Summary
- Rey's changing storylines left fans confused about her identity, from being a nobody to a Palpatine.
- Fans dislike Rey because her character seems stagnant, lacking a fulfilling character arc and depth.
- Rey's role in the Star Wars trilogy was overshadowed by flaws in the storyline, leading to disappointment among fans.
Fans had a lot of problems with the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Almost as many problems as they had with the prequel trilogy. Many things in the newest trilogy just didn't make sense to some fans. Force Awakens brought everyone back to the world of Star Wars, but after that, the novelty wore off, and we got The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, which most fans admitted they hated or found confusing. However, what fans really couldn't wrap their heads around was Rey's storyline.
But if the overall storyline of the entire franchise was messed up, to begin with, well, then all the characters' storylines were also messed up.
Updated May 2024: Despite mixed feelings about Rey in the "Star Wars" franchise, Daisy Ridley will officially be returning to the role of Rey in "The Rise Of Skywalker", a role that Ridley is excited to return to. "There’s just a lot of joy with me and these films," Ridley said. "Honestly, if I wasn’t excited, I wouldn’t have done it. It feels like a great thing to be a part of."
Rey Was Forgotten... And Then She Was A Palpatine
Rey's storyline was completely changed, leaving fans confused about her role
One of the biggest things that fans had a problem with about Rey was her changing storylines. Since Force Awakens, Rey's story was building up to something big. Who was she, what was her story, and especially, who were her parents? Because they didn't tell us in the first film meant that it was one of the biggest secrets of the trilogy.
Then, when The Last Jedi came, Kylo Ren said he looked into her past and found out that her parents were nobody. Fans were shocked. That couldn't be it, could it? We felt bad that she seemed to be the offspring of some pretty horrible people, but we couldn't believe that this powerful girl was the product of nothing. But then again, Anakin was literally the product of nothing, having no father and all.
Fast-forward to The Rise of Skywalker, and all of a sudden, she was a Palpatine, which was a lot better than being the child of nobody...sort of. Now, Rey had to embark on an internal struggle between the light and the dark. But having her not wanting to give in to the dark side was such a cliché. Then, when the decision was too hard, Rey chose both sides. Typical.
Why Fans Do Not Like Rey
Fans do not like Rey because it feels like to date, her character has not gone anywhere
When answering why people hate Rey, Quora user Michael B. wrote, "And it makes her into a microcosm of all the problems in the film. Her past is a mystery box with nothing in it. She has a superfluous romance that comes out of nowhere. Her character arc doesn’t really go anywhere because no one can decide on what it should be. She is simply a character that has things happen to her, carried along by a recycled plot that was told better the first time."
"Which is really a shame because there are a lot of good ideas here. But none of them are ever given the chance to develop into a good narrative." It is a shame.
Rey's Character Was A Bit Dull
Fans think that the Star Wars trilogy was flawed which in turn, made Rey's character flawed
One fan on Fandom wrote that it's more about how the trilogy was messed up rather than Rey herself. "While I can’t speak for everyone here, I think she is a genuinely good person, a true hero. My dislike toward her is strictly restricted to her role as a Star Wars character, and this has more to do with the mentality behind the Sequel Trilogy than with her. Let me explain," WriterBuddha wrote.
He goes on to explain that Luke Skywalker was George Lucas' embodiment of "the spiritual journey, what one must take if he/she wants to defeat evil: he idealized his heroic Jedi Knight father, and wanted to confront Darth Vader, but he was forced to reconstruct his views about evil when he realized Darth Vader is identical with Anakin Skywalker." In the end, Luke doesn't go down the dark side.
In the prequels, we see how Anakin turns to the dark side. "You see, both part of George Lucas’ story carries important messages and lessons: evil, the Dark Side, is nothing more than fear, anger, hatred, and all three is suffering. However, the Sequel Trilogy broke ties with this underlying philosophy, and mold Star Wars into a simplistic rivalry and constant fight between good and evil," he continued.
"Rey has her own inner struggle, but while the story of Luke and Anakin offered an answer for universal questions, and challenged the audience’s views about good and evil, Rey was almost a stereotypical hero. She was forced to face cruel realities (like no one can rely on legends, and if we need a hero to save us all, we need to become this hero) but her choices were always obvious ones between being good or being evil, and this is, according to my views, a step back."
She really became "an avatar to fans," meaning whatever she loved, fans loved. "She is not a bad character, not at all, but she is a traditional, simple sci-fi/fantasy character, placed into the world of Star Wars, and she is, compared to Anakin and Luke, devoid of deep and original spiritual, philosophical content," WriterBuddha concluded.
Rey could have been the next Luke Skywalker, and that's probably what J.J. Abrams was trying to work up to, but it just didn't work out, sadly. So it's not so much about why fans hate Rey; it's more about why fans hate the sequel trilogy.
Source: Quora
