In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I think Rey should have kept Palpatine as her last name because by changing it to Skywalker it felt like she was running away from who she is. The theme for the movie was to be yourself and even General Leia Organa told Rey to "never be afraid of who you are".
From the moment Kylo Ren told her about her connection to Palpatine, she had been running away from that truth. The ending of the film with her saying she's Rey Skywalker feels like an empty gesture that made no sense. By taking the Skywalker name, she was hiding who she was instead of embracing Palpatine as her last name. And with how secretive and frantic she had become in the movie prior to her stopping Sheev Palpatine, I wonder if she will ever tell anyone that she's related to him. Because all the ones who did know that information were dead and I highly doubt the Force Ghosts of Luke and Leia will start gossiping to Finn and the other Force Sensitive beings. It does make me wonder if the truth will one day be revealed in a Star Wars book and how the outcome will effect Rey.
In the movie, it felt like bad writing because what's the point of stating that Rey should never be afraid of who she is but then have her take on the Skywalker name. I've seen where many fans have said that Rey was honoring the Skywalkers by taking the name.
It just seems ridiculous and the same would be said if Luke Skywalker after finding out his father was Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) in The Empire Strikes Back had changed his last name to Kenobi. As a way to honor his former Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. See it's just as ridiculous.
Throughout the sequel trilogy, Rey wanted to know about her parents and to have a last name. She eventually got that information. Although her last name turned out to be Palpatine, it was still hers. She could have changed the narrative of the Palpatine name by doing something good with it. I just feel like she didn't need to change her last name to be worthy as a hero or to carry on the Skywalker legacy.
She doesn't need to be a Skywalker to inspire others, she's already doing that by simply being who she is. Rey being the granddaughter to Sheev Palpatine doesn't change who she is but it could have given her a chance to turn that name into something positive. Instead, her taking on the Skywalker name, it felt like she was still running from who she is and on some level she's still unable to accept the truth. It also erases her parents who made a difficult choice to hide her away and they were killed in their efforts to protect her from Palpatine.
Rey being a Palpatine doesn't mean that she is the same as Emperor Sheev Palpatine. Unlike her evil grandfather, she's a selfless, brave and compassionate Jedi. She's going to bring hope to the galaxy and it would have been cool if the only Palpatine that all the beings would remember in the future would be her.
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