Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition Book Review

The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition (Del Rey)

The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition book addresses many of the questions I had after watching the movie (listed at the end of this post) and also made the movie more appreciable. In this review, I will compare selected scenes between the book and the movie.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I think the biggest loophole or plot that I may have missed from the movie was the fact that Rey was actually in Jedi training with Leia at the beginning of the story. Rey even addressed her as 'Master Leia'. This particular information, I believe, explains one of the most debatable scenes in the movie: Rey taking the Skywalker name at the end. In the book, this was made sensible before Leia's passing when she mentioned that she has trained Rey as best she could and wanted her 'Skywalker' legacy to be passed down to Rey. Case closed.

My favorite scene from the book would be when Kylo Ren meets the force ghost of his father, Han Solo. I remember telling myself, 'seems like anyone can be a force ghost nowadays'. Turns out the apparition was sent over to Ren by Leia herself. Somehow, she had some level of Force power in this canon book. Leia also wanted the 'Solo' legacy from her husband to be passed on to their son, Ben Solo (aka Kylo Ren). This scene, I think was the ultimate redemption for Ben Solo that tipped him right back to the lightside and also made his sacrifice to save Rey at the end more believable.

Force Ghost Hans Solo Meet Kylo Ren (Ben Solo)

Another scene I like from the book is when Poe Dameron was declared acting general of the Resistance. In the movie, I thought he was not ready. He was too young. He made a lot of mistakes, especially in The Last Jedi. He even looked like he could not believe it. But, a one-liner in the book retconned this nicely: Poe Dameron remembered a time when Leia said to him that the one who makes the most mistakes is the one who learns the most. He then broke off from his reverie and started giving out orders. Worth to note that in the book, Leia also mentioned that she wants her 'Organa' legacy to go down to Poe.

Poe Dameron becomes Resistance Acting General

So, it was all one big hand over of the three legacies of Leia Skywalker Organa Solo each to Rey, Poe and Ben. One big closure for the Skywalker Saga.

Before I wrap this up, I have to say. If the tear-jerking moment from the movie for me was when Chewie broke down and cried after Leia's passing, the one from the book was surely during Threepio's mind-wiping. It made me realized that we never take the droid seriously.

Tear-jerking Moment in The Rise of Skywalker

Pardon my nerdiness, but for me a story has to make sense even though it is set in a fantasy or sci-fi settings. I have listed some matters that were addressed by Rae Carson in the Expanded Edition book, FAQ style (probably will update them from time to time), if you are interested to go into more details. 

Question: Why did Rey give her lightsaber to Leia for safekeeping just for Leia to give it back moments later?
Answer: Rey was in Jedi training with Leia and Leia actually lent Luke's lightsaber to Rey for practice. When Rey needed to leave with Finn, Poe and the others, that was when Leia 'gave' the weapon to Rey.

Q: How come there were two blue lightsabers during the final showdown between Rey, Kylo Ren and Palpatine?
A: The other lightsaber is Leia's lightsaber, given by Luke's force ghost to Rey on Ahch-To, the same time Luke raised his X-wing from underwater.

Q: How did Finn and Jannah clicked so fast?
A: Both of them were kidnapped by the First Order at a young age and raised as stormtroopers.

Q: How did Chewbacca finally receives a medal?
A: The medal belongs to Han (from A New Hope I think) and was in Leia's possession until she passed on which leads it straight to the next rightful holder.

Q: How did the Millenium Falcon make the multiple short lightspeed jumps?
A: Rose Tico made some modifications to the ship that allows the jumps to happen.

Read my review of Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker movie here: https://fictrav.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-must-watch-for-star-wars-fans-episode.html