Character Analysis: Kylo Ren/Ben Solo

WARNING: THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

Since 2015, a new character has taken the Star Wars universe by storm and has been the topic of many conversations, theories, and character analyses. That character, played by phenomenal actor Adam Driver, is Kylo Ren, the seemingly main antagonist of the new trilogy.

The first scene Kylo Ren appears in is on the planet Jakku, where he and his forces storm a village to get the information on the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. He not only strikes down Lor San Sekka, the man who refuses to give the information away, but he orders the entire village to be killed.

It would be easy to just write him off right here as a horrible villain. BUT! There are several important characterization moments in this first scene with Kylo Ren that may get overlooked:

1. He is incredibly strong and gifted with the Force – he stops a blaster bolt midair, has a full conversation with it hanging in the air, and then only after he leaves does it go off. That’s impressive.

2. His struggle with his family/the light side is already shown – not only does he get angry when Lor brings up his legacy of not being in the dark, but also gets upset when his family is mentioned. There’s obviously some tension there.

3. He’s hiding something – the mask. He’s wearing a MASK. It’s a huge symbol of his character as Kylo Ren. It shields us from his emotions and how he truly reacts.

4. He knew about Finn (FN2187) not firing the blaster, and DIDN’T report him – that’s a bit odd, isn’t it? The two obviously meet gazes and have a stare down. Kylo knew he didn’t fire on any of the villagers, therefore disobeying his direct order. But he doesn’t report it, kill him, or anything. He leaves it be.

The setup of this character was wonderful. At first glance, he seems like a brute, powerful villain who cares about nothing. But there’s more going on beneath the mask of this character.

Throughout the Force Awakens, Kylo Ren’s character continues to build these different layers over who he is. The fact of his father being Han Solo – so his heritage and legacy truly did rest with the Light Side – is a huge plot point not only in the first movie, but throughout the entire trilogy. There’s obviously some painful history between his family and his turn to the dark, and in the first installment of the trilogy, it all gets pinned on Supreme Leader Snoke. His struggle between the dark and the light is shown with the segment of him talking to Darth Vader’s burned and disfigured helmet: “Forgive me, I feel it again, the pull to the light.”

Not only does this show that the light inside of him is not completely gone, as he feels conflicted to leave the Dark Side, but Kylo admits that it is not the first time he’s been tempted by the Light. The conflict inside him really resonates with the Skywalker blood in his veins, and calls back the same confliction Anakin Skywalker had before his turn to the dark. This adds another layer to his character that isn’t seen by anyone other than the audience until the end of the movie.

When he’s under the mask, Kylo Ren is sarcastic, confident, and brutal. These traits can be seen through his conversations with the people he engages with in the movie:

(to General Hux) “They're obviously skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army.”

(to officer) “The droid…stole a freighter?”

(to Poe, strapped in a chair) “I had no idea we had the best pilot in the Resistance on board. Comfortable?”

(to Rey) “Do you mean the murderers, traitors and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea.”

When he’s behind the mask, he throws tantrums, expressing his anger with his lightsaber, and exudes confidence and control. His mask makes him invulnerable and he can hide within it.

However, Kylo Ren also has a side of himself that he keeps hidden behind his mask. We first see this after he meets Rey in the forest on Takodana. It was always curious that instead of having a stormtrooper carry Rey back to his ship, Kylo carries her himself. His treatment of Rey is a huge plot point in the trilogy, and this moment is the start of it. She is also the first one he lets his guard down around. When interrogating her, she makes a comment of him being a “creature in a mask,” and he removes the helmet immediately after as if 1 – to prove her wrong, and 2 – to show he wasn’t what she thought he was. With his mask off, he is exposed: and that is exactly what happens during his interrogation with Rey. She rips away layers of confidence that hide his fear of failure – him not being as strong as Darth Vader. Kylo’s fascination with his grandfather stems from a lack of understanding of his grandfather’s legacy and how the Dark Side sought him out (explained further down).

