Fantastic new theory concerning Rey's backstory in THE FORCE AWAKENS!

POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET!

ALSO WHY HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET?! ARE YOU DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO FUN?!

I think it’s safe to say that people have been talking about Star Wars: The Force Awakens A LOT! We did too! And of course one of, if not the biggest talking point, has been new heroine/fledgling Jedi Rey’s backstory. Who is she? How is she so powerful in the Force? Why can she do/know the things she does? The most prevalent theory is that she is actually Luke Skywalker’s daughter, and that she was just a Padawan in training with her father when fellow Padawan Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren turned to the Dark Side and slaughtered all of Luke’s other students with his Knights of Ren. The theory goes on to state that in an effort to save the young Rey from Ren’s blade, Luke hid her away on Jakku after suppressing her memories of her past and her Force abilities.

But that’s where the theory falls apart for me: I just cannot see Luke abandoning his own daughter like that to a fate of near servitude, barely surviving on some desert planet, just like he did as a child. I mean, why not just take her with him? Clearly, he’s stayed hidden for many years without any difficulty. Furthermore, what would drive him to stay away that long anyway?

But what if what drove Luke away was the death of his daughter? A daughter that is actually not dead? Reddit user Stormstripper posted this really good theory recently (pointed out to me by regular reader Whiterock yesterday) that actually fills in all these gaps and provides a very poignant answer to the question of who left Rey on Jakku. It refers to a bootlegged clip of Rey’s Force vision after finding Luke’s lightsaber which has since been removed, but if you’ve seen the movie then you probably know exactly which scene he’s talking about.

Well people, my mind is blown. I literally am sitting here giddy. Please watch this clip of Rey’s visions from the caverns, posted kindly by faalabi (I don’t know how to link to his name to give this redditor credit, but thank you). http://sendvid.com/i0q9ybuc[1]

What you will see and hear is this:

Sequence of events begin in what appears to be Cloud City, then as Rey – a little girl laying in the rain (but Rey the adult is remembering herself there). Please note that Rey is about to be killed by someone with a very distinct helmet. All of a sudden we see a red saber spear the would-be killer and save Rey.

The camera pulls back and we see that the holder of that weapon is Kylo, surrounded by the KOR and the dead bodies of students of Luke’s Academy. Rey sees Kylo’s mask, camera focuses on his mask and directly cuts to the scene of her being left on Jakku.

From this visual we get a story. Whatever happened to Ben Solo that caused him to kill those students, he was willing to kill one of the KOR in order to save little Rey and then he is the person who delivers her to Jakku. After all, she is his cousin. The daughter of Luke.

Incidentally, the voices from the saber’s memories are real. You can hear Obi Wan, Luke and some say Yoda too (I have not yet heard Yoda). The force is being described starting at 0.20.

EDIT: I am not saying Kylo holds her arm. I am saying that Kylo is the one on the ship leaving as the person holding her arm says “quiet girl.”

Well, damn. Not only does that make a hell of a lot sense, it actually makes Kylo Ren into an even more interesting character. This could basically set up his eventual redemption for the killing of his own father, or at least shows that he was very conflicted about his move to the Dark Side. Or maybe it shows his arrogance, in that he never thought this young girl stuck on some backwards planet would ever be a threat. Either way it just adds even more layers to his character.

It also goes on to explain why he so desperately wanted to recruit her during their battle – and maybe even why he wasn’t trying as hard to kill her. There’s also a scene where he completely flips out when he hears a report that “some girl” managed to obtain the map, violently Force-pulling the First Order officer that brings the news. It was a very unwarranted response… unless he started to suspect who this girl was.

Now you’re probably thinking that you’ve spotted major the flaw in this theory: Kylo Ren says that he doesn’t know who Ren is. Except he doesn’t actually. It’s only implied that he doesn’t know who she is during his conversations with Supreme Leader Snoke. If this theory holds true, then I’m guessing that Snoke has no idea that Luke Skywalker’s progeny is alive, and Ren would certainly not want to let Snoke know, showing that there’s still some good left in him. Or at least there was before he stabbed Han in the chest.

Also, and here’s the big emotional kicker, is that the spot where Luke is standing at the end when Rey walks up to him is actually his daughter’s grave, as he thought she had died at the hands of the Knights of Ren all those years ago. That would explain the mixture of emotions that run across his face when he sees Rey. The script for the movie (which was recently made available to a few people for awards consideration, and since leaked online) even clearly states that he looks at Rey with a “kindness in his eyes, but there’s something tortured, too,”and that Luke “doesn’t need to ask her who she is, or what she is doing here… his look says it all.” The script then goes on to describe the final moment of Rey offering Luke his lightsaber:

“An offer. A plea. The galaxy’s only hope.

HOLD ON LUKE SKYWALKER’S INCREDIBLE FACE, amazed and conflicted at what he sees, as our MUSIC BUILDS, the promise of an adventure, just beginning…”

Kindess, tortured, amazed and conflicted certainly sounds about right for a parent seeing a child in front of them who they long thought dead. If true, this does mean that Rey is a Skywalker, which is something I’ve been vocal against as I think it unnecessarily shrinks down this massive universe to just the story of one elite family, but I can’t deny that all the pieces most definitely fall into place here.

What do you guys think of the theory? Complete bantha poodoo, or are you a believer? Or maybe you even have your own crackpot theory to share? Sound off in the comments below!

Last Updated: January 5, 2016