Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is finally out, and it has been getting a lot of criticism for many reasons. Among the most criticized moments from the film is that of Rey and Kylo’s kiss near the end of the film, which J.J. Abrams is comparing to that of Luke and Leia in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. After a bit over four decades of Skywalker history, the saga has come to an end with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which has divided critics and viewers.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follows the last stand between the Resistance and the First Order, the latter being aided by Sheev Palpatine, who had been hiding all this time. At the same time, Kylo Ren’s inner battle between the light and dark side continues, and Rey finds the answers she had been looking for and a bit more. The film addressed some of the plot holes left by the previous films in the sequel trilogy, but it fell short in solving most of them. However, one of the most talked about moments is that of Rey and Kylo Ren’s kiss.
After finally defeating Palpatine, Rey dies – for a while. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo brings her back with the Force, and the two share a kiss before Ben dies. It was a moment that felt forced and out of place (except for “Reylo” enthusiasts), which is why it has been a topic of discussion, and it doesn’t help that J.J. Abrams is comparing it to Luke and Leia’s kiss in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Tries To Fix Luke & Leia’s Kiss
In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Leia kisses Luke, which wouldn’t be weird if they hadn’t been revealed to be siblings in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It’s an often discussed moment among Star Wars fans, and even Mark Hamill has said he feels Luke was traumatized after learning he kissed his sister. However, J.J. Abrams sees it differently, and even compared Rey and Kylo’s kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to it.
Talking to fans after a Q&A session (via Twitter user rizeofkylo), J.J. Abrams addressed Rey and Kylo’s kiss scene. Abrams said there’s “as much of a brother/sister thing with Rey and Kylo Ren”, so it was more a siblings kiss than a sexual romantic one, and that’s where the comparison entered. To Abrams, Luke and Leia’s kiss wasn’t a romantic one (even if they didn’t know they were siblings), and at the end of the day it was meaningless. Rey and Kylo’s kiss was a result of the “spiritual connection” they had, but wasn’t intended to be a sexual romantic one, as for him they had a siblings-like relationship since Star Wars: The Force Awakens – which took a turn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Of course, many fans find this to not be a good enough explanation for either scene. Luke and Leia’s kiss was far from one that can be considered a “siblings one”, given the context, and if that was the intention behind Rey and Kylo’s, it could have happened differently – like Luke and Leia’s Last Jedi kiss. It’s hard to say if fans will eventually see Rey and Kylo’s kiss as a siblings one, but comparing it to Leia and Luke’s kiss might have not been the best idea, and doesn’t really fix any of them.
Next: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Got Leia’s Ending Wrong
