Over in the Starlight Project Addendum thread, we’ve been thinking over a version of the Rey/Kylo dialogue which aims to fix a number of things to maintain consistency across the trilogy. I thought I’d post the latest version here, to see what people thought. The big thing to resolve here is the conflict onscreen between the idea that Rey’s parents were nobodies whilst her dad was Palpatine’s son, by removing the latter and having Rey created the same way Vader was - by Palpatine ‘using the force to create life’ - so she’s a ‘Palpatine’ in spirit with nobody parents. We’re then building on that idea to smooth out other bits of plot and inconsistency, like Palpatine’s plans throughout the trilogy, the Luke/Kylo conflict, Leia rejecting the Jedi path, the Dyad, and Rey declaring herself Skywalker.
We’re trying to preserve this as natural dialogue that works as Kylo presenting what he’s learned from Palpatine in order to convince Rey to join Kylo to overthrow Palps, so that all the other onscreen performance and context can be preserved. We’re trying to strike the balance between being expository without going too deep into the mechanics of how this all works, or making weird implications, and leaving some of the interpretation up to the viewer so it doesn’t conflict with existing canon. It should be the kind of thing that works onscreen when you’re watching it, that then holds up when you think about it later and might then reveal more neat connections that ‘just work’.
This dialogue is from a few pertinent scenes - it should be clear which ones, and who’s talking.
“Palpatine wants me to fight you.”
“Serving another master?”
“No. I have other plans…”
“I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it… I needed you to see it… who you are. The dark side is your birthright. Rey…”
"You’re lying.”
“You were right about your parents, Rey. They were nobody. And nobody conceived you.”
“Don’t!”
“You’re so much like my grandfather. So like Darth Vader…”
“I don’t want this!”
“…destined for power.”
“No!”
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”
(Rey sees the vision of herself on the Sith throne)
“Luke saw the same fate in me. But together, we can resist that fate.”
“Stop talking.”
“I’m the only one who truly knows you.”
(Cutaway to heroes capture)
“When we first fought, in the forest, you reached out for the darkness inside you. You exposed yourself to Palpatine, and set yourself on the path toward your destiny… just as he’d intended…”
(Visions of Rey beating Kylo on Starkiller, falling into the dark cave, etc.)
“No!”
(A pedestal shatters and the mask of Vader falls to the ground)
“So that’s where you are.”
“Our paths have always been intertwined."
“No…”
"I’ll come tell you why.”
“Rey, I learned the rest of our story.”
“Tell me.”
"Palpatine influenced the Force itself into creating life. First my grandfather, and then you. Both were once his chosen heir. You… are a rightful Palpatine.”
"Now, the Emperor wants us to fight each other, so you can reach your full potential and claim the throne. But he doesn’t know how much our conflicts strengthen our connection, Rey… a bond, not of blood, but of raw power in the Force. We can end him and the Sith, and create a new order, together…”
“What are you most afraid of?”
“Myself…”
“Because you’re a Palpatine? His power runs in my bloodline too.”
“Final lesson. Rey… Some things are stronger than blood. Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi. Your destiny, if you don’t face Palpatine, will mean the end of the Jedi. And the war will be lost. There’s something my sister would want you to have.”
“Leia’s saber.”
“She was quick to learn in our training. But Leia felt that her passionate nature would make the easy path to power too tempting for her. She surrendered her saber to me and said that one day it would be picked up again by someone with the spirit to face that darkness.”
“Long have I waited… I never wanted you dead. I wanted you here, Empress Palpatine. You will take the throne. It is your birthright to rule here. It is in your blood.”
“I haven’t come to lead the Sith. I’ve come to end them.”
“As a Jedi?”
“Yes.”
“No. Your hatred, your anger. You want to kill me. That is what I want. Kill me, and my spirit will pass into you, as all the Sith live in me. You will be Empress. We will be one.”
“All you want is for me to hate but I won’t. Not even you.”
“Weak. Your master, Luke Skywalker, was saved by his father. The only family you have here… is me.”
(Everything after this point would be unaltered Ascendant v4).
