Can we talk about how Obi Wan “Ben” Kenobi was famously known for slicing Darth Maul in half, and now his namesake Ben Solo/ Kylo Ren just sliced Snoke in half? it’s not just the dramatic cape drop that’s in the name…
Carrie Fisher wrote the entire scene for Leia and Luke’s reunion in The Last Jedi and that makes the words Luke said, ‘No one’s ever really gone’ resonate even deeper with me
“Dear Child. I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whomever you’re waiting for on Jakku, they’re never coming back. But… there’s someone who still could. With your help.” (Maz Kanata - The Force Awakens Novelization)
“Ben, when we touched hands, I saw your future. Just the shape of it, but solid and clear. You will not bow before Snoke. You’ll turn. I’ll help you.”
“I saw something, too. Because of what I saw, I know when the moment comes, you’ll be the one to turn. You’ll stand with me.”
In the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Storybook, Finn aks: “Where is Rey?” Maz says “Rey is where she needs to be”.
And who is she with? Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo. Remember what Maz said “They are never coming back but there is someone that still could. With your help.” It is funny because after her visions she meets Kylo Ren.
But *spoiler alert* it might lead to the logical conclusion that both Rey and Kylo/Ben will be killed in Ep IX.
We know that the Skywalker family saga will end to that film.
We also know that Rey and Ben need each other, in so many ways (balance!).
Aaand we know by looking at Eps VII and VIII and how they remind us about A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, the last film will most likely mirror The Return of the Jedi where Vader/ Anakin dies redeemed.
If Rey and Ben have to die, I hope they die together.
Rey was going about it all wrong to bring Ben home.
Hear me out.
She left Ahch-To misguided. She left thinking that Ben Solo would be an adequate substitute when Luke refused to join the war. She saw him as the Great Jedi Hope that would be this magical bit that would turn the tide. It was no different than her childlike magical thinking that would bring her parents back.
Luke knew that wouldn’t be a good enough reason for Ben to return home or to win a war. He was right that it wasn’t going to end the way she thought.
Ben Solo is a terrified boy hard wired by trauma and rejection. He was a boy who woke to the greatest Jedi ever a hair’s breadth from killing him. In that moment he felt that his family had thrown him away. Deep down inside he’s no different than Rey, except he’s at a place in life where he can verbalize that feeling.
Ben is looking desperately for someone not to throw him away. And when it happens (and he feels like Rey did when he woke alone) he channels that hurt into rage. He replaces that longing for belonging with a longing for power. Because you can’t be hurt if you’re the one doing the hurting.
So Rey will never be able to guide Ben home if she’s looking for him as a weapon. A weapon is something he becomes when he is in his fight or flight mode. It’s how he becomes a ball of jagged glass that no one wants to touch. He’ll hurt you first just so that you can’t hurt him.
Rather Ben will follow her anywhere and fully once he no longer needs to hide as Shari and cutting weapon. He needs to know that he is safe, where he can be vulnerable and not be mocked like Snoke did to him for years. He needs to know that taking his glove off and reaching back won’t hurt. And he needs to know that when he wakes, someone will still be there.
Rey can find him. She can serve as his footlights home. But it can never be in the construct of being a weapon. Kylo is a weapon. She needs to lead the scared boy that still dreams that someone will love him without strings attached home. You can’t drag a scared creature out of the shadows. He will bite and snarl like a wounded animal he is.
Rather she needs to be patient and let him emerge from the shadows and encourage him on his journey.
Redemption (WILL CONTAIN STAR WARS THE LAST JEDI SPOILERS SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!)
So normally, I’m the type of person to where if you’re a bad guy, and I don’t particularly like you, I don’t want anything to do with you and won’t pay you any mind. The majority of the time, I won’t even care about if the bad guy is redeemed (like it took A LOT for me to accept Draco, and I really only gave him a pass cuz of Scorpius and Drinny fics). So this is a whole new venture for me.
From the start of The Force Awakens, I never liked Kylo Ren. Despite him being gorgeous, I had no interest in him whatsoever. I found him a brat, I found him worse than Vader at times, unstable, a toddler always throwing temper tantrums, and I had made up my mind that I was always going to dislike Kylo Ren.
That was until I seen The Last Jedi…..
I think it started as he was talking to Snoke about him failing the mission of bringing Rey to Snoke. At first I had seen it as a failure, but in a way, I started to feel like maybe he really didn’t want to bring her to him at all. Especially when I remembered in the last movie he was talking to her about needing a teacher and that he would be the one to do it. I felt a tiny pull when Snoke called him a child (despite me calling him a child endless times myself lol).
When he and Rey had that first force bond thingy, I couldn’t help but see that he seemed almost guilty for what he had done. He did not like Rey calling him a monster. Seemed funny that he would speak on that and not the fact that she almost sliced the right side of his face off. He didn’t want to show it, but he was bothered badly by it, and in agreeing with her that he was indeed a monster, it made Rey take a second and think and see that he hated himself in that moment as much as she was hating him.
That second time they force spoke was what was starting to pull me to him. And not because his shirt was off, I promise lol. I found it surprising that he would open up to Rey like that about what went down with him and Luke. That part also made me a bit mad. It was like Luke didn’t give him a choice in the matter. He just assumed that the darkness would consume him fully and that he needed to be stopped. True, Luke changed his mind at the very last minute, but how tf was Kylo supposed to know that? What would you think if you woke up to a light saber looking as if it was about to come down onto you?
Third Force call is what sealed the deal for me.
Not only was she finding himself gravitating towards Rey and vice versa, he totally let his guard down even more by touching her with his gloveless hand. In him taking off his glove to feel her touch directly onto his skin, it showed him putting himself in a venerable position. He didn’t have to do that. He didn’t even have to come that close to her. But it was really showing that Ben was trying his best to take over and that with Rey’s help the light was pulling at him even more. Of course, Luke cockblocks it, and messes things up. So Rey goes to Kylo Ren herself.
That elevator scene?? THAT MOTHERFREAKING ELEVATOR SCENE?!? THE TENSION!! THE ANGST!! THE WANTING!! THE WAY BOTH OF THEM LOOKED AT EACH OTHER?!? OMMFG!! He just looked like he couldn’t believe she had came and was actually there with him knowing full well what it meant to be there and be exposed to Snoke . she didn’t even have that on her mind. All she cared about was him and trying to help him see that this life wasn’t what he wanted and that they could have something real.
With him effing killing Snoke for what he was doing to Rey and what he was trying to make him do to her, OMG!! AND THEN THEIR FIGHT SCENE WHERE THEY WERE IN SYNC WITH EACH OTHER AND MOVED WITH EACH OTHER?!? I LOST MY MIND!! I WAS CHEERING!! I WAS LIKE YES KYLO BEN (NOT A TYPO, HE WAS KYLO BEN RIGHT THERE LOL) YOU DEFEND YOUR HEART YOU HELP HER FIGHT YOU COME TO THE LIGHT YES OMG YOU TWO ARE GOING TO BE THE POSTER CHILDREN FOR THE RESISTANCE AND HAVE GORGEOUS JEDI BABIES!!
And then…..he played himself….
Like dude…..DUDE!! She was right there, she was waiting for you. She was ready to take you with her back to your mom and was ready to be with you and what do you do?? Let Kylo Ren come crawling back. But what had gotten me, was that he wanted her with him. Not to teach her anything, but to actually be with him. Be his equal. Rule however he was planning on ruling together.
In my head, I felt like things could actually go a certain way. He was saying forget all of the things like the Jedi, the Sith, the Order, the Resistance, like forget it all and they would start anew. I mean did it truly mean he was going to continue ruling with an iron fist? I strongly feel like Rey would have helped him see the light even further if she would have went with him. She would have motivated him to do better for himself and for the rest of the galaxy.
But….she left him…..and of course he goes back into Kylo Ren the baby and launches a tirade and goes after the Resistance.
