Many character relationships have a will-they, won't-they dynamic to them, but for many Star Wars fans, this described a non-romantic thing. Would Rey, naive scavenger and aspiring Jedi, ever yield to the dark side of the Force? We got an answer in various forms throughout the sequel trilogy, but it was most powerfully explored recently in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Now, the second issue of the comic adaptation is diving deeper into that matter.
Should Rey have replaced Emperor Palpatine?
Jody Houser and Will Sliney are the creatives bringing us the adaptation for Episode IX to a comic version. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #2, we come to the moment where Rey has a vision of herself on the Sith throne.
Spencer Connolly of ScreenRant observed that "it actually gives fans something they didn't get in the movie: Rey Palpatine, Queen of the Sith." He explains that "Star Wars cuts to a 'what if' future that stems from the dark side power Rey just summoned. Since she's the granddaughter of Sheeve Palpatine, Rey is predisposed to the dark side of the Force... If Rey gave in to her dark side inclination, she would have become the Empress fans see in this comic." Connolly doesn't like that Rey was "the hero of the story... it's a little bland that she was." He favors the "scenario where Episode IX could have corrupted Rey - especially after revealing that Rey was Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter."
Empress Palpatine and Kylo Ren in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER comic book adaptation pic.twitter.com/rBNLhFQoGf
— Star Wars Holocron 🔜 SWCJ (@sw_holocron) March 26, 2025
I agree that "this comic just gave a taste of that possibility, which... looks so incredible," but this is where our agreement ends.
For me, a major moment of poignancy came when Luke acknowledged that Leia trained Rey despite knowing her heritage as a Palpatine. I come from the Master Yoda school of thought that says that the dark side isn't stronger but "quicker, easier, more seductive." It makes any Jedi struggle to stay true to the light anything but bland.
The course of war allowed both Luke and Leia to test their moral limits. Despite being the heirs of Darth Vader, neither turned to the dark side. Connolly says that some fans' need for a dark Rey "isn't to say that Star Wars was wrong for not making Rey the villain, as there's something to be said about Rey standing against her base dark side nature and choosing a path for herself."
It's not often that I explain my feelings on a comic by referencing a soundtrack, but it was upon listening to John Williams' score of the entire trilogy that I realized "Rey's Theme" had always included the Emperor's motif in its introduction.
In music theory, what Williams did is called "diminution," in which a melody is shortened or sped up, and the Music Theory Academy website notes that it "often brings a heightened sense of 'urgency' or 'tension' to the music." This urgent nod to her Palpatine heritage, there since her first appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, finally changes to a patient and contented version at the moment that she visits the Lars homestead.
As she embraces the heritage that her devotion to the light side has acknowledged, her music is free from the influence of the dark side, and she proclaims herself to be Rey Skywalker. Rey literally finds herself and her home in being "all of the Jedi."
If you'd like to see this interesting take on Rey's vision, locate a store that sells the issue on Marvel's website. It certainly gives fans something to think about.