Over this past weekend, my roommate and I had a mini “Star Wars” weekend where we watched the "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi;" we were both in an unshakeable Star Wars mood. I walked away from watching those movies with the belief that Rey will go to the Dark Side.
First off, I love the idea of an evil Rey. I am all about Star Wars changing it up and having a female villain. I think it would be an exciting, and maybe unexpected, change. Personally, I don’t think the current story has a strong villain, especially after “The Last Jedi.”
Spoiler alert for the rest of the piece.
In “The Las Jedi” we see Rey’s journey to finding the force within herself. She shows an inclination towards the Dark Side in this film. This inclination is reflected in her first training sequence with Luke and when she ventures into the creepy, vine infested "Dark Side" of the island.
One of the things my friend and I both picked up on is how angry Rey is. She was abandoned by her parents, her hero (Han) was murdered, and she was (at first) rejected by Luke. Rey, to us, is angry and thus drawn towards the Dark Side. One scene that sticks out as "proof" for me is in "The Force Awakens" when Rey and Kylo Ren are fighting in the woods as Star Killer Base is collapsing. Finn's injured, she’s been tortured, and just saw Han Solo get killed; she is without a doubt angry. The whole fight scene she is using her anger to keep her going; to fuel her and the force.
Another thing we noticed was the lighting on Rey and Kylo's faces while they fought. Most often, we saw that neither of their faces when battling with their lightsabers was the color of their chosen side (blue is Light Side and red is Dark Side). Most often their faces were half and half. I know this could seem like a far-fetched idea, based partially on the notion that lighting has something to do with it, but as an avid movie watcher, it looks like a beautifully subtle way to hint at the fact that neither is entirely good or bad. The lighting could be a manifestation of what is to come in the third installment - that neither of them truly belong to the Dark Side. While I would love an evil Rey, this could be a fascinating route.
Let's be real, Kylo Ren isn't a convincing bad guy. As much as I love the character, he isn't Dark Side material; there’s too much good in him (I know this is a lofty statement). To me, he is a Light Side character trying to be Dark Side. The opposite goes for Rey; she is Dark Side trying to be in the Light. I believe Rey could be a fantastic evil character.
Of course, all of this is just a guess, a theory. None of this is proven. While I would, of course, love to see this, I wouldn't be crushed if it doesn't happen. I think it’s unexpected and daring. The new movies have been amazing in changing up the “Star Wars,” and I think making Rey evil would be a fantastic change, something unprecedented in this universe.