One thing I can be 100% sure of is that Kylo Ren does not know how to properly express his emotions. He doesn’t possess the awkwardness of, let’s say, Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender, but the lack of ability to express himself properly is definitely there. Instead, the audience sees his emotions through his eyes, hence a reason he probably wears the mask, because he’s constantly trying to hide his feelings. His feelings are scattered and suppressed and are only properly spoken about once in the movie, when he confronts his father. Rey calls him out, sure, but he never admits or says anything of it to her in the first movie. He really is alone and has no one to talk to about his choices, his feelings, or anything of that nature.

Now, let’s talk about the big moment of The Force Awakens that is the catalyst to Kylo Ren’s character: the killing of his father, Han Solo. As stated above, the only time his feelings are properly expressed is during his confrontation with Han Solo on the bridge. The broken relationship between father and son is apparent, but their conversation is heartbreaking. Han pleads with Kylo (Ben) to come home, and here we see the first ‘appearance’, so to speak, of Ben Solo. He admits that it’s too late for him to come back, and that he is being torn apart and wants to be free of his pain.

Of course, he makes the wrong choice, reverting to Kylo Ren and instead of going home with his father to the Resistance, he kills his father and remains obedient to the Dark Side. The tragic end of one of Star Wars’ favorite characters is devastating. And the result for everyone is not what was expected. Kylo was not satisfied nor resolved in his decision, Chewie was devastated, Rey and Finn were heartbroken, and Leia was left knowing that her son killed her husband. No one won with Han Solo’s death.

The end of the film results with him getting a scar across his face – courtesy of Rey – to show the ‘scar’ left on his heart by his decision to kill his father. It’s physical symbolism of his choice, and though it may get stitched up in The Last Jedi, it never fully goes away while he is Kylo Ren.

Speaking of, his character development in the second installment of the trilogy is perhaps my favorite. This movie actually digs into Kylo Ren’s emotions, mentality, and psychology.

The first appearance of Kylo Ren in the second movie is after the mention of Han Solo by Luke. It’s a good cut, as it shows the conflict and effect of his decision, which the trilogy plays off of nicely.

Right from the start, he is conflicted, in pain, and filled with regret. At the beginning, he’s hiding back underneath the mask to hide all of these feelings. In his conversation with Snoke, he tries not only to dismiss his injury, but tries to dismiss the act of killing his father. Both were unsuccessful. Snoke degrades Kylo – admitting he saw Kylo only for his bloodline and power, and that he might have been mistaken in choosing him.

Kylo’s response is a plea: “I’ve given everything I have to you…to the Dark Side.”

Of course, Snoke doesn’t care. When the mask comes off Kylo Ren, not only does the audience see the physical scar across his face, but his eyes express the emotional scar of his actions. It’s another thing Snoke calls him out on, saying he had too much of his father in him. Ironically, his father had claimed that there was too much Vader in him. That duality is built in this movie, as both Light and Dark are represented and at war with each other within Kylo Ren. As Snoke pointed out, the act of killing his father split his spirit to the bone. He’s in constant conflict within himself about who he is and who he should be.

After his rather degrading talk with Snoke, there’s a scene in the elevator where Kylo is alone. His mask is off, and he’s staring at it: staring at the shell of a person he created. He then destroys the mask, smashing it into the wall over and over until it is nothing but shambles. He physically and symbolically destroys the “boy in the mask” Snoke called him.

From then on, his emotions can be seen. He’s not hiding them. They are raw, expressive, and crucial to understanding his actions in this movie.

One big moment of characterization from Kylo Ren comes when he’s in his ship. Not only does he display excellent piloting and skill in his Tie Fighter, he stumbles across another critical decision that has to be made: will he or will he not kill his mother?

Through the Force, Kylo can sense Leia, as she can sense him. It is a dramatic moment that makes one hold their breath: he killed his father, will he kill his mother? The struggle of this decision shows throughout his entire demeanor. But he cannot do it. He cannot pull the trigger knowing it would kill his mother. As soon as he makes his decision, two fighters fly past him, delivering the shots. Anguish shows on his face, quickly followed by anger when ordered to return to the Star Destroyer.

