Star Wars: Snoke Might Return For Episode IX - But Shouldn't

Why Snoke Shouldn't Return

As mentioned, Snoke's death is a jaw-dropping twist, and kickstarts The Last Jedi's best scene - the Throne Room fight between Kylo Rena and Rey vs the Praetorian Guards.

The strength of the twist lies not just in the fact that it subverts expectations, but that it also pushes characters forward and serves the narrative. In a recent pop-culture sense, it's reminiscent of Ned Stark losing his head in the ninth episode of Game of Thrones' first season. It's someone we thought was going to be an important, long-running character, but served the plot better dead than alive.

Like Ned's death pushed forth the War of the Five Kings, Snoke's death pushes Kylo Ren into assuming the position of Big Bad. And with Adam Driver's nuanced performance and such a complex villain to play with, that's far more interesting than whatever Snoke might've been. It's a huge choice for Kylo to make, and a part of his attempts to let the past die - bringing Snoke back undercuts both the shock of the twist in the moment and the power that lingers afterwards.

Plus, for anyone expecting him to be the new Palpatine, he already served that role here. There are elements of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in Episode VIII, with the latter most visible in the Throne Room scene. Snoke has, by this point, served his entire purpose, and - whether you agree with Johnson's decision or not - it doesn't matter who he was anymore. He was an illusion; Snoke and mirrors. Yes, there were theories and questions we might never get answers to - though, again, there'll probably be tie-ins for those who really want them - but for this trilogy, all that really mattered was he was powerful, seduced Kylo to the Dark Side, and was then murdered by his apprentice because of his own hubris. It's hard to see what any backstory would add to that.

The final film is going to be stuffed as is, and it'll be more interesting to see Kylo Ren's journey going forward than sticking too much with his past with Snoke, whose influence he has moved beyond. The real Big Bad is Kylo Ren, and Episode IX needs to let Snoke die.

Do you want to see Snoke back in Episode IX? Share your thoughts down in the comments.