The Star Wars films are a mixture of beloved and hated, deciphered and picked apart, all of them debated and rewatched. While the most recent trilogy, consisting of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, disappointed fans due to its lack of consistency, one of its stars holds firm that there was a solid moral conveyed via her character.
Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the films, was revealed to be the descendent of Emperor Palpatine in the final film, but despite her lineage, her goodness prevailed, and she still feels this was an important lesson.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Ridley talked about the storyline, saying:
“Well, J.J. [Abrams] was the one who was like, ‘She is of no one,’ so it wasn’t just The Last Jedi where that was the message. What was interesting about the last one, for me, was that you can be a hero and not come from anywhere or you can be a hero and come from literally the worst person in the universe. You’re not your parents, you’re not your grandparents, you’re not your bloodline and you’re not the generations before you. So, I always was like, ‘Sure.’ But it’s beyond my pay grade. I say the words, do the thing. I do love the version of, you can be anyone you want to be, but I also love the version where you can rectify wrongs and can’t help what you’re born into.”
I do appreciate this part of the story as well. It’s a good takeaway, even if the film and its bigger picture has issues.