Apropos of nothing, but:
STAR WARS EPISODE IX
THRONE OF THE SITH
Consider:
Kylo tracks down a Sith Wayfinder on Mustafar, Darth Vader’s lair.
Rey has frightening visions during training, visions of herself on a dark throne.
The second Wayfinder is located in the Emperor’s throne room on the Death Star.
Both Snoke and Palpatine reborn originated on Exegol, brought to life through ‘Secrets only the Sith knew’.
Palpatine performs his most powerful acts in the vicinity of the throne on Exegol, and his most powerful act while sitting upon the throne.
Conclusion: The Throne in Exegol is the Sith’s source of power and the secret to their resurrection. The Wayfarers are a way of extending that power to the lairs of the two Sith that exist in the galaxy at any one time.
Suggested Edits:
Give more emphasis to Rey’s vision of the Exegol throne.
When Rey calls upon the Jedi for the final time, after the Jedi give their generic support, Yoda’s voice gives her a specific instruction: “A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense. Knowledge…and defense.”
When Rey turns over after hearing these voices, her hand strikes the ground as if touching this place for the first time. Just like when she touched Anakin’s lightsaber, she sees visions in her mind. She sees the Exegol throne, the Wayfarers, the Death Star throne, and, from somewhere, the image of Vader’s castle and his throne (perhaps taken from the Kenobi show). The answer comes to her mind: “The Throne.” The voice of Luke responds. “Yes, Rey. You have everything you need.”
When Rey stands and confronts Palpatine, she is able to use the first saber to block his Force lightning, but when she uses the second saber, it is to direct some of the lightning in another direction. It flies over Palpatine’s head and strikes the throne, impacting it with tremendous force. The stone seat erupts with power and is destroyed, along with Palpatine and the entire fortress around them.
Benefits:
It gives a reason for the Macguffin-heavy scavenger hunt over the course of the film, setting up these places of power to emphasize that they are important for understanding this revelation.
It is more reasonable for Rey to use two sabers at the end, to protect herself as well as direct lightning elsewhere.
It suggests that the Exegol throne is a powerful Sith artifact capable of returning Sith to life, and it also suggests that Snoke was another ancient Sith spirit brought back to life by this artifact.
It reveals the difference between Jedi and Sith, and shows that Rey is a Jedi by her actions of thinking things through and protecting herself rather than using power to defeat her enemy. Furthermore, it is a symbolic rejection of the power that Palpatine represents.
Finally, it explains why this defeat of the Sith is more final than any prior defeat, giving this story far more closure.
So what do you think?
This is a great idea although I wonder if it’s one of those situations where it would have been better if they had just written it that way - worried about adding yet another object of significance. But I can see the argument that it would actually focus things. Wonder how this would all be accomplished.
Well the major change would be a vision scene at the end like the ones Rey has from time to time throughout the ST, so it shouldn’t feel too out of place. The other edit would be some sort of effects shot of the throne getting hit by Force lightning, which probably deserves at least an insert shot. For this edit, you could add some AI voices throughout the film hinting at the final reveal, but it’s not necessary and everything could come from preexisting dialogue.
As for this idea cluttering an already cluttered movie with more stuff, I feel you and would definitely prefer a character-focused solution rather than an object-focused one, but as you say it may explain the preponderance of significant objects and turn it into a theme with a satisfying payoff instead of a storytelling crutch.
JEDIT: I also think this idea is stronger without the visible Jedi Force ghosts helping Rey, since this battle isn’t about power, light or dark. Rey is capable of accomplishing this on her own because she knows what needs to be done.