How Anakin's Scar Has Parallels To The Sequel Trilogy
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For various reasons, the sequel trilogy took a lot of flack from large segments of the fanbase. So many things didn’t make sense. There was no consistency from film to film. And the movies, The Force Awakens in particular, often riffed too much off the original trilogy with familiar story beats and themes.
Of the sequel trilogy’s new characters, Kylo Ren is the most complex. In many ways, Kylo is merely an amalgamation of characters before him, but he’s wholly original in other ways. In The Force Awakens, Kylo exhibits a perplexing complexion that exudes unbridled emotional motivations alongside youthfulness and immaturity. In the movie’s final act, he recklessly attacks Rey, though he probably felt there was no way a scavenger should have a chance against him.
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Overconfidence was his weakness at that moment. While Count Dooku gave Kylo Ren plenty of inspiration, the most apparent parallel is between Kylo and his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. Rey deals Kylo a massive blow by slicing his face with her lightsaber and leaving a big scar on Kylo’s face in one of several iconic moments for Kylo. Aggressiveness and unwillingness to back down, whether targeting Luke with a legion of walkers in The Last Jedi or relentlessly searching planet to planet for Rey in The Rise Of Skywalker.
Kylo’s scar was awfully similar to Anakin’s scar. Both of their scars were on the right side of their face and appeared to split in two, half above and half below. Anakin’s scar was on the outside of his eye, while Kylo’s was close to the center of his face. Both scars came courtesy of a lightsaber. In fact, damage to eyes seems to be a family tradition; Luke Skywalker also suffered a mild injury to his right eye courtesy of the Wampa in The Empire Strikes Back. At least Kylo didn’t carry on the tradition of having his arm cut off like Anakin and Luke.
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While the metaphorical parallels are dripping with a theme throughout the arcs of both Anakin and Kylo, the behind-the-scenes similarities of the scars are emblematic of less-than-flattering decision-making processes that, ironically, were made for opposite reasons.
We first see Anakin’s scar at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith. At the time of the movie’s release, there was no real on-screen explanation. Anakin lost an arm in Attack of the Clones in his duel with Count Dooku, sure, but he didn’t take any damage to his face. George Lucas has spoken on the matter in the past and said he merely thought it would look cool for him to have a battle scar. Perhaps it was Lucas’ way of implying the war has taken a toll on General Skywalker. The wound wasn’t explained in the movies but in a comic book titled Republic #71: The Dreadnaughts of Rendili, Part 3, which saw Anakin face off against Dooku’s apprentice Asajj Ventress.
Flash forward to the sequel trilogy, and JJ Abrams seemingly set up Kylo Ren’s scar to take on a story of its own, but the follow-through plan was executed very differently. Rian Johnson once took to Twitter and rather flippantly admitted he changed the way Kylo’s scar looked in The Last Jedi simply because it looked goofy. While it makes sense that the wound healed a bit and did not appear so fresh and bloody, Kylo’s scar was clearly underplayed and mostly forgotten as the makeup covered it up. The scars returned in The Rise of Skywalker, but merely on Kylo’s deformed helmet, which doesn’t have quite the same impact.
Even with something as simple as a scar, the sequel trilogy’s wishy-washy narrative failed to capitalize on the groundwork in The Force Awakens. Instead, the attempt at a more profound connection, albeit a good idea, proved to be more of a distraction than a narrative tool.
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