We don’t see Kylo again until the Force Bond begins between him and Rey. The last time the two saw each other, they were fighting as enemies. It makes for an awkward, tension-filled realization when they realize their minds are linked. Kylo, however, is not angry nor afraid of Rey, even after the injury she gave him. Instead, he is fascinated, enthralled, and even a little excited upon seeing her.

Kylo is a smart and intuitive man. He recognizes that it isn’t Rey who has done this, telling her “the effort would kill you.” While she yells at him through the Bond, he asks questions about the connection, asking if she can see his surroundings. He’s smart enough to realize this bond was not something normal:

“This is something else.”

This bond between Rey and Kylo Ren is the building block to the revival of Ben Solo. First hinted in The Force Awakens during his interrogation of Rey: “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too,” the force bond is further explored in The Last Jedi and creates an intimate bond between these two characters.

What does this bond do to Kylo? It exposes his vulnerable, tortured soul. He’s honest – almost too honest at times – and yearns for a connection, for a relationship. He finds this in Rey. This really breaks him out of the “one dimensional villain” some still thought he was after the first movie. There’s no way to say that after you watch the second movie.

Kylo Ren finds this connection with Rey as an opportunity to express himself and connect with someone for the first time since he destroyed Luke’s temple. For the first time, he can show his side of the story. His truth. His knowledge. And that’s exactly what he does with Rey. He is surprisingly patient, calm, and understanding when it comes to their talks. Half the time, Rey tries insulting him and dismissing him, but instead of going off on a tantrum like he often did to others, Kylo calmly takes the heat from Rey and tries explaining things to her despite her anger towards him.

There are a few important things to realize about Kylo’s characterization with the Force Bond scenes:

1. He is intelligent – perhaps more so than most people give him credit for

2. He’s patient, kind, and calm when it comes to Rey – never once during their talks does he raise his voice, get angry, accuse her of something, or force her to do anything

3. He wants to be understood – he wants Rey to dig into the truth of his past and what happened with Luke

4. He feels like a monster – when Rey calls him a monster, the pain in his eyes and the trembling whisper “Yes I am” is not a positive affirmation of what he is, it’s a negative admittance of what he’s become.

5. He fell in love – it’s very obvious to see how Kylo looks at and treats Rey differently. She quite literally makes him soft around her.

6. He admits he never hated his father – a crucial admittance on Kylo’s part, which brings up the begging question of “Why?”

The Force Bond changes Kylo. He’s not questioning where Rey is, stops trying to find Luke, or anything of the sort. He’s engaging her, encouraging her, and letting her speak. In a way, he becomes a teacher to her. The concept was mentioned by him in the first movie, although the context of the teaching methods is completely different because of his attitude and feelings towards Rey.

After learning of his past and why he destroyed the temple and fled, Kylo becomes a sympathetic villain: he’s still ‘bad’, but his past creates sympathy for his character as reasoning why he’s done what he’s done. He thought Luke was trying to kill him in his sleep, so he destroyed the temple and ran away – right into Snoke’s hands. He had darkness rising in him, according to Luke, and Snoke had already taken his heart. Ben Solo was sought out by Snoke and slowly pulled from the light: the attack from Luke was the final straw.

Kylo’s big theme, so to speak, for this movie is his iconic words: “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you were meant to be.”

His attitude towards the past is almost self-explanatory: he killed the past he thought was holding him back. He discarded it so he could be who he was meant to be. That could be used as the explanation to why he thought killing his father was what he was supposed to do: he was clinging to the past. To who he used to be. And he wanted to get rid of that person. His warped thinking probably stems from mistrust and misunderstandings that were never cleared up for him as a child, and over time accumulated into resentment for those he knew in the past. That’s also why he encourages Rey to let her past die – to stop searching for her parents and to stop needing them.

This all pushes forward to the moment in Rey’s hut where they touch fingertips. Not only does this solidify their bond to show they can physically reach one another on top of their mental connection, but it also affirms their words to one another:

“You’re not alone.” “Neither are you.”

For the first time, neither character is alone. It’s truly an iconic moment between the two characters, and a pivotal moment not only for Rey’s character, but for Kylo. After this moment, Rey goes to Kylo, believing she can bring Ben Solo back, and that he could be the Resistance’s last hope.

Rey arrives and is put in chains, and Kylo brings her up to Snoke. He tries so hard to ignore her, to not get drawn into her presence (this is the first time they’ve truly been face to face since the fight in the forest), and to keep to what he was originally supposed to do: bring Rey to Snoke. His emotions and feelings betray him though. All it takes is for Rey to say his name – his real name – and all pretenses of ignoring her is gone. After Rey admits that she saw his future, that he wouldn’t bow before Snoke, he admits that he saw who her parents were after telling her that she would stand by him. If I were to take a guess, Kylo knew then that he wasn’t going to allow Snoke to have Rey or kill her. He was going to do something; he just didn’t know what it was yet. He didn’t know what he had to do when he walked out of that elevator into the throne room with Rey.

Then comes the throne room scene. It is a beautiful scene from start to finish. Kylo’s scenes in this section are where his mindset begins to change. The look of anger in his eyes when he sees Snoke torture Rey is one that makes you shudder. He makes up his mind, even after hearing that Snoke connected their minds, to kill Snoke in order to save Rey. He does it so beautifully too. He uses Snoke’s confidence of abusing Kylo’s mind – as he does all throughout the first two films – to trick him and keep him blind to his true actions. He says it then while gazing at Rey, his mind resolved for the first time:

“I know what I have to do.”

Kylo Ren kills Snoke as Ben Solo: he kills for the one he loves in order to protect her. In doing so, he not only gets rid of the man threatening the one he loves, he also gets rid of his abuser. After they successfully kill off the guards in the room, Ben is left facing the decapitated body of the man who had used and abused him for years. There’s relief in his eyes and a sort of power he feels: he’s finally free. But he reverts once more to Kylo Ren after his initial shock leaves him: “It’s time to let old things die.”

He offers Rey his hand to rule with him. He goes to her as Kylo Ren, not as Ben. He trusts her, and despite what Snoke said, wants to believe they are still connected. He’s almost desperate to know that she is not going to leave him. As soon as Rey hesitates, his panic rises, and for the first time, he raises his voice at her:

“No, you’re still holding on! Let go!”

When he brings up her parents, he doesn’t do so to hurt her or turn her from him – it’s the opposite. He so desperately wants her to see where he’s coming from that he wants her to admit that she knew her parents were nothing so she could let the past die. But, as we’ve discussed earlier, he does not know how to properly express his emotions nor his desires.

“You have no part in this story. You come from nothing. You’re nothing…but not to me.”

Not his wisest word choice. Some could take this as him being abusive and trying to manipulate Rey into joining him. I honestly do not believe that is the case.

Rey is everything to Kylo. He wanted some sort of affirmation that he meant something to her. He obviously didn’t care who or where her parents came from. He loved her. He wanted her with him. He was trying to think of something that would make her want to come to him. But it didn’t matter what he said: he didn’t approach Rey as Ben. And that’s who she loved. She was propositioned by Kylo Ren instead. Even his heartbreaking “Please” was not enough because of that fact.

After their struggle over the lightsaber (his last attempt to keep her from leaving him) comes the final scene on Crait. This salty planet is a fitting mood for the heartbroken and angry Kylo Ren. In his mind, he’s been betrayed by the one person he thought understood him and wanted him. His anger provides for a bit of comedy, such as Force-shoving General Hux against the wall when he disagrees with him, and when he calls the Millennium Falcon a piece of junk.

He finally gets the opportunity to face Luke, and all he wants to do is kill him. His anger consumes his entire being to where he doesn’t think rationally, and his usual keenness towards things is put off because of that anger. This causes him to lash out at Luke, make false promises of destroying Rey, but most importantly, in his anger he misses the fact that Luke isn’t even there. His anger provided the escape for the Resistance. Had he been of sound mind, he may have been able to see through Luke’s apparition – that’s just conjecture, though.

