20 Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Moments That Set Up Rey & Kylo Ren’s Romance

Rey and Kylo Ren’s romance is a very controversial Star Wars subject, but 20 moments from the sequel trilogy show that their romantic turn was set up from the beginning. The sequels are considered some of Star Wars’ worst movies, and one of many elements of the movies that had audiences split was Rey and Kylo Ren’s complicated dynamic. While their connection through the Force was thrilling because it introduced the Force Dyad to the franchise and because the two exhibited myriad new Star Wars’ light side and dark side Force abilities, not everyone supported a romance between the two.

Even the actors are divided on whether Kylo Ren and Rey were simply Force bonded or whether they had something more, with Rey actress Daisy Ridley indicating that the kiss the two shared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was a goodbye rather than a romantic gesture. However, throughout the sequel trilogy, scenes between the two suggest that, especially for Kylo Ren, this was more than just an enemies to friends tale. In particular, 20 moments from the Star Wars sequels demonstrate that romantic undertones were present between Kylo Ren and Rey from their very first interaction.

20
Kylo Ren Personally Carries Rey To His Ship… Like A Bride

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

From the minute Rey and Kylo Ren first meet in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo changes his behavior from the murderous Sith apprentice to someone who, while still plenty evil and threatening, isn’t as violent, at least towards Rey. In fact, while he does use his Force abilities to enter Rey’s mind when he discovers she’s seen the map to Luke Skywalker that he is so desperately seeking, he simply uses the Force to knock her out—arguably the least violent way to knock someone unconscious. What he does from there is even more glaring, though.

Despite Kylo previously wiping out an entire village with absolutely no regard for human life, when he knocks Rey unconscious, he immediately catches her, preventing her body from hitting the ground. This was already an odd enough gesture; Sith certainly hadn’t been depicted making sure their victims went uninjured in Star Wars before. All the more strange, Kylo then personally carries Rey to his ship, bridal style. There is truly no other reason for Kylo Ren to carry her this way, again deviating from the legacy of the Sith, and even the stormtroopers look on seemingly confused.

19
Rey’s Interrogation Is Nothing Like Poe Dameron’s

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

After catching Rey and carrying her to his ship, Kylo Ren then brings her to an interrogation room. While that isn’t very romantic, the comparison between Rey’s interrogation and Poe Dameron’s earlier interrogation in The Force Awakens suggests yet again that Kylo is being uncharacteristically gentler with Rey. Poe’s interrogation was in an almost entirely dark room, and he had visible, bloody injuries on his head. When Rey comes to in her interrogation scene, the lights are on, and Kylo Ren sits crouched down in front of her rather than domineeringly in the shadows.

It’s notable as well that Poe was clearly first interrogated and tortured by others in Kylo Ren’s entourage. Rey, on the other hand, seems to have only been dealt with by Kylo Ren, from the moment he knocks her out to the moment she wakes up. The scene is also full of odd dialogue, including Kylo informing Rey that she is his “guest.”

18
Kylo Ren’s First Face (And Hair) Reveal Is For Rey

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

One of the most shocking moments in Rey’s interrogation scene comes when Kylo Ren removes his helmet, showing his face for the first time in Star Wars. This again shows that, with Rey, Kylo is acting very differently. He seems bothered that she still wants to kill him even after he lets her know that her friends are safe, albeit in a menacing way, and when she refers to him as “a creature in a mask,” he reveals his face to her, as if to show her he isn’t one.

This is also the first hint in Star Wars that Rey’s feelings about Kylo Ren are complicated too. When she sees his face (and his head of hair), she looks visibly surprised and confused, perhaps suggesting that she didn’t expect him to look quite like that. Even so, it’s a major reveal on Kylo’s end, and arguably otherwise unexplainable if it isn’t about him wanting Rey to see him differently.

17
Kylo Ren Tells Rey Not To Be Afraid

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Kylo Ren’s strange, out-of-character dialogue continues in the interrogation scene. When the two clearly experience the Force bond for the first time, Kylo says, “Don’t be afraid; I feel it too.” While acknowledging the feeling of the bond between the two is no doubt critical to set up the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the additional language to not be afraid was otherwise unnecessary and again odd given Kylo’s behavior up until that point and the history of the Sith. In fact, the Sith are very much about inspiring fear in others.

