The Rise of Skywalker is the finale to a saga that has consumed nearly 100% of my lifetime. As a one-year-old baby, my parents went to watch The Phantom Menace in the movie theater and I was there, intrigued by the big screen whenever I heard something interesting happening. Star Wars is in my bones, it’s partially made me who I am today, and I thank my parents for introducing me to a story that I love so much.
Now, The Rise of Skywalker isn’t perfect. Far from it, in fact. There are so many plot holes, so many convenient scenarios, and it’s clearly a rushed story with a bunch of content crammed into a movie that isn’t given the time to be anything special. But there is one scene that is perfect. A scene that has made me cry since the first time I saw it and made me ball my eyes out last night after watching The Rise of Skywalker for what I think is my…seventh viewing.
And that scene, of course, is Kylo Ren’s turn to the Light with Harrison Ford reprising his role one last time as Han Solo.

There is something so beautiful about this scene and how it mirrors the tragic scene in The Force Awakens where Kylo Ren kills his father on StarKiller Base. Kylo Ren is undoubtedly the most interesting character of the Sequel Trilogy and, for a while, became my favorite Star Wars character (that is, until Ezra Bridger and Mando entered my life.)
Despite having the personal weakest storyline of the trilogy as Kylo Ren fawns after Rey for basically the entirety of The Rise of Skywalker instead of being his good old scary self, this moment where he rejects the dark side to fulfill his mother’s dying wish is golden.
From the subtle music that doesn’t overtake the power of this moment to Adam Driver’s perfect acting chops coming to life as he slowly becomes Ben Solo before our eyes, culminating in the words that’ll melt any and every Star Wars fan: “Dad”, “I know.” And then, when he throws that lightsaber away and John Williams pairs the moment with a powerful swell of redemptive music I often find myself weeping profusely and praising the film for that scene.
No, this movie isn’t perfect, but if the whole film had been like this one part, it would undoubtedly be my favorite Star Wars movie.
I thank you for reading and I hope you have a splendid day. May the Force be with you.