The end when they storm the base and the Force bond initiates once more between him and Rey is heartbreaking. He realizes that Snoke had lied about their bond. None of it was fake, and it hurts him all the more. When Rey closes the door on him, he visibly jolts from the pain of the severed connection. He stares down at the ground, defeated, sad, and alone.

This sets up for The Rise of Skywalker: he’s angry and alone once again, and he feels threatened. This is why he goes on a rampage to find the Wayfinder to lead him to Palpatine.

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

He finds out quite quickly that Palpatine has been the reasoning behind every voice inside his head. This shows that even as a child, Ben Solo was sought after by the Dark Side. Emperor Palpatine targeted a young Ben Solo, distorting the legacy of his grandfather – the only explanation as to why Kylo thought he was finishing what Anakin started – and filling his mind with voices from the Dark. He was targeted because of his bloodline as a child: Ben almost didn’t have a chance to resist the Dark Side. This could also be related to the constant struggle of the duality of Light and Dark within him. The Skywalker family consists of both Dark and Light, and the embodiment of the family struggle is manifested in Ben Solo/Kylo Ren.

Since Snoke was an instrument created by Palpatine, the blame for Ben’s descent into Kylo Ren. The freedom Kylo believed he had after Snoke died disappears when he faces Palpatine, who shares this information with him and offers him the Final Order to rule, but on one condition: Kylo has to kill Rey. This line Palpatine delivers becomes crucial for Kylo:

“Become what your grandfather, Vader, could not.”

It is ironic that after this, the first thing Kylo does is look at the mask of Darth Vader he has on his ship. He reaches Rey through the Force bond and they share a vision – both of them sitting together on the throne of the Sith. After that vision, Kylo reverts to his old self from the first movie: he remakes the mask and hides himself within it, almost like he wants to force the vision to be true by staying true to the Dark Side. Unlike the first movie, however, this time, his mask is cracked. It’s a visual representation that the façade he is putting up as Kylo Ren is faulty, cracked, and unwholesome. He will never fully be Kylo Ren again, but he is not Ben Solo either. With the new mask, he is somewhere stuck in-between the two people, trying to navigate between everything he knows or thinks he knows.

When Kylo and Rey share their first Force bond, Kylo warns her about Palpatine. Deep down, he knows he can’t kill Rey. It would be impossible for him to kill her, for multiple different reasons. Of course, he doesn’t express this to her: he tries to keep his intentions shadowed from her.

He does ask why she refused his hand, but Rey turns it around and asks why he didn’t kill her. Neither answer the other’s question. Kylo deflects his feelings and skirts around the truth. This is one of two times that Kylo ever keeps his mask on around Rey. He has it on because at this point, he’s hiding what his plans are. He’s trying to hide his emotions from Rey as best he can. Their bond already makes them vulnerable to one another, so he tries to hide his face to give him some sort of control. He’s trying to be who he’s not, and so he’s hiding under that symbolic cracked mask.

He meets her in the desert, where she cuts the wing off his Tie Fighter and he’s forced out of the burning ship. Here, he faces Rey without his mask. Face to face, he never hides from her. It’s something interesting that Kylo does in this last movie. He refuses to hide from her when they are physically near one another yet wants to hide in their Force bond where his mind is vulnerable, but his body is not.

It’s curious that he lets her leave after Chewie “dies”. He doesn’t chase or try to stop her, even though he’s been searching for her. It may have been because he knew the shock she was in and wanted her to deal with her feelings on her own (or it could be a director’s choice type of thing). But the next we see of Kylo, he’s back in his mask, hunting down Rey once more on Kijima.

Their next Force bond is the second and last time Kylo wears the mask to hide from Rey. He wants her to know the truth of her story. They argue again – Kylo staying calm while Rey bursts with anger and refusal. Kylo wants to tell Rey who she really is – a truth he believes will make her stand by his side and fight with him. His whole purpose for telling her this information is so she will turn to stand beside him. That’s been his goal since the end of the last movie, and all he desires is to be with Rey. In his head, the only way that’s possible is if she turns to the Dark. He confirms this thought when he confronts Rey on the remains of the Death Star:

“You can’t go back to her [Leia] now. Just like I can’t.”

