Those are good thoughts, RL. I am constantly wondering how to do a Rey Nobody concept with this film without cutting out too much of what is already there, which makes me think that there needs to be some concept of Rey ‘becoming’ Palpatine’s heir through her actions. This speaks to the whole ‘Rey’s future’ angle you brought up, where her past really doesn’t matter. However, so much of this movie is concerned with her past that again, it’s impossible to ignore that there’s some aspect of her past that wasn’t fully revealed.
So how about this:
Rey’s parents didn’t even know she was Force sensitive. This was during the first major round of First Order child abductions, so Rey was taken off world and sold to Unkar Plutt because the alternative was that she would have been taken away with no compensation for the parents. The child abductions had the added benefit that Force sensitive children would be identified by the First Order and sent to the Emperor for training or extermination.
Unkar Plutt was in the business of buying children who would otherwise have been sent to become Stormtroopers, or killed. He would hide them in the desert, giving them the barest food to survive on as he collected a tidy profit from this business. Sometimes the parents would come and retrieve their children, but most of the time they never returned.
Ochi was the punishment sent by the First Order for those who defied them and hid their children away.
…
“Rey….wherever you are…You are hard to find.
“You are hard to get rid of.”
“I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it…I needed you to see it…who you are. I know the rest of your story. Rey…”
“You’re lying.”
“You were right…your parents were no one. Victims of the First Order’s atrocities.”
“Don’t!”
“The Order was harvesting children across the galaxy.”
“I don’t want this!”
“But your parents resisted.”
“No!”
“They sold you, to keep you safe.”
(Rey sees the vision of her parents and her abandonment.)
“My Love…be brave.”
“You’ll be safe here…I promise.”
“Come back! Nooo!”
“They paid for your protection…in more than one way.”
“Stop talking.”
(Cutaway to heroes capture)
“Rey, what happened to your parents happened to countless people across the galaxy. Palpatine needed everyone to hate and fear what he had done. So his assassins tracked down anyone who resisted his Order…and killed them.”
(Rey sees her parents get killed.)
“So that’s where you are. Have you guessed why the Emperor wanted you dead? I’ll come tell you.”
…
In the hangar, Kylo continues:
“Why did the Emperor come for me? Why did he want to kill a child? Tell me.”
“Palpatine was defeated by a man who still believed in his father, who believed against all odds that the galaxy could be saved.”
“By destroying the galaxy’s children, he ensured that every orphan knew that he was the source of their hatred and despair. You can overthrow him, Rey, but if you do…you will become his heir and claim his dark throne.”
(Removes his helmet)
“You know what you need to do. You know.”
“I know.”
…
When Rey is reaching out to the Jedi at the end of the film, she is surprised to find that she doesn’t hear them. Rather, she has called to her the ones who can truly help her, her friends. She hears the voice of Finn, of Poe, of Chewie and Maz. She hears Luke and Leia, of course, but she even hears Han’s voice, making her realize that these aren’t ghosts reaching out to her but her own memories, their words the words of encouragement they spoke to her throughout her journey.
This was foreshadowed by Ben being redeemed by his memory of his father.
“You are nothing. A scavenger girl is no match for the power in me. I am all the Sith!”
“And I…I’m a Skywalker.”
…
Rey isn’t special. She’s not an outlier, but rather representative of a galaxy-wide tragedy which makes her struggle universal. Comparing power levels here is pointless because the story has never been about that. Rey cannot defeat hatred through power. “You want me to hate but I won’t.” Something like that.