Palpatine Himself Confirms Why He Let Rey’s Father (A Failed Clone) Live
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker gave us a lot of answers to questions about the series for better and for worse. One of the biggest mysteries of the sequel trilogy was the identity of Rey’s parents. The Last Jedi took the stance that Rey’s parents were nobody, and while this may have been true from a certain point of view, The Rise of Skywalker gave us the true answer to Rey’s parentage. In the film, we learned that Rey was a Palpatine, and her father was a clone of the infamous Sith Lord. However, it did raise the question of why would Palpatine let one of his clones escape especially since he was later revealed to be a failed clone. Well, a new Star Wars tie-in has finally answered that question.
In The Rise of Skywalker’s novelization, we learn that Rey’s father was a failed clone of Emperor Palpatine. He was initially created to be a vessel to house Palpatine and his Sith power. However, Rey’s father proved incapable of doing so. The novelization went as far as to describe him as “a useless, powerless failure,” and a “not-quite-identical clone.” If all that was true, then why did Palpatine allow him to live? Another Star Wars tie-in book, Secrets of the Sith, explained Palpatine’s plan for Rey’s father. Secrets of the Sith, which was written from the perspective of Emperor Palpatine, explained that it was his plan to let Rey’s father escape so that he could potentially father a worthy vessel. The book stated.
“The lone subject that survived the cloning process lacked any connection to the Force. I rejected this useless creature, but I chose to let it live. Even if this ‘son’ was undeserving of my legacy, I surmised that the Palpatine blood rushing through its veins might someday become useful. As always, my theory would soon prove correct…”
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This explanation made a lot of sense for Palpatine considering the type of person he was. Palpatine literally had plans within plans within plans during the Clone Wars, so it would only make sense that he would have several contingency plans for his clones failing to become vessels. I would not even be surprised if he had a plan for if the clones rose up against him. I also think it is worth noting that Palpatine did not refer to Rey’s father as “he” in the quote. Palpatine said “it,” which really showed how Palpatine viewed these clones as mere objects. It drove home how truly insidious Darth Sidious was. His theory would pay off too since Rey was deemed by Palpatine himself to be a worthy vessel (or maybe his last resort). However, his theory would not end as successfully as he wanted.
While this does give a reason for Palpatine letting his failed clone escape, there is still a ton that we do not know about Rey’s parents. There is the potential that further tie-in books, comics, or possibly even series could expand on their role. Nothing is confirmed at this type. A future book following Luke and Lando as they pursue Ochi of Bestoon, the assassin who killed Rey’s parents, has the potential to delve more into their story, but again, this is all speculation.
All in all, this explanation for Palpatine’s method of madness does not clarify everything. It makes sense with his character, but I do not think it was the most practical plan. It seems like it would have too many risks to warrant letting his clone escape, and it would also prove to be his undoing. That being said, there could be more information surrounding it that we do not know. It is poetic, however, that the worthy vessel he chose rejected his plans and defeated him. In a way, that means Palpatine brought about his own destruction.
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Source(s): Screen Rant