Not only are the two a Dyad in the Force, explaining their intimate bond and how even through the bond they can physically touch one another and how their surroundings can get transported from one place to the other, but they both have family who hail from the Dark Side: Darth Vader for Kylo, and Palpatine for Rey. These deep seeded connections make Kylo believe that not only are he and Rey meant to be together, but their place has to be with the Dark Side of the Force.

When he confronts Rey on the Star Destroyer (when he reveals she’s a Palpatine), he removes his mask to offer her his hand. Again, Rey hesitates, but they are interrupted by Finn and Poe coming in to get Rey.

But when he confronts Rey on the Death Star, his mask is nowhere to be seen. He’s left it discarded to come to her. He faces her honestly and without the cracked mask. He tries to talk to her, but Rey – only focusing on the remaining Wayfinder – ignores him. Kylo is actually hurt by her anger and refusal to listen to him. Realizing the only way she would listen is if her mind was no longer on the Wayfinder, he breaks it, making him her only way to Exegol.

The epic duel they have after this brings about the death of two people: General Leia and Kylo Ren. Kylo’s conscience gets broken during his fight by his mother reaching through the Force to him. She whispers his name and he stops: the one person he thought he could never go back to was calling out for him. She was the one he could not kill. His love for his mother was something that kept a small part of ‘Ben Solo’ alive. And she called him.

The next sequence is incredibly powerful: Kylo drops his lightsaber, Rey catches it, and then she stabs him through the abdomen. This is the death of Kylo Ren. Physically and mentally. When he falls, not only is he in pain because of the wound he was viciously given, but also for the loss of his mother and this transformation her voice reaching through to him ignited. There’s so much pain and emotion on his face. When Rey heals him, there’s relief in so many different levels in him: she has healed Ben Solo. This is affirmed with Rey’s tearful words:

“I did want to take your hand. Ben’s hand.”

He’s left in shock as she flees from him. When he rises, he’s looking out at the sea where Rey took his fighter and left. And finally, finally, he gets the closure he’s been craving since The Force Awakens. He has a conversation with his father, Han Solo, who appears through Ben’s memories. They have a replaying of the conversation that took place on the bridge, give or take a few changes that signify Ben Solo’s revival. He once again tried to say that Han’s son was dead, but his shaky voice betrays what he truly feels: fear of what will happen if he goes back to the Light and accepts who he is. Han reassures Ben several times throughout their conversation:

“No. Kylo Ren is dead. My son is alive.”

“Your mother’s gone, but what she stood for, what she fought for, that’s not gone.”

Probably the part that has the most impact is when Ben shakily admits he knows what he has to do, but he doesn’t know if he has the strength. Han, smiling and reaching out to his son, reaffirms his decision:

“You do.”

Then Ben finally calls him Dad. That relationship is restored. There is so much emotion and power with just that one word, and even though Ben doesn’t express his sorrow, his regret, or anything like that verbally, it doesn’t have to be said. It’s seen in the way he pleadingly looks at his father. And in classic Han Solo fashion, he replies: “I know.”

Ben then throws away the red lightsaber into the sea. He got rid of the last part of Kylo Ren by throwing the lightsaber he made as “Kylo Ren”. He turns back for approval from his father, but he’s not there. There’s a sort of relief and pressure that seems to lift from his shoulders; like a new sense of purpose.

When we truly, truly meet Ben Solo fully realized for the first time, it is when he goes to Exegol to help Rey. His whole demeanor and approach changes. Instead of calmly approaching and taking that strange stone dais down to the bottom, he runs in a hurry and jumps off the ledge, landing on a statue, and muttering the only word we ever hear from him as Ben Solo:

“Ow.”

