In an incredibly subtle moment, Star Wars just addressed a major fan complaint about 2015’s The Force Awakens. The first film in the sequel trilogy was beset by narrative issues, from rehashing plot beats of the original trilogy to teasing new ideas that later movies never picked up. However, one controversial decision may have an incredibly smart solution…
Star Wars Just Subtly Explained Rey’s Piloting and Combat Skills
Did the Force Dyad Let Rey and Ben Solo Share Skills?
Following the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, some fans had issues with Rey’s skillset. Despite growing up on the remote desert planet of Jakku as a scavenger, Rey shows immediate skill at piloting starships and battling with lightsabers. However, the later movies may actually explain why Rey could draw on these skills so easily.
In today’s Star Wars: Han Solo – Hunt for the Falcon #2, fans get a flashback to Han Solo showing his son Ben around the Millennium Falcon. From a young age, Ben was obsessed with his father’s legendary ship, and Han indulged his son, even showing him how to activate the ship’s hyperdrive.
The later movies establish that Ben and Rey are a Force Dyad, sharing a unique connection through the Force. As a Force Dyad, Rey and Ben shared thoughts, experiences and – later in life – could even cross the boundaries of physical space. Given the confirmation that Ben grew up familiar with the Falcon‘s controls, it makes perfect sense that Rey was able to draw on his experiences when she took control of the iconic ship.
Rey and Ben Swapping Skills Makes Sense Within Existing Lore
While this idea is subtle, it’s also somewhat irresistible. As a Force Dyad, Rey and Ben had a mental connection as powerful as the Force itself. While they only became aware of that bond after meeting physically and receiving training from their different mentors, it would be surprising if the connection hadn’t manifested earlier in life. Indeed, most Force sensitives experience unusual powers before they are trained or even know of the Force.
If Rey and Ben have been sharing skills since childhood, the moment where Rey passes Ben a lightsaber in The Last Skywalker also feels like a far more satisfying culmination of their bond. Indeed, there’s even a dark potential for this bond to explain some of Ben’s angst as a child.
If he was picking up on Rey’s desperate desire for family and identity despite having his own family around him, it could help explain why he began to despise their legacies and go looking for something of his own.
Our Take on Star Wars ‘Solving’ Rey’s Skills
While the Force Dyad allowing Rey and Ben to share skills is a fun idea, it also raises its own problems. Rey being a good pilot and lightsaber combatant because she drew on Ben’s training puts a sexist spin on her capabilities, robbing her of agency and crediting a man for her skills rather than allowing her to have her own abilities. This would only be addressed if Ben benefited in a similar way from Rey’s skillset, which the movies don’t depict (but the comics still could.)
Ultimately, Rey’s talents also don’t need an explanation. Star Wars has already explored the idea that a Force connection heightens reflexes and instincts – for example, Anakin Skywalker being the only human on Tattoine capable of Podracing. Elsewhere in Star Wars media, different Jedi are suggested to be particularly capable at music, cookery and animal handling because of how the Force brings them into unity with the world around them.
However, for anyone who struggled with how quickly Rey took to piloting and swinging a lightsaber in The Force Awakens, it may be useful to reflect that she canonically had a mental link to another Star Wars character who trained in those skills from childhood, literally learning to pilot the Millennium Falcon on his father’s knee.
Star Wars: Han Solo – Hunt for the Falcon #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren