Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Killing Ben Solo Ruined Kylo Rens Redemption

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Killing Ben Solo Ruined Kylo Ren’s Redemption

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a number of extremely divisive elements – but arguably its biggest mistake was mishandling Kylo Ren’s redemption.

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The Skywalker Saga concluded with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – but amid several divisive elements, the botched redemption of Kylo Ren was arguably the film’s most egregious. Abrams previously helmed the opening installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He then passed the torch ahead of the follow-up, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In the wake of that middle chapter’s highly divisive reception, however, Abrams seemed like the perfect choice to steer the franchise back on course.

Unfortunately, the film was widely panned by critics – making The Rise of Skywalker the lowest rated Star Wars film on Rotten Tomatoes. The response from fans also proved extremely mixed. While some praised how the film seemed to retcon some of The Last Jedi’s creative decisions, others lamented its desire to cling so strongly to the past. That desire even resulted in the surprising return of Emperor Palpatine – despite the fact that Lucas himself stated that Palpatine died in his original trilogy.

Played by Adam Driver, Kylo Ren made his debut in The Force Awakens. Ostensibly serving the function in the sequel trilogy as Darth Vader did in the original films, Kylo initially served as the primary antagonist in the service of a tyrannical overlord. It soon emerged, however, that there was more to Kylo than met the eye. First, it was revealed that he was actually Ben Solo, the son of original trilogy heroes Han Solo and Princess Leia. As such, it was widely expected, as with Vader before him, that Kylo Ren wouldn’t remain a villain for the entirety of the new trilogy. That belief was only exacerbated by the events of The Last Jedi – when new facets of his character were unveiled and he actively turned against Supreme Leader Snoke. Despite that, things remained firmly up in the air whether or not Kylo Ren would (or should) turn back to the light. Unfortunately, now that debate has been finally put to rest, the way with which it was handled has been met with understandable backlash.

Why Kylo Ren Had To Be Redeemed

As was famously offered in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, rebellions are built on hope. Equal to that is the fact that Star Wars is built on the fight between good and evil. That’s true for the intergalactic scale of The Rebellion or The Resistance versus The Empire or The First Order. It’s just as true for the internal struggles of individual characters. It’s widely established that from the moment their powers are awakened, force-sensitive people are often pulled between the light and the dark. It’s a struggle that both manifests in and often exacerbated by a struggle between the two. Most recently, that conflict was embodied by Kylo Ren in the final three chapters of The Skywalker Saga.

As established in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the warrior formerly known as Ben Solo was desperately trying to dedicate himself to The Dark Side. Despite that, he repeatedly felt such a pull to The Light as to cause him deep emotional pain. His efforts to finally vanquish any goodness within him saw him murder his own father. While that might seem like enough to condemn Kylo Ren forever, he was repeatedly shown to be struggling to reconcile who he wants to be with who he actually is. Those feelings were exemplified with his inability to similarly kill his mother and through his connection to Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Not to mention the tragic aspects of his encounter with Luke Skywalker seen in flashbacks. As such, he was humanized to such a degree that the redemption of Kylo Ren had to be inevitable, no matter how far he fell in the interim.

Obviously, the moral decay of a once good man can make for an enthralling journey – as evidenced by the journey of Walter White on Breaking Bad. Even Vince Gilligan’s modern classic had Walter end his life in a heroic act. Returning to Albuquerque, he decided to save the life of Jesse Pinkman as he took murderous vengeance on Jack and the neo-Nazi gang that stole his empire. Even if Walt hadn’t, however, it makes no real difference. After all, Breaking Bad is not Star Wars. Though both featured divisive installments directed, coincidentally, by Rian Johnson, the latter is a much more family-orientated affair. As such, the struggle (whether broad or internal) will always inevitably end with good winning out over evil. That being said, while Kylo Ren ultimately achieving some manner of redemption was always going to be the case, the method through which Abrams and co-writer writer Chris Terrio pursued this end was almost certainly the wrong one.

Why Redemption Through Sacrifice Worked For Darth Vader

Darth Vader previously achieved redemption through sacrifice in George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy. Having returned to the light and brought balance to the force, his destiny had been fully achieved. As such, there was nowhere left, really, for the character to go. Except to become one with The Force and reconnect with what loved ones he still could.

