Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
With the revival of the Star Wars franchise following the premiere of The Force Awakens, fans were introduced to an array of new and beloved characters to behold on the big screen.
Of course, fans of the franchise were given the pure joy of seeing classic characters from the original trilogy return — Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia among others. While seeing Han and Chewie fight side by side, blaster and bowcaster blazing, the new era of Star Wars characters ushered in, proved to be just as captivating and entertaining as their predecessors.
The Force Awakens introduced three new faces, including Rey, Finn, and Poe, to step in as the trio of protagonists, just as Luke, Han, and Leia served as the trio of heroes in the original trilogy. While all three heroes played their respective roles beautifully, contributing to what was a great film, one character who stole the spotlight was the film’s villain, Kylo Ren.
Star Wars has offered many characters over the years, some who have been around for as many as forty years, yet there are few who can claim to be as complex as Kylo Ren. Even with only appearing in one film thus far, Ren’s revealed past and present issues have made it evident he is a character who not only is currently struggling with his own demons, but the issue will likely persist and remain a recurring theme throughout the rest of the trilogy.
During The Force Awakens, Ren is visibly struggling to remain true to the Dark Side of the Force, a problem which is a direct result of his past life when he was known as Ben Solo.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis)
Ph: Film Frame
© 2014 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Right Reserved.
Growing up in his family’s shadow
Ben Solo, born to rebel heroes Leia Organa and Han Solo shortly after the Empire’s fall in the year 4 ABY, was born into a family held in such high esteem, and lofty expectations were placed on him since his birth. After it was discovered the Force-sensitive, he was expected to become a member of Luke’s new generation of Jedi warriors, playing his part in reviving the Jedi Order. He was even named after one of the more renown Jedi of recent years, Obi-Wan Kenobi, only enhancing others’ expectations.
Leia and Han both spent a great deal of time in their respective professions during Ben’s childhood, both of which consumed their lives and kept them from their son to an extent. This resulted in Ben experiencing feelings of abandonment and neglect as a child, feelings which would follow him to his adult life.
Before the fall of the Jedi Order, Jedi were expected to refrain from virtually all feelings or emotions, an aspect of being a Jedi that Luke may or may not have instituted into his teachings. Regardless, this vulnerability he felt allowed Supreme Leader Snoke to target young Ben Solo and seduce him to the dark side of the Force more easily.
When Snoke targeted Ben Solo and seduced him to the Dark Side, Ben’s betrayal created a significant impact on not only his family but the future of the Jedi as well. When he turned to the Dark Side, pledging himself to Snoke’s teachings, joining the Knights of Ren, and murdering all his fellow Jedi in training under Luke Skywalker, he abandoned his life as Ben Solo and became Kylo Ren, dedicating his life to finishing what Darth Vader started and killed all the Jedi.
Kylo Ren has modeled himself after his late grandfather — Darth Vader. Everything from the black helmet and augmented voice to the aimless choking of First Order officials, pointed to Kylo Ren making a full-fledged attempt to be the best second-coming of Darth Vader he could be.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
A true Dark Side enforcer
The Force Awakens was loved by many, yet there was one scene in particular which pulled at the heartstrings of virtually all viewers — the death of Han Solo. The vast majority of the film includes Han trying to reach out to his son and bring him back to their family, trying to tell him it was not too late to leave Snoke and the Dark Side.
Considering Ren had been struggling with this on his own, hearing it from his father must have struck a chord with him as he was visibly struggling to find the correct course of action as he and Han stood on the bridge on Starkiller Base. As Ren held out his lightsaber in front of himself and his father, the lightsaber was ignited and went straight through Han’s chest, killing him as he fell into the endless chasm below.
A true apprentice of the Dark Side of the Force is not expected to experience feelings of guilt or sadness when killing another person. However, as Ren’s lightsaber seared through Han’s chest, Han looked into his son’s eyes, put his hand on his face, and exemplified feelings of nothing other than love.
In seeing his father do this mere seconds before his own son murdered him, it is likely Ren saw unconditional love, love which transcends good and evil. Regardless of all this, there is one popular theory among Star Wars fans, a theory which states it was not Ren but Han who ignited the lightsaber, thus killing him.
Many believe Han knew the sacrifice of his own life would be a moment to stick in Ren’s mind the rest of his life, a moment which may keep him from ever giving himself wholly to the dark side. In choosing to sacrifice his own life, Han may have believed he would be able to keep his son from turning entirely away from the light, something which still has the potential to happen either in The Last Jedi or more likely in Episode IX.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Han with the assist?
While the theories that Han chose to sacrifice himself and ignited the lightsaber on his own, or Ren will return to the light on his own choosing are possible, one theory which has circulated since December of 2015 is one which is much less likely.
Fans have also theorized Kylo Ren is not only an apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke but he is still secretly serving his former master Luke, serving as a “double agent” of sorts. While some belief this to potentially be true, others question why Ren would kill his own father, among the many other people he has killed.
It is doubtful Luke would approve of Ren murdering Han, even if to further convince Snoke and all the others he is truly one with the Dark Side. It would take a real monster to murder one’s own father in cold blood, thus eliminating the probability of this theory while also further validating the theory of Han choosing to sacrifice himself rather than Ren killing him.
The many theories are circling the internet all point to the possibility that Kylo Ren will turn his back on the Dark Side of the Force and return to his family and the Jedi at some point. While this would make for an interesting enough story, it must still be taken into consideration that Ren will continue the remainder of the trilogy as Snoke’s pawn and his desire to destroy the remaining Jedi.
Of course, this would not be as interesting, yet Star Wars has proven to excel more when keeping one villain for the whole trilogy rather than one different villain for each movie of the trilogy.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Or Kylo Ren could be given an alternate fate.
The possibilities in which the Sequel Trilogy can end are endless as the writers behind these films have full freedom in creating any conclusion they want. When writing Kylo Ren’s fate, the writers could mirror Darth Vader’s arc in the Original Trilogy, ending his arc on a high note, turning back to the Light as well as redemption.
All previous villains in the Star Wars franchise have either died as a villain or turned back to the Light Side and then died. Regardless, all Star Wars villains die at some point or another, an unfortunate fate which Kylo Ren likely will be unable to escape unless he makes a drastic change of heart.
It is fully expected at this point that Ren will remain the villain for the duration of the trilogy, just as his idol Darth Vader did before him.
The main question at this point is whether the story will conclude with him on the Light Side or the Dark Side of the Force, a question that will not be answered until Episode IX hits theaters in May of 2019.
Next: Finn teams up with the most unlikely character in The Last Jedi
Regardless of all the theorizing and predicting by fans, Kylo Ren has already proven himself to be such a complex and difficult character to read. The number of different routes this character could go are endless.