Rey's Grandmother
What do we know about Rey's grandmother? We were all shocked to find out that Palpatine was her grandfather-- and I mean really shocked. Our favorite Emperor has been grandpa-aged for the entire saga. Rey and Kylo are pretty close in age, so we can assume that Rey's parents would be around Luke and Leia's age, if they had survived the series. Anakin was 23 when Luke and Leia were born, so when Palpatine had a child, he must've been... ancient. No way around it. But we knew that. What we're really wondering is, who's the lucky lady?
Our thoughts immediately reached out to Republic-Era characters. Maybe a fellow Naboo native? Maybe someone who looks like Rey? Maybe an ambitious young colleague? Maybe an old friend?
Sound familiar? It should. Yep, you guessed right. Padme had a sugar-daddy.
I admit it seems pretty outlandish, but let's think about it. Padme got elected as the Naboo senator at age eighteen-- she married Anakin in her early twenties. Are we supposed to believe she was single? Padme's a smart, attractive, likable woman. Why wouldn't she have a boyfriend? We're aware that she dated Senator Clovis for a while, but they broke up. Could it be that another more powerful fellow noticed her too?
It's no secret that Padme and Palpatine are friends, and they obviously know how quid pro quo works. Padme put Palpatine in power by Giving Chancellor Valorum a vote of no confidence, and he saved Naboo from the Trade Federation.
So here's the scoop, Padme and Palpatine were an item for a few years. She gets pregnant, and not wanting to ruin her career, dumps Palpatine, and puts their child up for adoption without telling him.
Our favorite Sith Lord is crushed. He loved Padme and she mercilessly tore his heart out. But when there are attempts on her life in Attack of the Clones, he insists that the Jedi protect his love.
He wasn't counting on her falling for Anakin Skywalker, who crushed his dreams of ever reconciling with Padme.
Revenge of the Sith is then a seriously misunderstood title. It's not Palpatine's revenge on the Jedi, it's his revenge on Anakin. You think that tumble into the lava was an accident? Oh no, Palpatine was going to make Anakin pay for stealing his girlfriend. Of course, he didn't count on Padme dying, but he blamed Anakin for that too. But what better way to punish the little punk then making him his personal cyborg servant? And better yet, get revenge on the whole Skywalker family!
And Rey... well, she feels a connection to the Skywalkers because she's related to them. Luke and Leia are her dad's half-siblings.
Of course, that makes Kylo her cousin, but hey, Luke and Leia kissed.