Why Is Kylo Ren Obsessed With His Grandfather Darth Vader?
By Elaine Tveit
New rumors and Kylo Ren’s worship of Darth Vader’s melted helmet in The Force Awakens beg the question: Why is Kylo so obsessed with his grandfather?
It doesn’t take much critical thinking to recognize Kylo Ren’s obsession with his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Image Credit: Lucasfilm
First, there’s Kylo’s helmet, which synthesizes his voice to sound darker, more menacing. Vader’s helmet’s vocabulator accomplished the same effect. Then there is Vader’s half-melted helmet, which Kylo somehow obtained and placed in a shrine.
If the latest rumors are correct, then Episode VIII will make Kylo’s Vader fetish even more obvious. Making Star Wars reports Kylo wears a cape a la the Sith lord’s in VIII. MSW’s sources also report Kylo pilots a TIE model similar in style to his grandfather’s in A New Hope.
Given his worship of Vader, it’s not surprising Kylo should take inspiration from him. But why on such a material, literal level? It begs the question: Why is Kylo so obsessed with Vader?
GIF Credit: Giphy
Kylo’s feelings about Vader may stem from two things: an unfulfilled potential for awesome power, and hatred for the Jedi. The power play is a no-brainer. Kylo knows he has huge potential in the Force, but probably felt Luke was holding him back. With Snoke egging him on, the temptation to explore the dark side would have been easy to give in to.
In that same vein, Kylo may hate the Jedi because he feels they are too cautious. Or maybe Luke did something that Kylo thinks is morally wrong. We saw conflict between Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters a lot in The Clone Wars. And in many instances, the Jedi Masters really did commit morally questionable acts. Luke, a new Jedi founding a new Jedi Order, is much more vulnerable to such mistakes.
Ultimately, Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side sounds a lot like his grandfather’s. And that similarity more than anything else explains Kylo’s obsession with Vader.
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Star Wars: Episode VIII premieres in theaters on December 15th, 2017.