Charles Soule has given Qi’ra fans a fantastic tale with his 3 part comic book series. War of the Bounty Hunters was a fine series, that primarily focused on Boba Fett (and just in time for his TV series Book of Boba Fett too).
We are currently in part two of Soule’s Qi’ra story, Crimson Reign. This series focuses more on Qi’ra herself, and her goals for Crimson Dawn.
As I wrote in a previous blog, this story is told via a frame story between two mysterious characters watching a holocron of Qi’ra’s archivist, the former Sava Madeline Sun.
We are currently at issue 3 of Crimson Reign. And with that, it’s time to review some older theories regarding the frame characters, one very silly and wild theory that I have, and finally, broad theories for the entire story.
Crimson Reign Theory number 1 | Those Frame Characters, Revisited
In my first blog on Crimson Reign, I jumped right into theorizing about the two unseen characters watching the holocron of Madeline Sun. I gave 6 potential ideas for who the characters could be.
Primarily, I think there are only two timelines in which the frame characters could exist. My first theory is that the characters are Luke Skywalker and Lor San Tekka. We know that Luke will be looking into Exegol at some point. We also know that Charle Soule likes to utilize the character Lor San Tekka and his family a great deal.
I still think this is a strong likelihood for the the Crimson Reign frame characters. Just as War of the Bounty Hunters thematically leads into The book of Boba Fett, Adam Christopher’s novel Shadow of the Sith will come soon after Crimson Reign concludes.
With this Crimson Reign theory, there are several things I want to re-emphasize. Namely, that who ever is watching the holocron will not only learn about Qi’ra, Maul, and Palpatine. They will also learn about Ochi of Bestoon, the Knights of Ren, and most importantly Exegol.
That’s why certainly characters and timelines can easily be excluded. If it’s Rey and Finn on Ach-to, it could not be before the events of Rise of Skywalker. If Luke Skywalker is watching this, it takes place before the Force Awakens. It IS possible that the other character is Lando Calrissian, as both of these characters will be searching for Ochi of Bestoon in Christopher’s aforementioned novel.
I still maintain that Luke and one other person before the Force Awakens is the most likely candidate for the frame characters. However, recent comments by Charles Soule, makes me wonder if another Force Sensitive pair may be the two characters.
I’ve stated before that if Finn and Rey are watching the holocron, it would be after the Rise of Skywalker. Soule recently said this week that he is writing for a character that is a “big deal”. The character in Star Wars that famously called himself that was Finn.
It’s possible Soule is writing for Finn in another comic (yay!). But it could be that Rey and Finn are watching the holocron after all. They may just be learning about the past. They will certainly learn more about those mysterious Knights of Ren and the killer of Rey’s mother.
But would that holocron be of extra special interest to Rey?
Well, buckle in, because it’s time for my completely absurd and crazy theory. Yup, it’s a cliched Rey’s Mother theory. It’s a dumb one, and my silliest Crimson Reign theory, but I’m sharing it for all the world to see.
Crimson Reign theory | Cadeliah is Rey’s Mother
Well, the upcoming book Shadow of the Sith promises to give names to Rey’s mother and Palpatine clone father. Hooray! So with that in mind, let’s toss out one last Rey’s Mother theory for the road.
Now for those of you unfamiliar with her character, Cadeliah, she was introduced in the comic Bounty Hunters by Ethan Saks. She is the daughter of two rival syndicate clans. She was saved by a bounty hunter, Nakano Lash and went to live with Rebels.
Now, in Crimson Reign, Qi’ra has had Cadeliah taken by an assassin. Don’t worry, Qi’ra doesn’t want her dead. In fact, we don’t know what Qi’ra wants for her.
Now why do I think Cadeliah could be Rey’s mother (LOL)? First of all, she’s the right age. She looks to be a teenager in this comic, and by the time Rey is born, she’d be in her twenties. Unlike most silly Rey’s mother theories (think of you dumb “Omega is Rey’s mother theory”), the ages actually do line up correctly.
Also, she looks to be a white girl with dirty blonde hair. Now go and google a teenage Jodie Comer. Yup, she looks like she could Cadeliah. Now, I admit, my one flaw here is that Cadeliah is shown with blue eyes, and Comer has hazel eyes. However, comics have gotten Kylo Ren’s eye color wrong before, making them blue. It’s a contradiction, but a smaller one.
As for the rest, we know from blurbs for future Crimson Reign comics, that Qi’ra will underestimate Palpatine. We also know that the third part of the Qi’ra series is called Hidden Empire.
I believe Hidden Empire will take the story to Exegol. For right now, the only characters who openly know of it are: Palpatine, Darth Vader, Sly Moore, and Ochi of Bestoon.
Guess who is at least temporarily aligned with Crimson Dawn? That’s right, Sly Moore and Ochi. Guess who can’t keep his mouth shut? Ochi of Bestoon. In issue two, Ochi casually mentions the “light” to Deathstick. The light is a reference to the mountain of Kyber at Exegol.
I don’t know how, but I think Cadeliah will end up going to Exegol. I don’t know if Qi’ra will intend for her to go. Or if Palpatine takes her and sends her there. But I don’t think Cadeliah will end up uniting two rival syndicates as Nakano Lash had wanted. In fact, I think those syndicates will end up destroyed.
So yeah, that is my very loose, barely tossed together, final “Rey’s Mother” theory. Do I think it will come true? Nah. Probably not. But it’s fun to toss out completely random stuff and be pleasantly shocked if you wind up being right somehow.
Now on to bigger theories.
Crimson Reign theories | The Big Picture
I think that Qi’ra will ultimately die. It is certainly hinted at in issue one of Crimson Reign. But most importantly, I think Qi’ra will have a major effect on the Galaxy, even if her immediate plans to destroy Palpatine fail.
Already, in War of the Bounty Hunters, the Hutt Council is destroyed except for Jabba. About a year later, Leia will kill Jabba the Hutt. This will destabilize and bring down the former might the Hutts once held.
It’s an action that paves the way for Bib Fortuna, and then Boba Fett to lead Tatooine. And while Boba Fett doesn’t seem to care to rule, I think his experience there will pave the way for Tatooine for being a better led place, under Marshall Cobb Vanth. Boba Fett truly does care about Tatooine, when many others don’t.
I think Qi’ra will unintentionally increase the Pykes’s actions in the universe, which we definitely see in Book of Boba Fett. But through her knowledge of the Dark Side, of Exegol, her Archivist’s holocron will be made. If Luke is the one watching, he will use the information in the Holocron to locate Ochi and the Wayfinders and write of them in his journals.
If it is Rey and Finn watching the holocron, perhaps she learns the name of her own mother, if my very, very absurd Crimson Reign theory comes true.
However, I still think it most likely to be be Luke and Lor San Tekka, or Luke and Lando, or maybe Luke and Ben.
However it turns out, the conclusion of Crimson Reign and the Hidden Empire, are bound to have repercussion in the Galaxy Far Far Away.