Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker introduced the concept of the Force Dyad - an idea Lucasfilm has been exploring in Star Wars tie-ins and handbooks ever since. Every Star Wars film adds something new to the lore, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was no different. One of its most intriguing ideas is that of the Force Dyad, the name given for the mysterious bond between Rey and Kylo Ren that proved to be a wellspring of power greater than life itself.
Lucasfilm has always tended to use tie-ins, handbooks and the like to explore the ideas introduced in its movies. had many plot holes, ideas, and concepts that were only half-developed and really needed to be fleshed out. Consequently, it's fallen to books and comics, Visual Dictionaries and other tie-ins to explain them. The concept of the Force Dyad, in particular, has been richly developed off-screen, with Lucasfilm gradually defining its nature and history, and even hinting at its true potential. It's now possible to draw the threads together to present an almost complete picture of the Force Dyad, the unique bond in the Force that drove so much of the sequel trilogy's conflict.
The Force Dyad Is A Natural Phenomenon That Can Be Cultivated
The Force Dyad is a natural phenomenon created by the will of the Force itself. As seen in Charles Soule's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren, the Force Dyad between Rey and Ben Solo was actually created at the moment he became Kylo Ren. The comic makes it clear that Kylo Ren never fell to the dark side, but was essentially trapped by it. Yet at the moment the cell door slammed shut, the Force provided him a key by creating the bond with Rey. As Ben Solo struck down Ren and claimed leadership of his Knights, on the distant planet Jakku a girl named Rey felt a strange sensation - a coldness even though she was standing under the desert sun.
But, although the Force Dyad is a natural phenomenon, it can indeed be cultivated by the beings who are of it. Kylo Ren unwittingly strengthened the bond in Star Wars: The Force Awakens when he attempted to perform a basic mind probe on Rey. As Jason Fry's novelization of Star Wars: The Last Jedi explains, this is why Rey learned the Jedi mind trick and so much about the Force at such a prodigious speed:
"Kylo had retreated at finding Rey in his head. [He] had practically fled from her. But that had not been the end of that strange, sudden connection. She had seen more - far more. Somehow, almost instinctually, she knew how he accessed some of the powers at his command - even though she didn't understand them. It was as if his training had become hers, unlocking and flinging open door after door in her mind."
The Force Dyad Requires Both Light & Dark
Rae Carson's novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker subtly reveals the Force Dyad requires both sides of the Force, light and dark. During the fateful confrontation with Emperor Palpatine when Rey and Kylo Ren stand before the Dark Lord of the Sith, it notes "their bond - refined in the fire of mutual searching, shared grief, rage and hate, but also of comion and empathy - was the one thing he had not foreseen." This likely explains why the Force Dyad has not been seen in millennia; when the Jedi and the Sith separated, each order committed to just one side of the Force. Jedi devoted themselves to the light side, whereas Sith embraced only the dark, but a Force Dyad requires light and dark to be perfectly balanced.
The Force Dyad Likely Predates The Jedi Schism
The Force Dyad likely predates the schism that created the modern Jedi and the Sith. Star Wars: The Last Jedi included an image of the Prime Jedi, the founder of the Jedi Order, and it presented him as a servant of balance - the light in the darkness, and the darkness in the light. Significantly, Lucasfilm's Secrets of the Sith presents an image of what Star Wars' Force Dyad looked like, and it's notable that the beautiful artwork shows what seem to be two of the Prime Jedi's own race bonded together in the Force. It's possible many of the early Jedi were part of Force Dyads, and that they possessed all the remarkable powers seen in the sequel trilogy.
Neither Jedi Nor Sith Can Duplicate A Force Dyad
Still, legends of the Force Dyad remained, and the Sith sought them eagerly. The Sith Doctrine of the Dyad was transcribed in ur-Kittat, the forbidden language of the Sith. As explained in Secrets of the Sith, "Like the dark side itself, ur-Kittat requires mastery to decipher. A simple change in inflection can alter a prophecy completely, opening ancient doctrines to a number of interpretations." In fact, according to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary the Sith Rule of Two is related to the Sith Doctrine of the Dyad in ur-Kittat, perhaps hinting that every Sith Lord attempted to forge a Dyad with their apprentice.
It has been confirmed that Darth Plagueis tried to create a Force Dyad with Darth Sidious, and Sidious tried to do the same with Darth Vader. None of these attempts were successful, however, because they used only the dark side of the Force, and the Dyad is a phenomenon associated with balance. A Dyad did not emerge until Rey and Kylo Ren, and it was prompted by the will of the Force itself.
Meanwhile, it is likely the Jedi Master-Padawan bond was an attempt to create a Force Dyad using the light side of the Force. Unlike the Sith, however, the Jedi do not crave power; over time they seem to have become satisfied with their own Force bonds, and the Dyad appears to have been forgotten. It's not certain whether either the Sith or Jedi will ever eventually find a way to artificially create a Force Dyad, but as it stands, it appears to be an ascended bond that happens naturally and can not be forced.
Rey & Kylo Ren's Unusual Powers Are Associated With The Force Dyad
Lucasfilm has confirmed some of the unusual powers seen in the sequel trilogy are uniquely available to of a Force Dyad. The most coveted is Rey's rare type of Force Healing power, which, according to Rae Carson's novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey learned from the ancient Jedi texts she took from the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To. This ability differs from traditional Force Heal powers in that it involves a Force- transferring their life energy to another. There is a redemptive aspect to this form of Force Heal, as Rey demonstrated when she healed Kylo Ren and unwittingly freed him from the prison of the dark side Palpatine had trapped him in. Kristin Baver's Skywalker: A Family At War explains it like this:
"Healing through the Force is a peculiar thing. Rey transferred her own Force energy to the wounded man at her feet; however, the interaction did more than merely mend a gaping wound. Burned flesh and damaged organs were made whole again, and even the scar on his face disappeared. For the first time in more than a decade, Ben Solo's mind cleared."
In addition to Force Heal, the bond between Rey and Kylo Ren allowed them to objects through space to one another. This was first seen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, when the two began to experience strange visions of one another, and they could even touch. Their bond had grown even stronger by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and they were able to use it offensively, with Rey ing Kylo Ren a lightsaber at a crucial moment.
Surprisingly, Rey and Kylo Ren never mastered this Force Dyad power, with Secrets of the Sith revealing Sith legends claim that each half of a Dyad can transport objects through time as well as space. This comes immediately after Palpatine's observations on the realm known as the World Between the Worlds, which facilitates time travel in Star Wars. It's possible that Rey and Kylo Ren, as Ben Solo, might have discovered this ability had his life not been cut short in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Still, this certainly suggests there may well be a more cosmic dimension to the Force Dyad that has yet to be revealed.
