A new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker tie-in book titled Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse has fans questioning whether or not it implies that Luke Skywalker never told the truth to Leia about Kylo Ren’s turn to the Dark Side.
Roanhorse writes a conversation between Rey and Leia discussing Kylo Ren following the events of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi:
“”Kylo Ren. He’s your son…”
Ah. Leia nodded and drank from her now cooling cup. Rey squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.
“What happened to him?” she finally asked. “I mean, how did he turn to the dark side? He started in the light, didn’t he? He told me a story about Luke, about his training.” She exhaled. “I guess I just want to understand.”
“I do, too.”
“So you don’t know?”
“I think you would have to ask Ben what happened to him.”
“He wanted me to join him, but I couldn’t. I thought I could help him, but he only wanted me to become like him.”
Rey’s face fell, and Leia could see the pain etched there. The girl cared about Ben, and he had disappointed her. “Ben has made his choices,” Leia said. “No one can save Ben but himself. And I don’t know if that is what he wants.”
Rey nodded, a sharp dip of her chin. “I know that. I mean rationally I know, but I guess I held out hope.”
“Hope is good,” Leia said, her voice gentle with understanding. “Hope is important, and sometimes it is all we have. But,” she said, smiling, “what does hope have to do with being rational?” She held out her hand and Rey leaned forward and took it, pressing her palm to Leia’s and squeezing.”
As you can see, it doesn’t appear that Leia knows what happened to Kylo Ren while he was training with Luke Skywalker. She clearly states that Rey would have to ask Ben what happened to him.
However, it’s also possible Leia might not have wanted to explore that subject with Rey because it could have been a sore spot for her.
The conversation between the two takes place in the middle of the night. And it’s revealed that Leia’s already in a melancholy state when she drops in on her.
“And I’ve made you sad,” Rey said, noticing the look on Leia’s face.
“Not you,” Leia corrected her. “Life. This war. You are a light in the darkness.” She gestured to the seat across from her.”
Not to mention, Leia does reveal that she knows a little bit of what happened to Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. She tells Han Solo, “No, it was Snoke. He seduced our son to the Dark Side. But we can still save him Me. You.”
She adds, “Luke is a Jedi. You’re his father. There is still Light in him. I know it.”
https://youtu.be/m0AvQlAWdxk?t=84
Now, this scene doesn’t confirm Luke told the full story. But he did let them know that Snoke seduced him to the Dark Side.
It’s quite possible Leia knows the full story, but still wants to find some understanding as to why Ben would turn to the Dark Side. Why was he easily swayed to the Dark Side by Snoke even before Luke pulled his lightsaber? That’s a question she might want answered.
Still the big question is whether or not he told Han and Leia the fact that he pulled his lightsaber on the young Ben Solo.
As Luke tells it, he pulls his lightsaber believing he could cut out the evil influence of Snoke by striking down his nephew.
https://youtu.be/aQPXS2BhX9g
I’m inclined to give Star Wars the benefit of the doubt on this point, and that Leia just didn’t want to discuss the heartbreaking subject with Rey.
However, Gary from Nerdrotic does make an impassioned argument looking at how Disney Star Wars has treated Luke Skywalker in their two sequel trilogy movies.
“There is no explanation for this. You don’t accidentally screw up a character this bad.”
What do you make of this new novel? Do you think it implies Luke is a liar? Or did Leia just not want to talk about Kylo Ren with Rey?