Tonight TMC airs “Star Wars 9”. Many elements of the film have been criticized. Notably a scene at the end, when Rey and Kylo Ren kiss. An incomprehensible moment for some, which Daisy Ridley tried to justify and defend.
Star Wars 9 : Conclusion to the Volatile Trilogy
After Disney took over Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, it had to wait.A new trilogy Star Wars was huge. Only three films offered in 2015, 2017 and 2019 divided fans. The force awakens While seen by some as a simple remake of Episode 4 The Last Jedi There was widespread criticism. It must be said that for this, the director Rian Johnson took Great freedomsGiving the feeling of not considering the film before it.
came forward The Rise of Skywalker JJ Abrams returns to direct. A return that gave the sense of Disney trying to salvage the furniture to make the best possible conclusion to an incredibly shaky trilogy. As we wrote in our review Star Wars 9 At the time, “the task was not easy for a director who had to conclude a trilogy, answer many questions, while managing the space created by the previous film”.
There are ultimately two opposing perspectives in this trilogy Star Wars, between Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams. And with this all this is felt more Star Wars 9. Indeed, there is a feeling of being two films at once Lots of incidents and inconsistencies . The Rise of Skywalker So logically divided in turn, which did not prevent it from grossing a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
A kiss that goes wrong
Despite these ever-growing divisions in the fan community, one element nearly everyone agreed upon. The kissing scene between Rey and Kylo Ren, at the end of the film, which no one really understood at the time. Most viewers watched A sign of love,. Except nothing in character development leads to that. In 2020, with the publication of the book, it was not until much later The Rise of Skywalker, which writer Ray Carson detailed on this moment. In the book, it is written that Rey gives this kiss as a sign of gratitude and as an offer of love to Kylo Ren in his final moments of existence.
Daisy Ridley defends this scene
It is after that Daisy Ridley who returned to this controversial and much criticized passage. Ray’s interpreter clarified during the podcast Happy Sad Confused KOne take was filmed without the kiss. But ultimately keeping the moment in the edit is not a problem, according to him. This kiss is not romantic even for the actress. For him, it’s a way to say goodbye to Kylo Ren, but also to his character and this adventure.
What is interesting is the intentionality. In that moment it felt like goodbye, and it felt deserved. You can interpret a kiss in a thousand ways, but I thought it was goodbye. The whole scene was emotional and I felt like I was saying “goodbye” to my work.
The moment was moving in any case especially for Daisy Ridley who also states during this interview that she burst into tears While shooting her last scene during the reshoots of Star Wars 9. But ultimately, her goodbye was short-lived, as the actress would reprise her role as Rey for the next Star Wars film.
