While there were problematic elements with all the Star Wars films that were made since Disney acquired the franchise, the most complaints were raised about the final movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Several moments in this film didn’t seem to fit the world or felt too forced and cheesy to audience members. One particular scene involves the romance between Rey and Kylo Ren.
The negative feedback for this final film led to fans viewing it as a disappointing “conclusion” to the storyline, as it left viewers with more questions than were answered in the film. Mainly, why set up a romance so late, considering the final movie is the only film in the series that explores a romantic connection between Kylo Ren and Rey?
In response, Disney and Abrams have denied that this kiss was romantic, insisting that it was more of a familial relationship and that the kiss was a kiss of gratitude instead of romance. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that the way it was performed and shot felt romantic, which is essentially what made it unsuccessful. There was no prior ground for setting up a romance between these two, which made the kiss stand out as feeling unnatural and forced.
While many fans were not pleased by the kiss or what it brought (or didn’t bring) to the story, several were not surprised to see it. In fact, many Star Wars fans directly attribute the kiss to very specific and commonly used Disney formulas. Many of these fans believe that creators are trying to pass the kiss off as “gratitude” or an expression of Platonic love as a means of creating excuses for choosing to include the kiss, after the audience response was less than thrilled about it.
Those that picked up on the romance that was being set up leading to the kiss feel that the romance elements in the final film were too obvious to try to pass the kiss off as something more innocent than a passionate kiss. Many fans feel that the creators committed to setting up a love dynamic between the two, and only tried to deny it after the feedback proved negative. Star Wars: The Last Jedi began to set up a connection between the two characters, but it seemed to function more as a ground of understanding between a force of the light and a force of the dark.
The kiss does follow an otherwise intense and fitting situation where Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) must sacrifice himself to save Rey. In this scene, Kylo Ren’s sacrifice and thus death are vital for him to come to the light side, but the kiss does nothing to add to that. If anything, it feels like a distraction from what should be a touching and emotional moment for fans. While the sacrifice was certainly worthy of Rey’s gratitude, it’s how she expressed the gratitude that fell short of seeming genuine. A genuine response would have better reflected their relationship than the amount of gratitude she felt in that moment.
In other words, the scene should have represented her appreciation for him as a person — his life — rather than what he did for her in this instance. A few sincere words of what his memory would be leaving behind in the world would have had more of an emotional impact in this instance, and it would have felt more natural to their relationship.
Beyond having confusing motives and not fitting in the storyline, the kiss also reduces Rey’s complexity as a female protagonist. Many people are aware of the debate surrounding Disney princesses needing to find love to fulfill their character arcs. In typical Disney formula, this arc seems to run into the same issue with the kiss, weakening Rey. Disney princess films where the princess doesn’t have to find love, like Brave, Frozen and Moana, have received praise for their storylines in which the princess can function as the hero, and does not need a romance to complete her story or fully realize her character. That is, of course, how Disney’s Star Wars storyline was supposed to function as well. However, the awkward romance and kiss with Kylo Ren has complicated that.
In terms of how it affected Kylo Ren’s character arc, it seems to have worked better because love played a part in his transition to the light side. However, looking at it in that light, it feels like the decision to include the romance was made to benefit Kylo Ren, and thus feels a bit like a snub to Rey’s character. Kylo Ren could have just as easily found love for Rey as a friend, without any romantic actions or implications.
Beyond what it meant for the characters, there are several other reasons that fans were disappointed by the kiss. Either they were hoping for a romantic link between Kylo and Rey and felt that the relationship was set up but not fulfilled by the questionable kiss, or they were completely opposed to the idea of the two characters getting together because it didn’t make sense, considering they were enemies for most of the storyline.
The Star Wars franchise likes to sneak in interactions or dynamics between characters that hint to or reveal their connection. A good example is how Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, making his connection to the prior generations of Star Wars apparent and continuing on with the classic father/son dynamic of the franchise. The kiss, on the other hand, was abrupt and less successful than some other examples of the films connecting opposing characters. Links between two characters that appear to have conflicting ideologies can be useful and intriguing, if properly done — but it creates confusion and rushes the progression of the story if it’s not.
Even if a romance between these two characters had been directly set up from the earlier movies, it still would likely have not been received well by viewers. In the modern times, audiences prefer female protagonists that aren’t reliant on or motivated by love or romance. What's more, Kylo Ren's violence and threats towards Rey earlier in the trilogy make him a distasteful love interest in the eyes of many. The modern approach for writing stories not only calls for more female protagonists, but specifically female protagonists that are strong, determined, and motivated by factors that are more important to survival or to the individual dreams of the protagonist. In the beginning, Rey seems to fit these standards, which is a big part of why the kiss threw fans off: it doesn’t seem to fit her character.
If creators prioritized Rey’s storyline as the protagonist, the final outcome may have felt more fulfilling. However, since The Rise of Skywalker was released, Disney has made several other films with strong female characters that aren’t focused on finding love. That being said, there is likely hope for stronger and more inspiring female characters coming from Disney’s Star Wars in the future — hopefully, in the near future and not light years away.
Source: Wikipedia - Rey (Star Wars)