# Star Wars: Theories on Rey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885 "2017-02-15T05:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/41 "2017-02-16T20:47:25Z")
What if Rey has no parents? What if she’s not even a human, she’s just a huge group of midi-chlorians acting together to form a human-like thing? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/42 "2017-02-16T21:05:50Z")
I hope her parents are nobodies. The idea that every important character has to be related to some high status family is ridiculous and vaguely fascist. Gotta have that good blood to make a difference, I guess. When everyone is related to or knows everyone else it makes the SW universe claustrophobic. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/43 "2017-02-16T23:14:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > There’s a difference between a child (with consequent genetic mixing etc) and a clone (even one that’s been gender-swapped) Oh, come on. Even Anakin and Vader look nothing alike, so that pretty much tells us what standards we’re working from here. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/44 "2017-02-17T00:22:32Z")
Eh, I actually know a guy who lost his legs, and when he was getting fitted for prostheses, got them to add a few inches to his height. No reason Anakin couldn’t have done the same. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/45 "2017-02-17T00:34:34Z")
_“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was; better, stronger, faster, and, like, a couple inches taller, maybe?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/46 "2017-02-17T00:58:15Z")
It’s so obvious that Luke is her father that if he’s not it’ll be a major plot twist. Note that hearing the voices of Force ghosts point to Luke: he’s the only one who can see or hear them in all of Episodes I-VII. > [@marshmallow](#): > > I hope her parents are nobodies. The idea that every important character has to be related to some high status family is ridiculous and vaguely fascist. Gotta have that good blood to make a difference, I guess. When everyone is related to or knows everyone else it makes the SW universe claustrophobic. I understand where you’re coming from, but the Star Wars gestalt _is_ monarchial and fascist. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/47 "2017-02-17T10:15:55Z")
If Luke is the father, then who is the mother? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/48 "2017-02-17T14:53:39Z")
“There was no mother…I can’t explain what happened.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/49 "2017-02-17T15:06:39Z")
They’re certainly planning _something_ with her parents, given that they made it a point to show them only so vaguely. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/50 "2017-02-17T16:50:28Z")
Well, I’d _like_ to think that, if Luke is Rey’s father, that Luke wouldn’t abandon her on Jakku, which would mean that Rey’s mom ditched Luke at some point either before or after Rey’s birth and then ditched her. So there’s a possibility that Rey is a child that Luke never even knew about. Maybe Mom is someone Luke was training who went rogue and left with Kylo when the “Knights of Ren” started up? A little teacher-student dalliance? I have it! Phasma! She was untalented as a Jedi, so she left Luke and joined the First Order early, rising through the ranks! She’s secretly been searching for her daughter while conducting operations on Jakku! It all makes sense now! Also, Yoda heard Force ghosts in ESB, because of the “there is another” conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/51 "2017-02-17T18:23:04Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Also, Yoda heard Force ghosts in ESB, because of the “there is another” conversation. No, no, that was Yoda responding to Luke’s hallucination. 😛 Yeah, I forgot about that. I think Luke abandoned his daughter and her mother just like he abandoned everyone else. I expect Rey’s mom was killed by Kylo or his cronies. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/52 "2017-02-17T18:33:23Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Also, Yoda heard Force ghosts in ESB, because of the “there is another” conversation. Yoda also presumably heard Qui-Gon’s force-ghost voice in SITH, or else his little chat with Obi-Wan at the end makes no damn sense. (And we’re apparently meant to figure that Obi-Wan managed to hear him, and learn the turn-into-a-force-ghost trick from him, while meditating in the desert for all those years.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/53 "2017-02-17T18:40:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Yoda also presumably heard Qui-Gon’s force-ghost voice in SITH, or else his little chat with Obi-Wan at the end makes no damn sense. Sense, rarely Yoda does make. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/54 "2017-02-17T21:03:58Z")
