Summary
- The throne room scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi is visually striking and well-choreographed, but its entertainment value is held back by the lack of a clear reason for the fight.
- Star Wars could have provided a possible explanation for the fight without changing the scene, making it more logical and connecting it to other Star Wars stories.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has one of the most visually striking battles in Star Wars, but the scene itself has a problem that could have easily been fixed. The throne room scene with Rey, Kylo Ren, Snoke, and the Praetorian Guards has an outstanding set design, superb direction, powerful performances, and some of the most visceral lightsaber choreography in the Star Wars saga. Unfortunately, the scene’s entertainment value is held back because the underlying premise of the duel makes no sense. If it’s unclear why a fight is happening in the first place, then it’s hard to become fully invested in the action.
Thankfully, Star Wars has provided a possible explanation that fixes this problem without changing the scene. The lightsaber duel would happen the same way, but the reason behind the fight would make more sense and connect to the other Star Wars movies. This would make the sequel trilogy more consistent and open the door for The Last Jedi to connect to other Star Wars stories. Most importantly, The Last Jedi‘s most entertaining scene would be more logical and not be held back by a glaring issue.
Why Didn’t The Praetorian Guards Serve Kylo Ren?
One of The Last Jedi‘s biggest unanswered questions is why the Praetorian Guards attacked Kylo Ren after he killed Snoke. The First Order was a brutal totalitarian regime that rose from the dark side, something the Praetorian Guards witnessed several times while protecting Snoke. While Kylo Ren may not have been a Sith Lord, he and Snoke modeled themselves after Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in many ways, and killing a master to grab power would be shared among all dark side users. Because of this, it’s unclear why the Praetorian Guards would attack Kylo to avenge Snoke rather than accept him as their new ruler.
Their behavior also clashes with the real-world history that inspired their appearance in the first place. During the reign of the Roman Empire, the Praetorian Guard were the Emperor’s elite protectors, but they were also known for behind-the-scenes political manipulation. It wasn’t uncommon for the Praetorian Guard to overthrow the current Emperor and swear their allegiance to his successor, and this ultimately led to the group being disbanded by Constantine the Great. This makes the inspiration for the Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi questionable because of their undying loyalty to Snoke, and it would have made more sense for them to declare Kylo as the new supreme leader.
This problem could have been solved if The Last Jedi had taken a moment to explore the motivations of the Praetorian Guards and their connection to Snoke. In the Legends comic series Star Wars: Crimson Empire by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley, the Emperor’s Royal Guard were trained to be loyal to Palpatine specifically, explaining why Kir Kanos would avenge his death after they were betrayed from within. The Last Jedi could have taken a similar approach by having the Praetorian Guards trained to be loyal only to Snoke, or the sequel trilogy could have created another explanation involving Palpatine.
The Praetorian Guards Didn’t Need To Avenge Snoke – Were They Serving Palpatine?
Another possible explanation for the Praetorian Guards avenging Snoke is that they secretly served Palpatine. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Palpatine created Snoke for his own purposes and that he had agents within the First Order, meaning the Praetorian Guards could have answered to him directly. Palpatine’s plans became complicated once he had to deal with Kylo Ren, and since his grandfather also betrayed his master, it would make sense for Palpatine to order the Praetorian Guards to kill Kylo should he ever step out of line. Their serving Palpatine would also explain their training and similarities to the previous Imperial Guards.
Of course, The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7 “Chapter 23: The Spies” would need a similar explanation for this theory to hold up. The Praetorian Guards served the Empire in the years after the Battle of Endor, which could imply that they were once Palpatine’s protectors. This would be an opportunity to expand on their backstory and explain why they would serve Palpatine after the rise of the First Order. It would fix the biggest problem with Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s lightsaber battle, add more depth to the Praetorian Guards, and expand on Palpatine’s machinations throughout the Star Wars sequel trilogy.