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A villain kills his past
Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi
Writer: Rian Johnson
Director: Rian Johnson
Kylo Ren just wanted to be himself.
Born to two heroes of the Rebellion, sent off to train with a legend, and burdened with a legacy of evil, Ben Solo had a lot to live up to on the road to becoming Kylo Ren. Everything about the past hung over his every move. It was a recipe for disaster. The confusion, neglect, isolation, and rage flowed violently into his soul and turned it all to fear. Fear of who he was supposed to be. Fear of not becoming who he could be. Fear of not being who he wanted to be. Now, here he was, in his master’s throne room. Rey, the only person he felt knew every truth inside of him, was now before him about to die as his master Snoke brazenly claimed to have control over his will. Kylo Ren stood there with a weapon and only one choice. Become unchained.
The throne room sequence in The Last Jedi is a story unto itself but, at its center, is the moment in which Kylo Ren truly became the villain of the story by spinning everything about him onto an unpredictable path. Gone was the dark side dynamic of master and apprentice. Gone was the evil leader whose primary concern is to use his military might to rule the galaxy. Gone was the conflicted soul of the one once known as Ben Solo. What remains is Kylo Ren with no restrictions or legacies to shadow his life. He can pursue whatever he wants.
And what he wants just might be to tear it all down. Everything. Every person. Every army. Every planet. Every society. Every hero that blocks his way. Everything that would dare to remind him of what he was and what he was supposed to be.
Supreme Leader Snoke wanted Kylo Ren to fulfill his destiny, but that was just a lie. A sales pitch to pull him in, mold him, and use him to do his bidding. Snoke had his own self in mind. But that’s the dark side, right? Power and manipulation. Kylo Ren certainly worshipped the memory of his grandfather and Snoke knew how to dangle that out in front of him like a brass ring he would never get. The heir apparent to Lord Vader? Sure, Kylo liked the sound of that, but he had always wrestled with the shadow of Vader and had clearly learned that Snoke only saw him as boy playing the part. So, Snoke had to go.
Rey was there and her heart was pure. He knew that. Kylo felt that…or rather…Ben Solo felt that. They were connected, intimately intertwined, and that had power over him after years of feeling neglect. First it was by a father who struggled with the transition from hot shot hero to parent and a loving mother still feeling the weight and responsibility of leadership. Then by his legendary uncle who sensed the dark side bubbling up inside him and failed to save him. Snoke even neglected Ben Solo, helping him to turn his back on his self. But here was Rey, standing before him, asking for him to join her, and using the name Ben. Kylo no longer wanted Ben here. So, Rey had to go.
Oh, he offered his hand out to her. He wanted Rey to join him, but if she had accepted that offer, Rey would no longer be there. She would have become someone else. No Sith. No Jedi. No Skywalker. No Rebels. No past. The new order Kylo Ren wanted to bring to the galaxy was unchained from anything that had helped torment him.
Going into this throne room sequence, there were a lot of expectations and theories about what we felt should happen. There were a lot of things ingrained into the way we were used to these stories being told. Yet, when the fires subsided, the smoke cleared, and the bodies dropped, the one thing that emerged was a powerful villain with nothing to stop him from being the monster he wanted to be.
Ben Solo was finally Kylo Ren.