Truth, do you post. ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/55 "2017-02-18T18:27:50Z")
I like the idea that she is Luke’s daughter that was hidden from him to keep her safe (or perhaps her death was faked) because he crossed over to the dark side at some point due to his his anger/rage/sadness with Kylo. I’d love to see the whole Mara Jade thing become part of the canon. Of course, there is this plausible theory, too: [https://plus.google.com/+RaymondMendiolaIV/posts/3sKvEpWkmRn](https://plus.google.com/+RaymondMendiolaIV/posts/3sKvEpWkmRn) ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/56 "2017-02-23T15:52:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > The RPG explains this. There, all your skills are based on your stats. So, if you’ve got a 4 in Agility, you are excellent in both piloting and melee even if your background puts you living in an attic eating fish heads for 20 years. Yes, I’m being silly. This is for the convenience of game design and not meant to explain the movies. But… I’ve always thought that a lot of the heroes in Star Wars had strangely broad skill sets. Everybody can pilot, repair and shoot whether princess or farm boy. The game seems to reflect this. Fluency in multiple varied languages is also extremely common and effortless, much like an RPG. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/57 "2017-02-23T18:01:16Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Fluency in multiple varied languages is also extremely common and effortless, much like an RPG. Heck, I’ve become so fluent in Shyriiwook, I don’t even notice the subtitles when Chewbacca speaks. ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/58 "2017-02-24T17:13:47Z")
I read a compelling case in a Quora [thread](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-theory-for-who-Rey-is) that Rey’s parent’s are nameless scavengers who sold her to Unkar Plutt for money to get off Jakku. [QUOTE=Christian Mueth, Guy with a quora account.] What many people don’t notice is that she’s already dressed in cheap Jakku garb. And, she’s yelling “come back"— not “don’t leave me here". Furthermore, she’s been left with Unkar Plutt— not something a decent person would do. All of this combined suggests that she was already living on Jakku. Following this line of logic, we can presume that her parents were poor, and that they sold her/left her to Unkar so that they could afford to leave Jakku. None of the characters that people theorize to be Rey’s parents would have done any of this. [/QUOTE] I also like his theory for how it is that Rey suddenly becomes Force-sensitive. > [@](#): > > There’s some speculation that Rey’s skills have something to do with Jakku… Personally, I believe that it’s because she was born force sensitive, and because the force somehow awakened in her when she touched Luke’s lightsaber. This was the force’s way to bring Rey to Luke— to the last Jedi temple— so that she can be trained in the force, since the force is out of balance. Maz even suggests such when she says “The light. It’s always been there. It will guide you. The sabre— take it.” > > Plus, if you notice, Rey doesn’t display any force sensitive powers until after she touched the lightsaber. There’s just something up with it… It was cut from Luke’s arm in Cloud City, never to be seen again, after all. What’s it doing in Maz’s possession? Kylo wanted it badly for some reason too. Why is he wasting his time with it? > > I feel like our questions have been in the wrong place. Rather than on what Rey’s origins are, we should be focusing on what the lightsaber’s origins are. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/59 "2017-02-25T02:32:23Z")
> [@Mars\_Horizon](#): > > I read a compelling case in a Quora [thread](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-theory-for-who-Rey-is) that Rey’s parent’s are nameless scavengers who sold her to Unkar Plutt for money to get off Jakku. I like this bit - it makes sense, as you say. > [@Mars\_Horizon](#): > > I also like his theory for how it is that Rey suddenly becomes Force-sensitive. Not so much for this. I feel that she’s always been Force-sensitive, certainly before she touched the saber. Evidence: she flew a freighter _inside_ of a freakin’ Star Destroyer, on rather limited experience (so far as I know). That’s very much a facet of Force ability, the ability to anticipate like that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885/60 "2017-02-25T14:08:48Z")
Then again, she was also really, really familiar with the interior of that Star Destroyer, having made a living off of exploring and looting it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-theories-on-rey/779885.md?page=4)