How the Reylo ship in the Star Wars sequel trilogy sank?

As a die-hard Star Wars fan, I have mixed feelings about the sequel trilogy. On one hand, I'm thrilled to see the Force living on and a female Jedi kicking butt. On the other, I'm somewhat irritated by the stale bloodline theory. Discovering that Rey, who we thought was just an everyday girl, is actually the granddaughter of the big bad Sheev Palpatine... Well, that was a letdown. Four decades after Darth Vader dropped the bombshell "I am your father", Star Wars pulls another "surprise" out of the hat, proving it really is a space family drama— yet I still love it.

Despite her power being attributed largely to her bloodline, Rey is still an iconic female character in my book. She's brave, tough, and independent - pretty much a female Luke Skywalker. But unlike Luke, who doesn't have much of a love life (and the kiss with his twin sister Princeess Leia is not even close), Rey's complicated romance with Kylo Ren is a hot topic among fans. It's become one of the most shipped couples in the fandom, known as Reylo.

Just to give you an idea of how big Reylo is, here are a couple of anecdotes. While filming Murder on the Orient Express, British star Judi Dench asked Ridley point-blank, "What's the deal with Reylo?" And that was before Star Wars: The Last Jedi even hit the screens. Then there's the best-selling novel, The Love Hypothesis, which started off as Reylo fan fiction. The Star Wars references were scrubbed for the published version, but the cover still gives a nod to Reylo, featuring characters that look suspiciously like Driver and Ridley. What exactly is the Reylo relationship, and why is it so popular? Let's dig into the story to find out.

If you're into romantic novels as I do who was hooked on romance novels for a long time, you'll totally understand the Reylo dynamic - the classic evenly matched relationship between the male and female protagonists. You've got the hero and heroine on equal footing - both wielding a ton of Force power. Their story is kind of like Beauty and the Beast in space. Kylo Ren shows up, already on the dark side, and it seems like Rey is his only chance at redemption. Why? Because they're both parts of a "dyad" in the Force. They're like cosmic twins or something.

When we say Reylo is a even-steven ship, we're not just talking about them coming from important families in the galaxy (which they do, by the way). It's about how they use the Force and their combat skills. Rey has incredible talents in commanding the Force. Without any training, she manages to beat Kylo Ren, who's also pretty powerful with the Force (though he was injured at the time). When they first meet on this interrogation bridge, Kylo Ren tries to probe her thoughts with the Force, sensing her loneliness. But Rey turns the tables and feels Kylo Ren's fear - he's scared he'll never be as powerful as Darth Vader.

Fast forward to Kylo Ren killing Snoke, the big boss of the First Order, and fighting alongside Rey against the Emperor's Royal Guard. He then asks her to help him establish a new order and rule the galaxy in a way that is almost like a love proposal. And all of this happens before we even find out who Rey really is. So their equal footing and their combat parity sets them apart from other Star Wars couples, like Princess Leia and Han Solo, or Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. Compared to those women, Rey has a lot more independence and power.

So, here's why Reylo, the Rey and Kylo Ren pairing, is so captivating. We've got this Beauty and the Beast vibe going on. Rey's like Belle, full of kindness and love, and Kylo Ren's our Beast, a guy who's let darkness overshadow his heart. Kylo Ren, real name Ben Solo, was trained by Luke Skywalker, the galaxy's top Jedi and his uncle. But like the Beast, he's got this family curse. He had a fallout with Luke, gave into the dark side of the Force, and became a "monster" as how Rey calls him.

The cool part is, Rey and Kylo Ren our monster share a unique bond through the Force. J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, the guys who directed the Star Wars sequel trilogy, called their relationship a romance. They can communicate and grow their relationship without even fighting thanks to this connection within the Force. Reylo can see and feel each other's environment even when they're in different places. Every chat they have, Rey gets to know more about Kylo Ren and her anger towards him lessens. Rey never really hates Kylo Ren at all. The moment she sees him without a shirt on is when things get real.

The final time they connect through the Force is when they basically confess their feelings. Kylo Ren tells Rey "You're not alone", and she responds without missing a beat, "Neither are you." She urges him to return to the light side. Rey slowly falls for him as she gets to know his inner struggles through their connection. She's sure there's still some light left in him. It's a lot like how Belle fell for the Beast after seeing the kindness in him.

Reylo’s difference from Beauty and the Beast lies in that the former is imbued with a more tantalizing taboo element and heightened tension. After all, Rey is a powerhouse of a female character, and Kylo Ren is the villain who murdered his own father, Han Solo. Rey's blossoming love for Kylo Ren and the transformation Kylo Ren undergoes due to his relationship with Rey powerfully underscores the transformative power of love. This love not only changes those entwined in it but also seems to smooth out for Kylo Ren's past faults or at least provide a chance for him to redeem himself.

Taking a deeper dive, once the power of love is established, it signifies that those with love possess power, irrespective of their actual strength. In this narrative, love becomes a surrogate for power. The success of Reylo is two-fold. On one hand, it's due to the gradual development of their relationship across the three films. On the other hand, it satisfies a subtle yet crucial psychological need in the real world: to compensate for and discuss powerlessness when inequality and oppression become increasingly covert, and resistance becomes increasingly complex. The love myth, which seems to be an equal and convoluted match, appears to be a temporary yet potent antidote.

However, another question comes—why does Reylo's love story culminates in tragedy? Some might perceive it as a perpetuation of the Star Wars tradition where all love stories end tragically. Perhaps, in the creators' view, Kylo Ren, guilty of patricide, could not possibly live to achieve redemption. Numerous Reylo fans believe that the decision to have Kylo Ren, who eventually chooses the light side, die after Rey's kiss is a monumental error. They see it as a forced elevation of this love story to a tragic conclusion - tragedy always offers more room for exploration than a happy ending.

I firmly believe that it's Reylo's tragic ending that provides the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which seeks innovation yet invariably repeats itself, with some breakthroughs. As the final Jedi, Rey adopts Skywalker as her surname, indicating her ability to shape her present, despite not being able to determine her past. Walking into the Tatooine sunset with BB-8, she shoulders the colossal responsibility of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Her love affair with Kylo Ren might have been predestined, but it ultimately evolves into memories, much like their last kiss. Rey's legendary tale must be penned by her, where love is not a dominant theme in a woman's life but merely a chapter. Reylo's tragic ending not only signifies Rey's growth but also implies that Star Wars has finally learned to narrate a woman's growth story.