The 12 most shocking moments in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Big ones.

No one who didn’t work on set could predict some of the incredible plot twists, new characters, and straight-up wildness of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Because the film is packed with plot, many of its biggest moments come one after the other, resulting in a barrage of info that could overwhelm even the most meticulous fan of the franchise. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Episode IX moments that shocked and surprised Star Wars fans the most, and will likely be debated until the heat death of our galaxy. 

1. Snoke Tank

First of all: called it. Snoke was a clone construct designed by Emperor Palpatine to guide Kylo Ren until Snoke was no longer useful. Second of all, they really didn’t waste any time getting to this one, did they? Five minutes into the movie and there’s already a fishtank full of Snokes right there on screen, obliterating the last vestiges of his menace and clearing the way for Palpatine to emerge as the true and enduring evil in the galaxy. Snoke was a cool-looking dude in an even cooler bathrobe, but he and his legions of clone brothers went out like a bunch of punks. -Alexis Nedd

2. Chewbacca legit explodes (kind of)

Rey’s Force lightning was surprising unto itself, but the way she discovered her latent Palpatine powers was even more shocking. Those tense few minutes where everyone thought Rey killed Chewbacca in a horrifying shuttle explosion felt like Star Wars had taken a hard left turn into a way darker timeline. Chewie was obviously fine and outlived most of the non-droid original trilogy characters, but whew. What a fake-out. -A.N.

3. Spy Hux: A New Hope

General Hux being a secret resistance spy isn’t a huge surprise considering the only two named First Order members in the movie are him and a new character played by Richard E. Grant, but Hux’s reason for betraying the First Order is one of the funniest and on-point character moments in the entire movie. General Hux doesn’t care about the Resistance. He doesn’t want them to win. He betrayed everything he’s ever known for the simple and explicit purpose of being an asshole to Kylo Ren. Let he among us who wouldn’t take a blaster in the chest over seeing our nemesis succeed be the first to judge him. -A.N.

4. Rey is a what now?

OK! That happened. In a complete reversal of The Last Jedi’s idea that Rey has no particularly important lineage in the galaxy, The Rise of Skywalker hinged on the startling reveal that she is, in fact, the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. It feels like a bit of a cop-out to shroud Rey’s story by connecting her to the original trilogy‘s big bad, but that’s just…the way Star Wars works now. Everyone’s related, dynasties matter more than self-determination, and Emperor Palpatine canonically had enough sex to produce two further generations of his bloodline. You’re welcome for the visual. -A.N.

5. Return of the Nerf Herder

Of course there was no way J.J. Abrams & co. wouldn’t have included all three original Star Wars leads in the series’ conclusion, but just how they would integrate Han in particular was a mystery, since he never used the Force. When our favorite scruffy-looking nerf herder shows up in a good ol-fashioned grief hallucination on Kef Bir, it’s impossible not to yelp with joy and then promptly weep when you remember how he and his son ended things and that he’s not really back. Still, there’s nothing like seeing Harrison Ford in a Star War, and Han’s memory alone turns out to be enough to help his son do what must be done. –Proma Khosla

6. Welcome, anxiety droid

Every Star Wars droid is a mood unto itself, be that helpful productivity (R2-D2), existential dread (K-2SO), unrequited love (L3-37), or the burden of knowledge (C-3PO). D-O is no different, spinning in on that one lil’ wheel in a storm of overwhelmed anxiety ripe for 2019. Has there ever been a mood so fitting as that quickly stuttered “N-n-no thank you” when Rey extends her hand? BB-8 loves a good cuddle, but D-O would rather comfortably help and observe from a safe distance, ideally from behind another, bigger guardian. We stan! –P.K.

7. Jannah’s Storm Squad

At the start of the latest Star Wars trilogy, we were all shocked to see a stormtrooper remove his helmet and meet our new best friend, FN-2187 a.k.a. Finn. Finn himself receives a shock in TROS when he meets Jannah, a fellow defecting stormtrooper living off-the-grid with a whole crew of them. Like so many things in TROS, we don’t get to spend enough time with this story line or explore the experiences of the other defectors, but the reveal is enough to have Finn and the audience reeling and asking many more questions about the true stories of stormtroopers’ lives.  –P.K.

8. Luke Skywalker snatches a lightsaber and our wigs 

It was a given that the Force Ghost of Luke Skywalker would show up at some point in The Rise of Skywalker, but Luke’s badass lightsaber catch and calm stroll away from the flames of Kylo Ren’s burning TIE fighter was ten million times cooler than anyone could have expected. “Oh, you’re just gonna toss my saber out like it’s nothing after I had a whole emotional journey bringing me back to my role as an icon of hope in the galaxy? Not today, Rey. Not. Today.” -A.N.

9. Space horses on a Star Destroyer

Calling in the cavalry has rarely been as astonishing as Finn and Jannah’s clever attack on the high-flying deck of a Death Star Destroyer in The Rise of Skywalker’s final battle. The sound of thundering hooves, the looks of disbelief on the First Order officer’s face when he realizes they weren’t using speeders, the space horses themselves — it all added up to a moment that called back to Star Wars’ western roots and gave the audience something they’d certainly never seen before. Space horses on a Star Destroyer > snakes on a plane. –A.N.

10. Rey and Ben’s lightsaber relay

The Last Jedi established that Rey and Kylo can physically touch through their Force connection, and in TROS we see them incorporating physical objects while Kylo tracks her. Once they’re on the same side, this becomes an incredible asset that even Palpatine can’t anticipate; Rey and Ben Solo lock eyes through the force, and Ben, with the slightest nod, cues Rey to toss him the saber. When she draws to strike down Palpatine, she’s empty-handed, and suddenly Ben has a weapon to defend himself against his own former knightly brethren. It’s a striking move, especially since there’s no physical action on-screen to boast of, and the beginning of a Force-forged alliance the galaxy has waited for for centuries. –P.K.

11. The Kiss

Wherever you stand on Reylo, let’s take a moment to analyze this kiss before moving forward. Kylo Ren and Rey have had a deep connection since The Force Awakens, one whose growing strength and irresistibility has them both questioning what it is. In the moment of The Kiss, both of them have basically just died and come back to life. They can’t believe that they made it and defeated Palpatine, and they’re just giddy with shock, relief, and adrenaline. That’s quite the cocktail of emotions, on top of the nebulous Force history, and it manifests in the moment as one tremulous, cathartic kiss. The build up is excruciating, a will-they/won’t-they that lasted maybe two seconds, maybe 30, maybe several hours and had me covering my face in fear of truly any outcome. After it ended, my heart rate did not stabilize for another 45 minutes. To top it all, Kylo immediately dies, which is honestly the only correct way to handle making Reylo canon even momentarily. What happens on Exegol stays on Exegol. –P.K.

12. Chewie gets a medal

After 42 years of wondering why the Wookiee got stiffed at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope, Chewie finally gets his damn medal in The Rise of Skywalker. As one of the film’s many shoutouts to fans and a grace note at the end of the new trilogy, it’s a cute moment. As a reminder that Chewie is the only original hero from the first movie who survived the new trilogy, it’s a bittersweet memento of his past adventures. Chewie truly deserved the recognition, but the cost at which he got it is far more than anyone would be willing to pay. -A.N.