16
Kylo Ren Tells Rey “It’s Just Us Now”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Kylo Ren’s unique dialogue with Rey continues into the end of The Force Awakens, with the two battling on Starkiller Base in the snow in their final scene together in the movie. When Kylo has knocked Finn unconscious and he and Rey begin to battle, he says, “It’s just us now.” While he does literally mean that the two of them are about to face off, the wording is nevertheless unusual and again suggestive of something else. While the song “Just the Two of Us” doesn’t exist in the Star Wars galaxy, it feels like an odd little allusion here.

15
Kylo Ren Tells Rey She’s All He Can See

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren’s loaded manner of speaking to Rey continues. When they have their first Force bond, they’re equally confused. Despite being planets apart, Rey shoots at Kylo Ren, and he starts as though he’s been shot. As they try to understand what’s happening, Kylo Ren asks Rey what she can see, and he tells her that he can’t see anything else, “Just you.” Again, this language has a considerable romantic undertone. It’s a helpful explanation of how the Force bond works, but the language that Rey is all he can see is suggestive of something greater.

14
Kylo Ren Looks Hurt When Rey Calls Him A Murderous Snake

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In the next Force bond, Kylo Ren asks Rey why the Force is connecting them like this, adding “You and I” at the end. Rey, however, isn’t interested in a conversation and instead calls him a “murderous snake.” Kylo Ren looks visibly hurt in response, and his demeanor changes from the almost friendly question about the bond to a more guarded tone, ultimately agreeing with her that he is a monster. Again, though, this isn’t the vicious Kylo Ren depicted throughout The Force Awakens up until he meets Rey.

13
Rey’s Breath Catches When Kylo Ren Is Shirtless

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

While most of this list undoubtedly comprises moments of Kylo Ren’s clear feelings for Rey, there are several Star Wars moments when Rey also shows that things are a bit more complicated than simply being enemies for her. One such moment is during another Force bond, when Rey turns to ask Kylo Ren why he hated his father, Han Solo, and her breath catches at the end of her sentence because she sees that he’s shirtless. She then asks him if he has something to cover up, which again suggests that this is a flustering moment for her.

Notably, Kylo Ren is also only the second character in all of Star Wars to appear shirtless. In fact, the first was his very own grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, who appeared shirtless in bed with Padmé. Given that connection and the very specific romantic context of Anakin’s shirtless scene, this certainly suggests that more is happening in this moment with Kylo Ren.

12
Rey Confides In Kylo Ren

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The romantic tension only ramps up more in The Last Jedi when Rey begins to have very complicated feelings about the Force and the Jedi. While exploring Ahch-To, Rey finds herself in a mystical place that she hopes will reveal her parents to her, but in the end, she only sees herself. During the next Force bond, Rey emotionally confides in Kylo Ren, marking a major shift in their relationship.

11
Kylo Ren Tells Rey She’s Not Alone (And Rey Says He Isn’t Either)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

After telling Kylo Ren about her experience on Ahch-To, Rey explains to him that she’s never felt so alone. In response, in one of the most intimate moments of the sequel movies, Kylo Ren tells Rey, “You’re not alone.” In response, Rey assures him that he isn’t alone either. This is the first scene where their relationship truly becomes something different, and it was evidently romantic enough in tone that the Valentine’s edition of the Kylo Ren Funko Pop has the same sentence, “You’re not alone,” at the base.

Purchase the Kylo Ren Funko Pop on Amazon

10
Kylo Ren & Rey Touch Hands

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This scene in The Last Jedi then doubles down on the romantic nature of this interaction between Rey and Kylo Ren, with the two reaching out to one another and touching hands. The intimacy of this moment frankly can’t be overstated; not only do the two touch hands, but the camera offers several shots of the moment and an extreme close-up of their fingers alongside one another. Despite Anakin and Padmé being married and having children together, this is one of Star Wars’ most intimate scenes.

9
Rey Shows Up Expecting Kylo Ren To Be Happy To See Her

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Undoubtedly due to the intimacy of their hands touching, when Rey then goes to try to turn Kylo Ren back to the light side, she appears expectantly, anticipating that he will be happy to see her. When Kylo Ren instead looks gravely serious and stalks away, leaving his stormtroopers to get Rey out of the small capsule she came in on, she looks visibly confused and disappointed. Understandably, given that the two had just gotten as close to holding hands as two people can get without actually holding hands, this showed Rey’s perception of their relationship as something more.

