No, really, who are you? Or: I'm starting to rethink Rey being a Skywalker...

So, over a year ago, I wrote up a nice, long post about how I was convinced Rey is a Skywalker. I still stand by most of what's in there (some of the more outside-the-box speculation hasn't held up as well after the Aftermath trilogy, but oh well), but lately I've been starting to lean away from the simple, straightforward, dare I say obvious answer that Rey has Skywalker lineage and more toward what started out as a joke:  the midi-chlorians. I know, I know, for many fans that's a four-letter-word, but they exist, there's no getting around it, so why not bring them back into the fold in an interesting way? And what interesting way is that, you ask, well, follow me down the rabbit hole and we'll see...


The Chosen One

So, thanks to Rebels, there's a new debate about who the Chosen One is:  Anakin or Luke. Having no knowledge of what the actual prophecy says, I suppose the idea that it's really Luke can't be completely refuted, but, c'mon, we all know it's Anakin. Obi-wan was just giving Maul one of his now-famous "certain point of view" explanations...anyway, what we can ascertain from the prophecy is that the Chosen One will be born of the Force and will come about to bring balance by destroying the Sith. Following through on that logic, Anakin is the Chosen One because he had no father and, eventually, destroyed the Sith, right? Well...maybe not exactly. If you believe the legend of Darth Plagueis, and the inferences you can make from Revenge of the Sith, Anakin wasn't technically created by the Force, he was created by the Sith influencing "the midi-chlorians to create life." So that makes him a false Chosen One...of course, there's also the chance that it's "a prophecy that misread could have been," but, in that case, who the hell knows what's going on, so we'll just glaze over that possibility...now, what does this have to do with Rey? Well, if Anakin wasn't the Chosen One, maybe Rey is...maybe she was created by the Force to bring balance and destroy the darkness - it could be that the Jedi just read into the prophecy and equated the darkness to the Sith - or maybe she was created to bring about an end to everything having to do with the abomination that was the false Chosen One, thus her true purpose is not to destroy Snoke, but Luke, Leia and now Kylo...that has the potential to make for a total role reversal where Rey becomes the "bad guy" trying to destroy the Skywalkers and Kylo becomes the hero. While that would create a sequel trilogy that ultimately had a Skywalker protagonist in Ben Solo, I don't put much stock in that option because it seems too farfetched (even for me). However, if you think about it, The Force Awakens is already all about Luke, even though he's barely in it, so one down, two to go...now, there's also the possibility that there's not just one Chosen One, but several throughout time, as needed by the Force. In that scenario, both Anakin and Rey could be Chosen Ones - both brought about by the Force to remove some terrible imbalance pulling it toward darkness:  one being the Sith, the second being Snoke and whatever he is...regardless of the details, though, I think Rey being created by the Force makes pretty good sense, and ties into what we see in the film. How, you ask? Well...

