When Rey (Daisy Ridley) was first introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she was a resourceful scavenger on Jakku. But like a humble slave boy on Tatooine, or an orphan on a moisture farm, she left her desolate existence behind to travel the galaxy. She joined the Resistance to fight against the evil First Order, learned to use the Force under the guidance of a wise Jedi Master, and even fell in love.
Star Wars fans found both things to love and things to hate in the Disney sequel trilogy, which concluded the Skywalker saga that George Lucas had started with Star Wars in 1977 and continued with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999. Rey was the central figure to the films as the main protagonist, but some felt that she fell short of her heroic duties, and thus, the memes were born.
10 REY WHO?
Many swathes of Star Wars fans were completely incensed when, in the final scene of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey chose the surname "Skywalker". Despite her birthright as a Palpatine, she cast aside the trappings to the dark side to be associated with the family whose story the entire saga is focused around.
Rey could just as easily chosen the surname "Star Wars", not because it sounds just as ridiculous, but because by assuming the Skywalker mantle, she effectively took over the nine-film story arc and made it about herself. Many fans felt that in doing so, she eradicated all the good the real Skywalkers did.
9 SHE DID WHAT?
It's common knowledge in the Disney sequel trilogy that Rey is good at fixing things. Like the Skywalker clan she now shares a name with, she's quite handy around a starship, with a lightsaber, and using the Force. In fact, to many fans, she didn't even need to go through the classic "hero's journey" to gain any of her skills or knowledge.
When George Lucas conceived of his Star Wars films, he worked with known historian Joseph Campbell to structure them around the hero's journey, a narrative concept found throughout mythology. It implies that the quest a hero undertakes transforms them, and they aren't the same person at the end as they were at the beginning, thanks to a wealth of profound life lessons they've received along the way.
8 FICKLE FANBASE
With the final season of The Clone Wars premiering on Disney+, some Star Wars fans are more excited to watch Season 7 of the gripping series than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. It has represented a tone and quality consistent with both the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, with character and plot development that are imbued with emotional resonance and meaning.
One of the stand-out characters from the series has been Ahsoka Tano, whose growth from novice apprentice to powerful warrior has proven to be far more believable than Rey's. Ahsoka's character development seems real and her talents earned, unlike in Rey's case, where she acquired her skills without any true growth.
7 DARTH REYDAR
When Rey turned out to be a descendant of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, some fans weren't very surprised. They knew she had to be the offspring of a powerful Force user, and while many predicted it was going to be Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, or even Obi-Wan Kenobi, it wasn't an unreasonable theory her powers could originate with the dark side.
When the trailer for the film was released, fans didn't know why Rey was depicted in Sith robes, wielding a unique double-bladed red lightsaber. They came to find out that it's the version of herself she'd encounter in a Force vision while visiting Palpatine's throne room in the hollowed wreckage of the second Death Star.
6 ANOTHER CLONE
In many ways, Daisy Ridley bears a striking resemblance to another fresh-faced English rose, Keira Knightley. With their determined gazes, square jaws, and plucky attitudes, they could be mistaken for one another, especially since Knightley already appeared in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace as Queen Amidala's double.
When they're compared by what sort of mark each actress left on a franchise trilogy, however, some fans feel Knightley is the clear victor in that regard. Her breakout performance as Elizabeth Swan in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films remains positive, though she didn't inherit the same sort of legacy that Ridley did.
5 50 SHADES OF REY
Reylos rejoiced in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when they witnessed Rey and Ben Solo, recently having cast off his dark side identity as Kylo Ren, embrace in a moment of rare tenderness. Fans of the pairing had been waiting for the moment for the entire sequel trilogy, having caught the inkling of a romance during the interrogation scene between Kylo Ren and Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The scene was certainly intimate given the pair's close proximity, and the fact that Kylo Ren chose to remove his mask for the first time. He was humanized before Rey, and she saw that he wasn't a heartless monster, but a young man who was caught up in a conflict that offered him an identity and sense of belonging.
4 THAT'S NOT HOW THE FORCE WORKS
One of the most common complaints about Rey in the sequel trilogy is that it takes her very little time to master Force abilities that took other characters much longer. She's able to utilize Jedi mind tricks in Star Wars: The Force Awakens before being trained by Luke Skywalker, and fans didn't see him employ them until Return of the Jedi after training with Master Yoda.
Even after training with Luke on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey is able to fly to Crait and move not one or two rocks, but an entire landslide of rocks from a cave entrance to help the Resistance escape. In many ways, her abilities seem to dwarf even the most powerful Jedi of all, Anakin Skywalker (who, despite her last name, she isn't related to).
3 BLU REY
To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the original trilogy, Star Wars fans rejoiced to have George Lucas's space opera finally put to blu-ray in all its digitally remastered glory. While they lamented these were the Special Edition versions of the three films, the special features and amazing audio and video clarity more than made up for it.
The release of the Disney sequel trilogy to blu-ray hasn't been as exciting for fans, mostly because the films need no improvement when it comes to their presentation. Whatever fans' opinions on the plot and characters, they're some of the best-looking films in any genre, wholly transporting viewers to a galaxy far, far away.
2 STORMTROOPER AIM
While Reylos were quite happy with how Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought Rey and Kylo Ren together, fans that had been waiting for payoff from the friendship established between Rey and Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens were left high and dry. Finn was left (as usual) shouting Rey's name and seeming less and less important in the overall narrative.
When he debuted, Finn was a unique character, an ex-stormtrooper who defected from the First Order and chose to fight on the side of the Resistance. He was a complex character, who demonstrated equal parts cowardice and heroism, and seemed at times to have more of a hero's journey than Rey did.
1 THE POWER OF NAMES
While it can be said that some of the humor George Lucas tried to interject into his prequel trilogy was cumbersome and disjointed, it does well to mention he's often stated that his films are intended to entertain children (and those fans who are young at heart), so the tone often makes sense given the context.
Sometimes the humor was completely unintentional, and fans laughed at characters and moments they weren't supposed to, like basically anything involving the Trade Federation Viceroy, or a 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker trying to flirt with a teenaged Padme. Still, we think Lucas would appreciate a well-executed Rey pun.
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