set off a chain reaction and destroy the ship. He flies in and takes a shot, but its protected by a forcefield. It's no good.

On the star destroyer, the lightsaber battle rages on. Realising they have lost control of the army, Ap’Lek Ren orders the Leviathan to destroy the planet. The big gun begins to power up again. 

Poe and Chewie realise it’s now or never. They attack the Leviathan itself – but the Falcon takes a bad hit and half explodes. It’s too badly damaged to carry on. Chewie says goodbye and then suicides into the forcefield. Its flickers out. The Leviathan's weakness is exposed.

 Poe tries to target the exhaust port, but it’s too small. He's getting distracted by endless tie fighters.

In his mind he hears Leia’s voice. Use the force Poe. Let go, Poe, she says again. He pulls the trigger just as the Leviathan’s big gun is about to fire. He scores a direct hit and the Leviathan explodes. (Just like A New Hope)

Ben kills Ap’Lek Ren and orders the retreat. 

In the caves, Rose huddles with C3PO, R2D2 and the refugees from the city. There is still a battle going on underground. The Knights of Ren appear. One of them tells the others – kill them all. They ignite their lightsabers and stalk toward the crowd of women and children. 

Ben Solo appears and kills the Knights of Ren, saving the civilians.

REPUBLIC

They hold a funeral for Rey and Chewie. 

Ben tells them he will dismantle the Empire and re found the Republic. King Lando jokes about having to get elected by his subjects.

Poe will learn the ways of the force and re found the Jedi under the guidance of Rey, Luke, Anakin and Yoda.

So that's my story. Please leave a comment if you like it or have alternative suggestions!

Thanks