Is Kylo Ren the Severus Snape of Star Wars?

He’s been called every name under the Tatooine Twin Suns, but what if there’s more to Kylo Ren? What if the Star Wars villain is more like a certain black-haired double agent from a certain series about the boy who lived?

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the name ‘Kylo Ren’? We can probably guess ‘man child’ and ‘Vader fanboy’. You wouldn’t be too far off when examining the character from afar. But what if the next generation of the Skywalker family was the Severus Snape of Star Wars?

Likenesses

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Both have black hair and they’re on the side of evil. The young Solo developed an obsession with his evil granddaddy and wanted to end the Jedi as Vader once had. The head of Slytherin house from Happy Potter books 1 to 6 ‘joined’ the dark lord because he went undercover.

When you look at Ben and Severus, you don’t see the similarities between them. When you consider their backstories, they had terrible lives. Ben’s life was plagued with both sides of the Force fighting for control. Severus had an abusive Muggle father and a Witch mother who wouldn’t leave his father.

Quests

When you view Snape and Kylo and their quests, you’re left asking yourself how are their mission alike. If you examine them together you don’t see it at first.

Vader’s descendant has one mission: wipe out the organization the former Sith once served. If The Last Jedi was any indication, he didn’t succeed. Snape’s mission was to infiltrate Voldemort’s forces and send the information back to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. It would have been difficult for him to sit back and watch as the Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed people, including his work colleagues. He also had a secondary quest of getting the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position.

Temptations of the Other Side

As the legacy of the Skywalker dynasty, a conflict brewed within Ben for years and well before he learned his mother’s true paternity. Because the Dark Side dwelled within his bloodline, he became torn between both the dark and the light.

Voldemort believed Snape was on his side but worked out he wasn’t truthful. He had Nagini kill Dumbledore’s agent in front of Harry. Severus’s death showed the young Potter that the teacher cared and saw his mother within him.

Hermione and Ron thought the potion master tried to throw Harry from his broom during the first Quidditch Match during the first book. Also, he made it appear like he despised Harry.

Dangerous Fighter

The young Solo’s fighting style is dangerous and savage. He also abandoned his Jedi training and slaughtered his fellow students while his uncle watched. When he goes up against Rey and Finn, he got defeated because he used savaged tactics of his own creation.

Unlike his Star Wars counterpart, Severus took on Gilderoy Lockhart in a practice duel during the second book. However, it wasn’t enough to save him from Nagini’s strikes that killed him in Deathly Hallows. Though we mightn’t witness it, he held potential to kill and he would have if he didn’t honor the Muggle-born mother’s memory.

Hidden Secrets

For Severus, his secret was playing spy for Dumbledore. When Lily became marked for death, the Hogwarts professor told the headmaster he needs to protect his former love interest, but not her husband and son. Albus told him Lily’s son was the reason the Dark Lord would go after the Potter family.

When Harry’s parents were found murdered, Snape confronted his boss and demanded to know why he didn’t keep his promise to keep Lily safe. The Half-Blood Prince learned that Dumbledore tried preventing his former love’s death by putting her and her family under protection.

Having Darth Vader as a father kills any opportunity of having a life. Leia found this out the hard way when her Senate rivals dug up her darkest secret; her true paternity. She might’ve bore Bail Organa’s name, but her blood didn’t lie. Any form of Anakin Skywalker; good or bad didn’t erase her son’s obsession with the man who almost tore the galaxy down the middle.

Conclusion

So, are Ben Solo and Severus Snape similar or is it a coincidence? They share differences. Whether Kylo is a double agent like Snape probably wouldn’t happen, but it’s a nice dream to have. How awesome would it be if the top enforcer for the First Order served as a spy the whole time for his mother?

Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled to release worldwide on December 20.