That last force call I felt really bad for him. He looked like he was begging for her. Pleading for her to come to him. She looked both angry and disappointed in him and I think it hurt for him to see that. She also looked hurt too. She had fallen for him as much as he had her and she just wanted him to do right.
All in all, I strongly feel like the next movie is going to be where we see Kylo Ren battle with darkness and trying to redeem himself. I’m very much rooting for him, which is actually very odd for me, but I feel like I’ve connect ted with his character and I, just like Rey and Leia, want him to do good and to be a better person. Hopefully Disney will give us that and NOT KILL HIM!!
I have high hopes for Kylo Ben lol. With Rey’s help (because I don’t see her giving up on him), I think he is going to end up alright.
Let’s talk about the last Reylo scene in TLJ, when Rey basically sends Kylo sleeping on the couch, making him clear that he is the one who f***** it up
I must admit that during my first viewing, I ended up kinda pissed toward Kylo in the last act of the movie. For the first time in his life, he had a true opportunity to come back home and he f***** it up. His own parents had so little faith in him that they sent him away because they feared he would become Darth Vader 2. His own uncle has so little faith in him that tried to kill him in his sleep - in his sleep! - instead of facing the roots of the problem: Snoke. Snoke had so little faith in him that he called him a child in a mask after years of abuse. For the first time, Ben Solo had found in Rey someone who had genuine faith in him and was ready to stand for him. The girl traveled the entire galaxy, putting herself in danger, to go after him…and had the guy proposing her to rule the galaxy with him as a result.
But the more I think about it, the more I think that it is actually Rey who made a big mistake with dramatic consequences although my point is not to say that Kylo is an angel. TLJ is a movie about failure and showed Rey’s flaws much more than in TFA. Her biggest flaw is revealed by Kylo himself - and we know that Kylo never lies to her: she gets too easily emotionally attached to people as a consequence of her abandonment searching a surrogate family in people she barely knows. But even more problematic IMO: her impulsiveness!
- Finn “stole” Poe’s jacket? Attacks him with her staff without waiting for any explanation
- Luke didn’t tell the truth? Attacks him with the staff without waiting for any explanation
- Kylo shows up unexpectedly in front of her? Shoots him without asking herself what is the deal with this in contrast to Kylo who tries calmly to figure out how it works
- Upset with his proposal? Grabs angrily the lightsaber and #whatwasyournextmove?#
And here comes the core of the problem. She is far too impulsive, leading to a stupid decision with big consequences, and not for her but for Kylo himself. She shares a confession moment with Kylo, has a vision of his bright future, gets angry with Luke and leaves the island in barely…5 minutes maybe? She doesn’t take the time to analyze the situation and the vision quietly in order to figure out what this all means. Sure, Luke did the same in ESB but he didn’t lose time in going after Han and Leia because he thought they were in grave danger. Rey doesn’t go after Kylo because he is in grave danger but because Her usual impulsiveness - coupled with her burgeoning “feelings” for Ben - leads her to elaborate a risky and stupid plan she didn’t think the consequences about. Sure, she got what she wanted: she got Kylo to turn from Snoke but in her impulsiveness she didn’t think about what Kylo wanted. Although I wouldn’t say that that it is all her fault, she hold some big responsibility in his escalation by the end of the movie.
In putting herself in danger, she forces him to make a choice he isn’t prepared for: choose her over Snoke. Sure, it looks very much like Luke putting himself in danger to force Vader to choose him over the Emperor. But she didn’t think of the consequences for him. Kylo was left with no other choice but killing the only person he ever had a close relationship with since childhood in order to protect her. And Rey immediately assumes that having killed his abuser, he will come back as the only hope of the Resistance because of the vision she had, not even thinking about the possible consequences of bringing Ben to the Resistance. Barely the fight is over, Kylo goes to see Snoke and Rey doesn’t ask him how he feels about that. Instead, she goes straight to the hologram and demands him to stop the firing against the Resistance fleet. Subtext: you’re on our side now that you’ve killed your master.