It may not seem like much, but the ‘ow’ is so expressive and shows a contrast between who he is as Ben Solo versus Kylo Ren. In The Force Awakens, when he has been shot and injured, he says nothing of it, but instead beats his own wound as if to put more pain on himself and say it didn’t matter. Even in The Last Jedi, he never complained about his wounds, but dismissed them as ‘nothing’ to show he didn’t feel pain. But here, as Ben, he has a hard landing that jars him, and he admits the pain aloud and expresses his discomfort. Just a small difference in character makes the difference between ‘Kylo Ren’ and ‘Ben Solo’.

The way Ben goes through Exegol with just a blaster (much like his father) exudes a type of confidence and personality that was hidden by the mask of Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren really was just a shell of who Ben Solo is. And the way he acts when he is Ben Solo is a drastic change from what was seen before. He decides to take on all the Knights of Ren with nothing but the Force and a blaster (cockiness of his father, for sure) and as he fights, the Force bond with Rey initiates, and there’s a close up on his face: younger, happier, and…unscarred. It is such a clean picture. When Rey healed Ben Solo, she ended up healing the very same scar she gave him. The scar symbolized his scarred heart because of his decision to kill his father, correct? With his turn to the Light, that scar is no more. He faced his past and overcame it. That scar was no longer holding him back, and the healing of his scar is a physical change that shows his transformation and healing.

When Rey gives him his mother’s lightsaber through the bond and he pulls it out, he pulls a classic Solo shrug before he displays his stunning fighting ability. Again, the change of attitude, movements, personality, and confidence that Ben Solo possesses is a stark contrast to who Kylo Ren was.

And then Ben joins Rey and stands by her side to face Palpatine. Even though he ends up actually not fighting Palpatine, when he climbs back up from the chasm he was thrown in, he is severely injured. And the first thing he sees? Rey, lying on the ground, dead because of her fight with Palpatine. Maybe – because they are a Dyad – he felt her die. He knew that she was dying and forced himself out of that chasm so he could help her. Either way, he stumbles and crawls over to Rey and holds her in his arms. The emotion on his face is incredible and heartbreaking: nothing we would ever see in Kylo Ren. He is so distraught and in anguish over her death that he cannot bear it. It’s almost as if he knows his fate and cherishes these last few moments with her before he begins to heal her. He transfers his life energy over to her so she could live.

And it works. The true form of Force healing that is not perverted by the Dark, but a true expression of those in the Light. And he heals Rey, reviving her from the dead. She, of course, is shocked by the fact that she’s been revived, but upon seeing who has saved her, smiles. The way Ben looks at Rey is precious: he looks so happy, in love, and treasuring every single second of being with her.

When Rey calls him “Ben,” it is a culmination of his journey. He has truly, 100% been redeemed. Their emotions are expressed – finally – with a passionate kiss, and after, Ben shares his first, authentic smile. He is genuinely happy and full of Light. It is the brightest smile and he even laughs a little because of the joy in his heart. But that, sadly, did not last. Soon after that kiss, Ben dies, his body disappearing like the Jedi before him. (Do NOT talk to me about that scene. I am NOT OVER IT)

Palpatine was right about Ben: he did exactly what his grandfather could not. Anakin could not save Padme. But Ben did save Rey. He saved the one he loved, despite what it cost him.

Ben Solo is one of the most in-depth characters in the Star Wars universe because of his complexity, duality, and struggle. It’s a beautiful transition from start to finish, and if I were being honest, this trilogy really belonged to Ben Solo.

There are several takeaways one could bring from this character, and I absolutely love Ben Solo and wish he could have lived to give the Skywalker family a happy ending. If I were to choose the most important aspects of his character arc, it would be these:

1. No one is ever really gone - anybody can be redeemed if they are not given up on.

2. Love, forgiveness, and acceptance can cover a multitude of hatred, shame, and regret.

3. Heritage and legacy isn't always what you think it is.

4. Evil will always be beaten by Good.

I hope you enjoyed this character analysis! If you have any feedback, questions, comments, or further analysis that I've grazed over, please feel free to comment below!

May the Force be with you...Always.