One Rise Of Skywalker Detail Secretly Hinted Leia Made Her Peace With Anakin

Summary Leia's outfit in The Rise of Skywalker suggests she has forgiven Anakin, resembling his Clone Wars armor.

In the movie's junior novel, Leia finally forgave Anakin moments before her death, making peace with him as a father.

Both Leia and Anakin return as disembodied voices in The Rise of Skywalker, showing Leia's forgiveness.

One notable detail in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hints that General Leia made peace with her father, Anakin Skywalker. Following Anakin’s fall to the dark side and reemergence as Darth Vader, Leia was raised on Alderaan by Bail and Breha Organa, becoming a politician and leader within the Rebel Alliance. Naturally, considering Darth Vader’s numerous atrocities as the second-in-command of the Galactic Empire, he and Leia were bitter enemies throughout the Galactic Civil War, with neither knowing of their familial relationship during their interactions.

Darth Vader infamously tortured Leia aboard the first Death Star in A New Hope and would capture her once again in The Empire Strikes Back. Leia would not learn that Vader was her biological father until the events of Return of the Jedi, and Vader would die in the Battle of Endor before the two could interact again. Understandably, it would be a long time before Leia could forgive Vader, even with his redemption and sacrifice helping the Alliance win the war.

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Leia's Rise Of Skywalker Outfit Hints She Found Peace In The End

The Star Wars sequel trilogy movies do not directly address Leia’s thoughts on her father, despite taking place decades after Return of the Jedi. Fascinatingly, however, Leia’s outfit in The Rise of Skywalker vaguely resembles Anakin’s armor and robes from the early seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The similarity is most likely coincidental, but one could reasonably make the connection that – in-universe – Leia’s outfit implies that she has begun to forgive her father by mimicking his appearance during the height of his heroism.

Anakin’s armor and robes from The Clone Wars make their live-action debut in Ahsoka, worn by Hayden Christenson reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker.

As for when Leia truly forgave her father, 2020’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel, by Michael Kogge, reveals precisely when this occurred. As Leia made one final effort to bring her son, Ben Solo, back from the dark side and his assumed persona of Kylo Ren, she heard the voices and saw the faces of her deceased family members, including Anakin. It was here that Leia finally accepted Anakin’s apologies and loved him as a father, making peace with Anakin moments before dying.

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Leia's Becoming A Force Ghost Hints That She Forgave Anakin

This would, of course, not be the last time that Leia and Anakin would interact. Both Leia and Anakin would return as disembodied voices, encouraging Rey in her final battle with Palpatine on Exegol. By working with her father, Leia proved in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that she had let go of any residual bitterness from the original trilogy era.