I think that the main problem lies there: she provoked the circumstances knowing that he wouldn’t let her killed, kinda forced him to kill Snoke given the way things turned in the Throne Room and considered that this actions had already sealed the deal. I wouldn’t dare to say she is manipulative like Palpatine but she similarly brought Kylo to betray his own master (and the FO) in order to save her, very much like Palpatine brought Anakin to betray Mace Windu (and the Jedi Order) to save Padme. And very much the same way Palpatine thinking rightfully he can turn Anakin because he’s gone too far, she thinks - wrongly this time - that betraying his master will make Kylo turn from the FO after years of manipulation. But contrary to Anakin, Kylo is like a solitary wolf with big trust issues who got misused and beaten by an abusive master for years. And the problem is that you don’t force a(n emotionally) wounded animal to follow you anywhere you want to by forcing his choice, no matter the circumstances you provoke to force him to go the path you want to.
I think that in her impulsiveness, Rey didn’t draw the right lessons from their trust moment during the hand touching. Beyond the romantic subtext, there is an even more important message. To succeed in “domesticating” a(n emotionally) wounded animal, you must behave calm, show patience and understanding and always leave the choice to accept your outstretched hand or not. If I had to make a comparison, I would say that Kylo reminds me a lot of White Fang. The first time, he goes to White Fang, gets bitten and apologize saying “I shouldn’t have forced you”. The second time, he draws the lesson of the previous experience…and ultimately it works:
Jack build a trust relationship with him by showing patience and understanding and letting him come to him on his own will.
Let’s see now how Rey behaves with Kylo all along the movie:
- Scene 1: Shoots him and yells at him barely he appears unexpectedly in front of her
- Scene 2: Yells at him, calling him a “murderous snake”
- Scene 3: Yells at him
- Scene 4: Offers her hand and waits until he finally takes it
- Scene 5: Calls him Ben, tells him “I’ll help you” in a soft calming voice, enters his private space BUT…already she looks kinda upset that his interpretation of the vision is different than hers (what did you expect, honey?)
- Scene 6: Considers he has already made his choice to leave the FO, gets disillusioned by his attitude, grabs the lightsaber to attack him and leaves him behind
- Scene 7: Makes him feel like he is the one who fucked it up, closing the door right under his nose
In other words, the hand touching is the only scene where Rey did it all right IMO. She shows him that she understands him (neither are you - alone), tends her hand slowly to him and waits patiently that he takes his decision, leaving him the choice to come to her or not.
And you can see that Ben is hesitant, that his hand trembles and that this is not something easy for him but he ultimately does it. He is the one who crosses the line, goes on the other side and have probably the first physical contact in years with another human being :
Notice that there is no single scene until the confrontation where Kylo pushes Rey to come to his side. And in two movies, this is the only scene where he raises his voice against her before quickly calming down. He is always the one projecting himself in her surroundings, not the other way around and he is there to help her genuinely when she needs him as she is at her lowest point after the mirror scene. The only demand he makes to her is at the very beginning of their interactions: “You will bring Luke Skywalker to me”. But notice that after that he completely loses focus on his original goal to find Luke. That goes completely out of picture during their Force bond dates. Even during the confrontation, he tells “I want you to join me” which indeed looks more like a demand than a request because of the choice of the verb but his tone is definitely more beseeching than demanding. his hand trembles, his face is anxious, he begs her. For the first time, he asks her to come to him and he ends up in panic mode: he sees that she is not willing to come to his side to take his hand the same way he came to her side to take her hand.
No wonder that Kylo freaks out in the last act of the movie. Snoke revealed that he is actually the one who put them in contact, which is of course a lie. But we can imagine that Kylo might have believed him given the way things turned between him and Rey:
1) When he realizes that Rey literally orders him to protect the Resistance, as if she considered he must be on the Resistance side now that he has killed Snoke. Like for his parents, his uncles, Snoke, she has expectations on him, expectation he can’t fulfill.
