Star Wars movies and TV shows.

Project Necromancer and Palpatine's resurrection plans. Yet, even with a bit more context, Palpatine's return remains confusing because it directly contradicts what had been established about Rey's history. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren stated that Rey's parents were 'nobody'—a far cry from her dad being a Palpatine clone. However, Star Wars had the perfect explanation all along, given by none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi.

Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) grinning in Return of the Jedi next to Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) looking determined with her blue lightsaber in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
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Rey's New Star Wars Movie Will Confront Palpatine's Last Legacy

Emperor Palpatine has had a huge effect on Star Wars and Rey Skywalker, and even though he died, he'll still cause problems in New Jedi Order.

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Obi-Wan's Half-Truth About Darth Vader Is Well-Known in Star Wars

The twist that Darth Vader was really Luke Skywalker's father in The Empire Strikes Back was one of the most shocking turns not only in Star Wars but also in cinema history. However, while this moment may now be iconic, at the time, it posed some serious narrative issues. Namely, in A New Hope, Obi-Wan told Luke that Darth Vader had killed his father, making this a massive retcon. In truth, this happened because the twist hadn't been George Lucas' original plan; however, it required an in-universe explanation.

That explanation came in the form of a rather cheeky line from Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force ghost in Return of the Jedi. Famously, Obi-Wan told Luke, "What I told you was true... from a certain point of view." Understandably, Luke responded to this statement with incredulity, clearly bewildered (and probably a bit miffed) that Obi-Wan would describe his half-truth in this way. However, this easy out from Obi-Wan is the perfect remedy to Kylo Ren's similar lie in The Last Jedi.

This easy out from Obi-Wan is the perfect remedy to Kylo Ren's similar lie in The Last Jedi.

Kylo Ren's Last Jedi Half-Truth Is Also True... From A Certain Point Of View

The sequel trilogy backed itself into an almost identical corner with its shocking Palpatine reveal. In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren confirmed Rey's fears that her parents were 'nobody,' adding that they had been nothing more than "filthy junk traders" who sold her for drinking money. However, The Rise of Skywalker completely rewrote that backstory, instead revealing that Rey's father had been a Palpatine clone, and they had left her on Jakku to protect her.

The justification for this half-truth (if it can be called that) in The Last Jedi was simply that Rey's parents were technically nobody because "they chose to be." While this could almost explain the notion that Rey's parents weren't 'significant' in the Star Wars universe the way the Skywalkers were, it did little to address the fact that Kylo Ren had called them junk traders and said they sold Rey into slavery. Clearly, Kylo had applied Obi-Wan's very same logic!

Of course, in reality, Obi-Wan's cheeky response doesn't really work in this case. Although a bit opaque, Obi-Wan's assertion technically was true. After all, Darth Vader repeatedly said he 'killed' Anakin Skywalker. The same cannot be said for Kylo Ren's assertions in The Last Jedi, which were more objectively wrong. Nevertheless, it seems the Star Wars sequel trilogy borrowed from Obi-Wan Kenobi's logic in Return of the Jedi when it came to Palpatine's surprising resurrection in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.