Star Wars’ Snoke Secretly Hinted at His Identity, But Kylo Ren Missed It

The Star Wars sequel trilogy was definitely a hit-or-miss with fans, from Kylo Ren not living up to some fans’ expectations as a villain to Rey’s surprising lineage, but one thing that can’t be disputed was how unexpected the twist was in the final installment when Snoke was revealed to be nothing more than a manufactured puppet controlled by the Emperor, who was somehow still alive. However, while the twist was shocking, it really shouldn’t have been–at least, not to Kylo Ren since Snoke secretly hinted at his identity the first time he and Kylo ever met.

Snoke made his debut in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and his role in the Star Wars universe was immediately reminiscent of the Emperor’s. In the movie, Snoke only appears as a hologram who speaks to Kylo Ren about the ongoing struggle with the Resistance and the presence of a new force user, Rey. In the second installment of the sequel trilogy, Snoke is shown in the flesh for the first time, only to be unceremoniously killed by Kylo Ren a few minutes later. In the third and final installment, Snoke is shown once more, only this time in a more pathetic fashion. Snoke, or multiple Snokes, are kept in transparent vats of liquid presumably as a way to keep their bodies fresh until the Emperor wants to use them as evil puppets while hiding his true identity. In that instance, it becomes clear that Snoke wasn’t his own character, but an empty shell controlled by the greatest evil in the galaxy. While that twist may have seemed like it came out of nowhere, one comic book tie-in reveals that this was seemingly always the plan.

In Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 by Charles Soule and Will Sliney, Ben Solo is shown meeting Snoke in person for the first time after many years of Snoke communicating with Ben through the Force, luring him to the Dark Side. Ben had grown impatient and untrusting of his Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, and sought knowledge of the Force that Snoke promised to grant him. During their meeting, Snoke tells Ben that he needs to venture out on his own for a while and discover his own path through the Force before returning to Snoke to begin his training. With this first lesson, Snoke also tells Ben to choose a completely new identity, and tells Ben that that is what he did in the past, saying, “I was not born Snoke. I became Snoke”.

While Snoke could have been referring to a personal change in identity from an insignificant nobody to the immensely powerful Dark Side wielder he became, his words here take on a whole new meaning when considering what he’s actually saying. Snoke is, quite literally, the Emperor who was forced to desperately cling to life the only way he could, and channeling his energy through a decrepit clone in order to have any shred of influence across the galaxy was the best he could do. So, when Snoke says that he wasn’t always Snoke, he meant that he was literally a whole other person before being forced to take on the face and name of ‘Snoke’.

Since Kylo Ren was as surprised as fans were that Snoke was secretly Emperor Palpatine, it’s clear that he missed Snoke’s subtle message upon their first encounter. However, just because Kylo Ren wasn’t astute enough to see it doesn’t mean the pieces of the puzzle weren’t laid out for him all along as Star Wars’ Snoke secretly hinted at his identity long before Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren just missed it.