Reforging the mask holds the same meaning as repairing the Skywalker saber. It’s about rebuilding oneself after having one’s worldview shattered.
True, but with what footage we have available we’d still have to use Rey getting close to killing Palpatine for his essence transfer. Maybe in the hologram scene Palpatine could say that he’s sensed Kylo Ren’s death, which would explain why he’s suddenly okay with the essence transfer plan instead of hoping Ben follows Rey to Exegol. And then when Ben suddenly shows up he’s like: “Oh, I thought you were supposed to be dead. Too bad your coming together is gonna be your undoing.”
What I was saying was to drop the essence transfer entirely but keep Palpatine taunting Rey to kill him, with some additional context to indicate that killing him would make her some sort of dark empress. Not the most clearly thought out idea, I’ll admit.