The Accent & Jakku

I'll be the first to admit that I thought they were leading us somewhere by having the Empire's last stand take place on Jakku and having Rey come from there, but, (Aftermath:  Empire's End spoilers incoming) considering the Empire's quasi-thwarted plan involved destroying the planet, I've since given up on there being some meaningful connection - I think Jakku was just a great, out-of-the-way, nobody cares kind of place where a family could drop off (possibly sell?) their daughter and no one would bat an eyelash. It was a nowhere planet before the final battle, and remained a nowhere planet thereafter; it's the kind of place that makes Tatooine look like a vacation destination. That said, it's always been puzzling how a scavenger girl from Jakku ended up with a Core World accent - the only logical explanation is that she isn't from Jakku, she was left there. And why was she left there? Well, say you're a single woman, trying to make your way in the galaxy, and suddenly find yourself pregnant when such a thing should be impossible...you decide to carry the pregnancy through, have the child, begin raising her, and start to notice peculiar things tend to happen around her, much like Harry Potter making glass vanish and seemingly sicking a snake on his cousin...you might decide you don't want anything to do with that child anymore, right? (Okay, maybe you specifically wouldn't, but I'm sure you, you can understand how a general you might.) Maybe you try to give her up for adoption, but, because of the state of the galaxy, the orphanages are all full, or maybe you're the down-on-your-luck type that decides to make a profit from your misfortune and sell the girl...whatever the situation, you end up on a far, far away world where you can do such a heinous thing and easily get away with it, so you do...and that, my friends, is how Rey winds up on Jakku..."but wait, Bryan, how does Kylo seem to know who she is then?" Ah, good question:  it could be that Snoke has knowledge of prophecy as well, and has shared his version with Kylo and he's putting things together based on what he saw while probing her mind, or, better yet, what if Kylo felt a presence while on Jakku, but didn't know who or what it was...maybe he mistook the strength he felt in the Force for the lingering presence of Palpatine (I'm assuming he got a crash course in the history of the First Order and the Empire that came before it), but when face-to-face with Rey, seeing her strength first-hand, watching her call the lightsaber that should have gone to him to her, he realizes she is what he felt on Jakku, thus, "It is you." (That's from the novelization of The Force Awakens, just in case you're curious.) Not bad, huh? "Sure, that's all well and good, but what about the connection to the lightsaber?" Another good question, follow me...

It calls to you...

All the outliers that were "too old to begin the training" have had someone behind them, pushing them to their next step in the Force:  for Anakin, it was Qui-gon; for Luke, Obi-wan; and for Rey, it's the lightsaber itself, or, rather, it's the Force itself through the kyber crystal inside the lightsaber. And why did the Force call to her? Because it created her; it positioned destinies throughout the cosmos in an attempt to get her off Jakku so she can start to become what she was always meant to be:  the Chosen One. There's scarcely anyone else left that can be the mentor she needs to guide her toward learning the Force, so the Force takes it upon itself to do it...now it needs her to begin to fulfill her destiny and bring balance to the now dark-leaning Force... "Okay, but why that lightsaber specifically?" Well, as a nostalgic plot device, duh! Only kidding, the reason it's the lightsaber Luke lost when fighting Darth Vader (I know I've mentioned this before, but how in blazes did said lightsaber end up in a box in Maz's dungeon? That's the real Star Wars Story everyone should be clamoring for, not something featuring Obi-wan with his thumb up his arse on Tatooine) is because it's actually a weapon that Anakin crafted, and, because both he and Rey were created by the Force, they're linked via that strong Force connection rather than by something so paltry as a bloodline. To reference Harry Potter again, they're bonded like Harry and Voldemort:  not related, but fused through a shared magical power and experience. And, if you think about it, Rey being born of the Force gives her Skywalker lineage, in a way, because she and Anakin both have the same "father," so to speak. Thus, even with this "Rey is the Chosen One" theory, she's still a sort of Skywalker and the saga continues to be their story...

And that, my friends, is my new favorite Rey theory. *waits for applause to die down* Yes, I know in all likelihood it'll be debunked before Celebration is over this weekend, but I also know that I don't care (and I actually seriously doubt we get any huge reveal like that via trailer). I speculate because it's fun, first and foremost; it causes me to think about things in ways I may otherwise not consider, plus I just enjoy writing...two birds, one stone...anyway, what do you think? Is this one of the most crackpot theories to date? Have you heard this before and it's old news? (I'm sure it's out there somewhere, probably much more eloquently stated than this, but, again, I don't care.) What's your Rey lineage theory? Are you steadfast to Rey Skywalker? Maybe you're a Rey Kenobi, or ever Rey Palpatine? Let me know in the comments below and we'll keep the discussion rolling right through Celebration and beyond, or comment about how this theory is bad and I should feel bad...just write something, please, I'm begging you! (Just kidding, do or do not, there is no care.) So, that's enough babbling from me, hope you enjoyed this post, and definitely enjoy all Celebration has to offer this weekend, and while you're doing all the enjoying, may the Force be with you...