Star Wars was a big part of my childhood. As a kid, I was obsessed with Return of the Jedi. Even back then, I found antagonists and villains more interesting than heroes, so of course Darth Vader was my favorite character. I liked Luke Skywalker, too, and was fascinated by their relationship and every interaction between them. I read my copy of the Return of the Jedi novelization until it was tattered.
It has been decades since that old fascination, and while I’ve enjoyed Star Wars throughout my life, no character in that particular universe has held my attention like the Vader in the original three movies, until I saw Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. It’s fantastic and unexpected when a story you enjoyed so much as a child captures your interest again as an adult.
As villains go, Kylo Ren is nasty. Insecure, paranoid, and power hungry, he’s every bit the monster Rey called him, but like many great villains, he has a relatable side. With parents too absorbed in their own lives to give him the attention he deserved, and an uncle who feared him enough to nearly kill him, Kylo Ren has understandable trust issues. There’s also a question about how long the evil Snoke manipulated him, twisting his thoughts and emotions.
As far back as the original movies, I’ve never been a fan of Princess Leia or Han Solo, and the most recent Star Wars movies have done nothing to change my opinion of them. The idea that Kylo Ren killed Han was to many so shocking and horrible that it pushed him beyond redemption. To me, killing Han wasn’t the worst of his crimes. Murdering someone, even a family member, because of a personal vendetta, though bad, is less disturbing than the decision to slaughter thousands of unknown people.
Like his grandfather, Kylo Ren killed masses of people, and while the reason behind their turn to the dark side was the same–fear–the cause of their fear was different. At the very least Vader sought out the dark side because he feared losing another loved one. His goal was to keep Padme safe. Like a typical deal with the devil, it didn’t turn out as he expected, and he had sold his soul for nothing. Kylo Ren turned to the dark side to protect himself from his perceived threat of betrayal by those he should have been able to trust. Love for anyone except himself wasn’t involved in his decision.
At the time of his turn to the dark side, Vader/Anakin had still felt love, possibly because he had a mother who put him first and a mentor (Qui-Gon Jinn) who didn’t try to take his life. When Kylo turned, he apparently felt he had no connection to anyone on the light side of the force, yet when he had the chance to kill his mother, he chose not to. Unlike Vader, Kylo Ren, when we last saw him, was still torn between dark and light. It will be interesting to see the outcome of his story in The Rise of Skywalker. Will it be a fairytale ending in which the villain dies regardless of whether he seeks redemption, or will it be a little closer to reality, in which the bad guys don’t always get what’s coming to them and people aren’t always completely good or evil?
Kylo Ren’s crimes are atrocious, but the character is human enough that I want him to accept both the light and the darkness within himself. Even if he can’t be redeemed, he can still make the attempt and choose to no longer serve the dark side–or not. People don’t always make good decisions, and the best thing about Kylo Ren is that he comes across as a person and not a cardboard villain.
What are your thoughts on Kylo Ren? To you, what makes a great villain?
Links courtesy of IMDb.