2) When she tries to fool him by making him believe she’ll take his hand only to take the lightsaber, and probably attack him once again just because she is - like always f****ing - impulsive. The result? Once again, he has to defend himself against her, feels betrayed like he was by Luke, and makes it clear that this time she won’t have the upper hand. Thus, the lightsaber doesn’t fly to her hands, represents their power struggle and ends up broken.
3) When he wakes up, Snoke is dead because he has killed him to save the girl…but the girl is gone (leaving him for dead for the second time)! He probably thinks that Snoke told the truth: that this connections was a lie, that everything was a lie. Of course, he gets mad. Of course, he takes over the FO because it’s the only thing he has left. Of course, he frames Rey because accusing himself would mean losing everything. Of course, he gets pissed because he thinks that Snoke told the trut that it wasn’t worth to choose her over his master. Since he has anything left and is terribly upset, he takes over the FO and goes all crazy mode. Only Luke’s projection avoids a big tragedy to happen in the end.And when Kylo realizes that the connection is actually still there, he looks at her with sad puppy eyes as she closes the door
Changing a person implies that the person on her own must decides she wants to change, which takes time. It also requires support, patience and understanding from the person helping you. So I would say that Rey’s impulsiveness played a big role in the way things turned, thinking that she could change Kylo in such a few lapse of time by sort of forcing the fate. In the end, she pushed Ben in a position that exposes him even more to danger (i.e. Hux possibly trying to murder him like he did in the Throne room), isolation and depression. What is unfair is that she is always the one back-lashing the others for f****ing up but she rarely - if not never - questions the consequences of her impulsive behavior. Never said Finn she was sorry for beating him with her staff before he could even give an explanation. Never said Luke she is sorry for beating him with her staff even before he could give an explanation. Never said Kylo she is sorry for scarring his face. Never said Kylo thank you for saving her life. And on top of that, the “you’re the one who f***** it up” look in the end as if she hold no responsibility in the big mess she actually provoked all by herself.
What is striking with her is that she may never turn to the DS but she kinda likes to make people feel that she puts them down on their feets, bringing the others to kneel/fall in front of her (Finn, Luke, Kylo) and IMO she got a little too used to it. It’s a good thing that Ben has this ability to stay calm when she gets mad and that the “pulling the lightsaber” duel makes it clear he is not willing to let himself dominate by her.
In other words, Kylo ain’t the only who needs to grow up to make Reylo evolve into a true love relationship. Rey is a young - twenty years old - woman who also needs to mature because her difficult living conditions made her impulsive, impatient and craving for belonging.
Remember what Leia said in the TFA novelization:
“You knew this from the beginning ? Why didn’t you tell me ?”
She sighed. “Many reasons. I was hoping that I was wrong, that it wasn’t true. I hoped I could sway him, turn him away from the dark side, without having to involve you.” A small smile appeared. “You had - you have - wonderful qualities, Han, but patience and understanding were never among them. I was afraid that your reactions would only drive him farther to the dark side.
Rey is very much like Han. She always shoots first and doesn’t think enough of the consequences of her actions. And she definitely lacks patience, precisely what Ben needs. But failure is the greatest master so if Rey is the smart girl I think she is, she will ask herself what went wrong and what she did wrong in TLJ. By the way, it is now official that the working title of Episode 9 is dark crystal
So I guess that part of Episode 9 will be about how to restore their broken relationship symbolized by the broken Skywalker lightsaber by the end of TLJ.
regardless of your feelings towards kylo ben you have to admit that the way kyle mister-i-have-to-dramatically-yell-every-order-i-give looks at hugs after dude screams ron’s one and only calm order is one of the funniest if not thefuckinfg funniest moment in the movie like
So Kyle Ron is basically just Rian Johnson’s self insert because the guy stans him so hard. Therefore all the stuff in TLJ is just Rian trying to get the girl that never wanted him in high school or some shit. In conclusion, this entire movie is just the dudes self insert fantasy and he has issues.
