How Rey Repaired Luke’s Lightsaber With The Force In Rise of Skywalker

The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization reveals how Rey repaired Luke’s lightsaber. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren insisted Rey should let the pass die – kill it, if she had to. The fate of Luke Skywalker’s old lightsaber appeared to be symbolic of his philosophy; it was shattered in a Force tug-of-war between Rey and Kylo Ren. Even its Kyber Crystal was broken.

And yet, in spite of that, Rey succeeded in repairing the lightsaber in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. According to the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, Rey welded the lightsaber’s parts together, and bound them with a leather strap. But just how did she repair the fractured Kyber Crystal?

Rae Carson’s novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally answers that question. The book dives into Rey’s thoughts in the moment she faces the sand-serpent, and reveals she used the same Force Heal power on the Kyber Crystal.

“Whenever she fought, or leapt through the jungles of Ajan Kloss, or even mind-tricked a stormtrooper into releasing her shackles, she channeled the Force, using it for her own advantage in some way. But this would call for a different technique, something she’d learned from the Jedi texts when she was mending Luke’s kyber crystal. This time, she would give.”

There’s nothing new to the idea of healing with the Force; it was a prominent Force power in the old Expanded Universe, and key to game mechanics in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. But Rey’s version of Force Heal is different, because it involves the transfer of life energy from one being to another. This power has never been seen demonstrated by Jedi before; presumably it was forgotten, lost in the mists of time, or else abandoned because practitioners kept sacrificing themselves to resurrect others and the Jedi decided it was too risky. It makes sense for Rey to rediscover it while searching for a way to restore Luke’s lightsaber, given that Kyber has always been described as somehow organic. In a strange way, then, Luke’s old lightsaber now burns with Rey’s own life essence.

Recent Star Wars tie-ins have suggested “balance” is a distinct aspect of the Force, like light and dark. Star Wars: The Last Jedi hinted the Prime Jedi was a servant of balance, rather than exclusively sworn to the light side of the Force; a mural representing this first Jedi portrayed him as the light in the darkness and the darkness in the light. Rey has been learning from sacred texts that date back to those distant times, and it’s possible she has learned Force techniques that are only available through this neglected aspect of the Force. Her variant of Force Heal – first used to restore the Kyber, and ultimately used by Ben Solo to save Rey’s own life – may well be one of those techniques.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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