There's no shortage of strong opinions surrounding the Star Wars sequel trilogy, with the movies still generating discourse years after the story wrapped up. A common complaint to be found around the trilogy surrounds the character Rey and, more specifically, the impressive extent of her Force capabilities. Many believe she learned to master the power too quickly, so here's a look at exactly how long Rey's Jedi training took compared to Luke Skywalker's.
An important note to first address is their heritage. With Luke being the son of the Chosen One and Rey being the granddaughter of the most powerful Sith to ever exist, this would be an unfair comparison in most cases. But in this scenario, it actually makes things fairer, as each of these Jedi had a strong natural connection to the Force right from the get-go.
Luke Had Little Time With Jedi Masters
Luke began his journey at the age of 19 in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, and up until this point had only ever lived the simple life of a farmer. He claimed to be a decent pilot and a good shot when he would "bullseye womp rats" back home, but he had little to no experience with actual fighting. After starting his training with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke was able to deflect the training droid's blaster bolts while blindfolded, and by the end of the movie, he successfully destroyed the Death Star without the need of a targeting computer.
The biggest difference between Luke and Rey comes with the gap in time leading to their next movie. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back takes place three years after A New Hope, and Luke's abilities don't appear to have progressed much. While he's able to Force-pull and fight with a lightsaber, he's not able to master any flashy techniques until meeting Master Yoda. From here, his training picks up exponentially, with him finally becoming a Jedi Knight a year later in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
Rey Was a Skilled Jedi From the Start
Rey's upbringing clearly plays a huge part in her Jedi capabilities. When she's first introduced in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, she's lived the life of a scavenger who had to fight to survive, so her skill with a lightsaber far exceeds young Luke's. Later when captured and brought to Starkiller Base, Rey can use a Jedi mind trick before her training has even begun; although the novelization claims she learned this when Kylo tried looking into her mind.
It isn't until Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi that her training begins, and here things are slowed down a bit. Rather than teaching her flashy moves, Luke tried showing Rey how to open up to the Force and feel it flow. She spends some time practicing her lightsaber technique, and by the end of the movie can lift a large pile of heavy rocks to save her friends -- something Luke couldn't do with his X-wing. Finally, there's a one-year gap leading into Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, where Rey has been training with Leia to bring her up to Luke's power in Return of the Jedi.
So in the end, Luke took around four years to become a powerful Jedi Knight, whereas Rey took a little over a year to reach the same level. It can feel like things happen too fast with Rey, especially in the span of a few movies. However, Luke had to forgo much of this training to focus on the Rebellion, whereas Rey had the chance to focus on training for almost the entire time. That, paired with her survivalist background, means there's at least a reason why she learns so quickly.