Since the latest trailer for The Last Jedi debuted online Monday night, fans have been combing over every frame, attempting to decipher the plot points of the upcoming Star Wars installment, taking only the occasional break to giggle at some Porgs. While there’s so much packed into this two-and-a-half-minute video that you could walk away believing pretty much anything, what seems to be getting the most attention is the fact that our plucky protagonist Rey and brooding villain Kylo Ren appear to be teaming up at some point.
This storyline is hinted at throughout the trailer as we see both characters’ personal struggles in training and conflicts with their respective masters. In the final scene, we’re shown what looks like a conversation between Rey and Kylo in which Rey asks for help and the scar-faced Vader wannabe reaches out to take her hand. Keen-eyed viewers were quick to point out that this interaction is actually cut together from two different scenes, but that doesn’t mean this dynamic duo isn’t going to appear in some fashion.
As this piece from the Nerdist points out, there are three rival theories as to how this could play out. Firstly, Kylo Ren could be pulled back to the light side and reclaim his former identity as Ben Solo, maybe because he feels bad about killing his dad or because Snoke is pushing him to finally take out his remaining parental figure. Secondly, Rey could be pulled to the dark side and join the First Order, which seems unlikely but not impossible, considering the temptation of the dark side is a running theme throughout all the Star Wars films and is usually the focus of the second film in the trilogy. Lastly, Kylo and Rey may just decide to take their lightsabers and go home, forming their own class of neutral Jedi that finally brings some balance to the universe.
Of course, there is always the chance none of this will happen and The Last Jedi will end with our two main characters still on opposing sides of the force. A bait-and-switch of that magnitude hasn’t occurred since the Kangaroo Jack trailer made us all think that was a movie about a talking/rapping kangaroo. We’ll just have to keep counting the days until December 15, when we’ll all know the truth.