The Skywalker Throwback

By Tiger Shi
Web Content Contributor

“The force will be with you, always.” Those were the chilling words from the trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The moment I finished watching the trailer, I wiped away some tears. It was well-made, and convinced me once and for all to go see the film considering it was the last one in the Skywalker timeline. 

The actual movie was okay; it was the trailer that nailed it. It had me reflect all those years of my obsession as a Star Wars fan. I congratulate the works of George Lucas, John Williams and everyone who contributed to making the memorable space opera. 

Since The Rise of Skywalker was the last movie to feature content related to the Skywalker family, I would like to reflect on previous movies that contain important plot points on members of that family. 

In order to clarify the family’s legacy, I will start chronologically by timeline with Revenge of the Sith. That was the movie in which the first known member of the Skywalker family, Anakin Skywalker, ended up transitioning from a Jedi Knight to Sith Lord. He basically switched sides because he caved in to his fears with anger and hate, the principles of Sith teachings. Revenge of the Sith, along with the prequels, pretty much summarizes where Darth Vader’s character originated and how the original trilogy’s antagonist faction: the Galactic Empire was founded.  

Anakin’s temporary demise was eventually redeemed by his recant as his identity as Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi where he fulfilled the prophecy as “that” Jedi who will destroy the Sith permanently.  I was under the impression that Luke, Anakin’s son, was the Jedi who returned. As I analyzed the movie further, I realized it was in fact, Anakin. Funny enough, it was all along heard in the script. These two movies showed that it tended to be the last movie of each trilogy that stood out. 

I think the plots of the sequel trilogy (2015-2019) have ups and downs. The events took place about 30 years after Return of the Jedi. The first film The Force Awakens had me excited with its action packed sequences even though some parts of it were weird. The middle film The Last Jedi contained just terrible character developments and awkward storyline. Finally, the Rise of Skywalker simply contained unexplained plot holes, like the return of Emperor Palpatine. However, I do love the characters of the sequel trilogy though such as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) for their skills and personalities. 

The sequel trilogy was awesome, but not awesome as in my opinion as the original and prequel trilogies. What the sequels failed to show was, the everlasting legacy of the Skywalker family: Anakin and Luke specifically. All it did was give fame to characters that had little to no explanation of background such as Rey and Supreme Leader Snoke, the First Order’s head. Again, I don’t have a problem with the characters themselves, just the directors’ execution of the sequels was done horribly. On the contrary, Anakin and Luke had tons of background introduced. 

With the Skywalker timeline finished, I, along with many other Star Wars fans, would throw in a little nostalgia and re-watch old films such as Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi. These two movies have shown how powerful they were for their decades, plot wise. Even though we have a new TV show to dive into such as The Mandalorian or a reboot of childhood ones like Season 7 of the Clone Wars, the prequels and originals will forever be remembered in our hearts. 

Featured image by Tiger Shi.