Why Did Rey Do What She Did at the Troubled End of The Rise of Skywalker?

J.J. Abrams has proven to make some of his own controversial decisions inThe Rise of Skywalker. While Rian Johnson was criticized for expanding theStar Warsfranchise and taking risks, Abrams is taking things back to the past. And for some fans, that’s perfectly acceptable until it’s not, which is the case with a few decisions in the final installment in the sequel trilogy, including one at the end of the movie when Rey travels to a very familiar planet. There areSPOILERSforThe Rise of Skywalkerbelow, so read ahead at your own risk.

At the conclusion ofThe Rise of Skywalker, Rey travels to Tatooine to buryLuke and Leia’s Lightsabers. She is visited by their Force Ghosts as they smile upon her from the great beyond, which is also the point in the movie where she takes their name.Rey Palpatineis now Rey Skywalker. This is all well and good, but why in the world would she go to Tatooine to do this? Leia has absolutely no ties to the planet except for bad memories and the same can be said for Luke.

Let’s start with Leia. She first visited Tatooine to rescue Han Solo inReturn of the Jediand ended up becoming Jabba the Hutt’s scantily clad slave. Before that, she was taken hostage above the planet inA New Hope. Rescuing Han Solo and killing Jabba the Hutt were good things that happened, but it seems like a place she would want to forget, which leads us right back to Luke, who used to live there.

While Leia was raised on Alderaan, her twin brother Luke was raised on Tatooine by Owen and Beru Lars. ThroughoutA New Hope, Luke can’t wait to leave the planet, which is understandable since this is the place where his father was at one point a nine-year old slave (he didn’t know that at the time). Later, Luke is scarred for life when his aunt and uncle are burned alive by Stormtroopers. This really doesn’t sound like a place where Rey should be burying theirJedi artifactsat all. Why would J.J. Abrams make this decision after all of the trauma that has happened on Tatooine?

Wouldn’t Naboo have been a better spot to pay tribute to the Jedi, since it’s where their parents met and fell in love? While going back to Tatooine certainly satisfies fans of the originalStar Warstrilogy, Naboo would have been a nice callback to the prequels and probably would have meant more to Luke, Leia, Padme,Anakin Skywalker, and ultimately Ben Solo. Hell, even the forest moon of Endor would have been a better spot than Tatooine. Regardless, some new Force-sensitive folks will soon find the Jedi relics buried in the desert, probably setting up a new trilogy. You can head over toStarWars.comto get ticket and showtime info forThe Rise of Skywalker, which is now in theaters.