It also made sense given the fact that, in the wake of Lucas’ prequel Star Wars trilogy, Anakin’s body was irreparably damaged. Burnt, scarred, and crippled beyond measure, there was no true coming back from it. The best Anakin had been afforded was the chance to cling desperately to life via the aforementioned armor. As such, though there might have been away for him to continue his journey, he would be forever tied to the image that had come to be feared throughout the galaxy. In the wake of his heroic deed, Darth Vader had given himself the opportunity to die as a good man, removing his mask (and life support) to see Luke with his own eyes, so he took it willingly. That fact was emphasized by the later visual retcon of him returning to the visage of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), implying that his soul, if not his body, had been restored.

Why Repeating The Same Idea Was Wrong For Kylo Ren

Abrams is known for trafficking heavily in nostalgia, to varying degrees of success. As such, for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, he borrowed heavily from Lucas’ original films and various elements of the extended canon. That decision has largely provoked a mixed reaction from fans and even Lucas himself taking issue with The Force Awakens. Arguably, the most poorly received recycling of past arcs would be in relation to Kylo Ren’s redemption. As evidenced by the ongoing “Save Ben Solo” social media campaign, many took issue with the decision to kill the character off towards the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

After being healed by Rey, spiritually as well as physically, he returned the favor by bringing her back from seeming death. Unfortunately, the act ended up costing the newly restored Ben Solo his own life. It certainly made for a dramatic moment to which Driver customarily gave his all. However, it also felt like something of a narrative shortcut and very much a missed opportunity. After all, Ben Solo was fighting fit – having previously bested the Knights of Ren in their entirety and even survived a seemingly fatal fall. Unlike Vader, it felt as though Ben Solo still had much more to offer to the galaxy far, far away.

Redemption through sacrifice has become a common trope for a reason – and carries great impact if and when it’s used effectively. In the case of Ben Solo, however, it felt entirely too easy. It’s not clear just how widely known Kylo Ren’s true identity is. In any case, whether recognized or not, the sight of a redeemed Ben Solo living on to actively atone for his past mistakes and heinous actions would have arguably have been even more impactful. The conceit of Ben Solo actively seeking to undo the devastation he caused and restore the legacy that his family actively tried to put in place would have been likely more meaningful and emotionally resonant. Even more than that, it could have been something altogether inspiring – to not only see that even villains can sometimes change their ways but offer a more constructive way of achieving that.

Keeping Ben Solo Alive Would’ve Improved Rise of Skywalker’s Ending

The ripple effect of keeping Ben Solo alive would have been substantial. In actual fact, it could have had the added bonus of improving The Rise of Skywalker’s final sequence. Many have questioned why Ben Solo’s force ghost wasn’t present in the closing moments of the film. In truth, Ben Solo’s force ghost was never planned for any portion of the movie. While that is assuredly a shame, it’s arguably a larger missed opportunity to not have an alive and somewhat well Ben Solo there. For starters, it makes very little sense for Rey to venture to Tatooine beyond Abrams wanting to bring both Rey’s own personal journey and the entire Skywalker saga full circle. The inclusion of Ben Solo could have actually have not only offset the flaws but also would have served to make the moment more emotionally impactful.

After all, Tattooine is where the Skywalker saga began, with both Anakin and then Luke venturing away from the planet to pursue their respective destinies. As such, having the last actual member of the Skywalker lineage willingly returning there would have had a kind of thematic poetry. That is especially true if it was where Ben Solo chose to begin a more active pursuit of redemption – be that training new Jedi or something else. Even the idea that Rey was the Skywalker destined to rise, as per the film’s title, carries more weight with Ben’s presence. By him choosing to forgo it until he’s earned it and Rey opting to take it on as her own in the wake of defeating Palpatine, it serves to more aptly conclude Rey and Ben’s Force Dyad connection without simply retreading past arcs.

In terms of the dynamic between Rey and Ben, there is, of course, a vocal section of fans that wanted them to end up together. Keeping Ben Solo alive in this context would have appeased those both for and against such a relationship. It would have allowed the eventual outcome to remain ambiguous, with them not officially together but the door left open for fans to endlessly speculate regarding their future. It also would have given at least one of the Skywalker bloodline something more than a miserable, ill-fated life. More importantly, however, it would have allowed Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to venture in a bold, new direction without sacrificing any of the franchise’s core concepts.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-rise-skywalker-kylo-ren-redemption-mistake-bad-reason/

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