Happy holidays, everyone! To celebrate the season, I’ve got a bit of a Christmas present for you all - a critical scene, wherein we establish Kylo’s and Rey’s motivations for going after Palpatine - the infamous Hangar Scene. At this point in the film, Palpatine has been revealed, and Kylo has told Rey that their only chance to stop him is if they both channel the Dark Side. There is a lot to unpack for this one, so you can read my analysis below:
Explanation:
In the original film, character motivations are, to put it kindly, hot garbage. Kylo wants Rey to join him and take the Sith Throne together; but that’s stupid, because why would Rey want to be the ruler of the Sith? (Oh that’s right, “evil blood.” I forgot.) Kylo’s plan is doubly stupid though, because he himself doesn’t want to join the Sith. “The Sith, the Jedi…let it all die.” He wants to destroy them, not join them.
Instead, I wanted to make Kylo’s goals consistent with what’s come before: he now wants to stop the Sith, and specifically Palpatine, from returning. But I wanted to go deeper than that; I wanted to give him some sort of emotional stake in the plot. I also wanted to give him motivation that Rey would also want, so that she has an actual reason for potentially joining him. The answer, of course, is saving Leia. However, if saving Leia is Kylo’s only goal, he’s pretty much already redeemed; so I also have him wanting to save the First Order as well. So, pluses and minuses to joining Kylo.
Making Leia a primary motivation also sets up Leia’s death wonderfully. Now, Kylo is right - if he and Rey don’t work together, Leia will die. And so, when Rey loses control and starts to fight Kylo, her actions inadvertantly result in Leia sacrificing herself - at least in my new version of that scene.
Additionally, I’m using this as a chance to introduce the idea of “Everyone Rey loves will die unless she joins the Dark Side.” This now sets up Palpatine’s temptation during the finale (“Only you have the power to save them…”), which didn’t have any sort of basis or framework in the original film.
Regarding Rey, she too now has clearer goals and clearer stakes - she has to stop Palpatine and save everyone, but she thinks the only way to do that is to join Kylo on the Dark Side. She now has an actual reason for potentially falling, making her fate much less certain. There are also several smaller tweaks here, such as Kylo tempting Rey with promises of “saving everyone,” rather than “conquering everyone” - small changes in diction that make his offer much more enticing, thereby increasing Rey’s moral dilemma.