8
Kylo Ren & Rey Get Close In The Elevator

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Rey and Kylo Ren then return to the level of intimacy they showed in the Ahch-To hut in the elevator as they are on their way to Snoke. The two each promise each other that the other will ultimately turn to their side of the Force, standing in extremely close proximity to each other and maintaining intense eye contact. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director Rian Johnson even revealed that, while filming, Adam Driver asked whether Kylo Ren had ever kissed a girl before, suggesting that this scene could have ended very differently.

7
Kylo Ren Tells Rey She’s “Nothing” … But Not To Him

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Although certainly not Kylo Ren’s most romantic line, given that it begins with an insult, when Kylo Ren and Rey finish their battle together in the throne room scene in The Last Jedi, Kylo tells Rey, “You have no place in this story. You come from nothing. You’re nothing… but not to me.” While it is a bid for Rey to join the dark side with him, this rhetoric sounds nothing like Palpatine’s manipulation of Anakin Skywalker to join the dark side. Instead, it’s a moment where Kylo Ren reveals how deep his feelings towards Rey are.

6
Kylo Ren Asks Rey To “Please” Join Him While Holding Out His Hand

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In the same scene when Kylo Ren tells Rey that she isn’t nothing to him, he speaks to her in an intimate way yet again. When he asks Rey to rule the galaxy with him, he adds, “Please,” almost in a whisper, reaching out his hand. Because of his outstretched hand and request to join him, some viewers have even pointed to the ways in which this moment serves nearly as a proposal.

5
Rey Admits She Wanted To Take Ben’s Hand

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

There is a clear tonal shift in The Rise of Skywalker, which returns to form in many ways after The Last Jedi took riskier leaps. In spite of that, though, Rey and Kylo Ren’s complicated relationship remains. After their fight near the ruins of the Death Star, Rey informs Kylo that she wanted to take his hand in the throne room scene when he had offered it to her. While she clarifies that it was Ben Solo’s hand, not Kylo’s, that she wanted to take, it reinforces the idea that she was open to that level of intimacy.

4
Kylo Ren Tells Rey She’s Only Going To Exegol If It’s With Him

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Kylo, unlike Rey, has only become more chaotic about his feelings for her since The Last Jedi. When he discovers that Rey is seeking a Wayfinder to find Exegol, he crushes the one she has, knowing that he has the only other one. He then informs her that she’s only getting to Exegol if she goes with him. Again, while his delivery needs a bit of work, this shows the extent to which Kylo Ren is drawn to Rey. In fact, many Rise of Skywalker scenes depict Kylo using the First Order’s time and resources to track her down.

3
Kylo Ren Doesn’t Want To Fight Rey

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

While some have argued that Kylo’s willingness to fight Rey in The Rise of Skywalker indicates that he didn’t have feelings for her after all, closer inspection of their battles in the movie reveals something very different. Throughout their fights, beginning with their encounter inside the Death Star ruins, it’s Rey who is on the attack, with Kylo mainly blocking. In fact, toward the end of their fight atop the Death Star wreckage, Kylo even lowers his lightsaber rather than attacking Rey when she tires herself out.

2
Rey Heals Kylo Ren

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

After dealing what may have been a death blow to Kylo Ren during their fight on the wreckage of the Death Star, and without any indication that Kylo has returned to the light, Rey uses her Force abilities to heal his wound. Arguably, this has plenty to do with Leia, who had just passed; Rey seems to have a change of heart when she realizes that Leia is gone. Even so, this moment with Kylo shows that he means more to Rey, and, most importantly, it shows Kylo Ren that this is possible, setting up their most romantic moment.

1
Ben Solo Gives His Life To Save Rey

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Although it ends in tragedy, the most romantic moment between Rey and Kylo Ren comes at the very end of The Rise of Skywalker, when, distraught about finding her dead, Kylo uses the same Force healing abilities Rey used for him to bring her back to life. In so doing, Kylo gives up his own life Force, ultimately dying to save her. While this alone is perhaps the ultimate romantic gesture, The Rise of Skywalker takes this one step further, having the two share a kiss before Ben dies.

The nature of this kiss has become extremely controversial, with many arguing that this wasn’t a romantic kiss and Disney seemingly walking back the idea that it was. However, the implication seemed clear enough at the time; in fact, Chris Terrio, co-writer of The Rise of Skywalker, has also referred to Kylo Ren and Rey as “soulmates in the Force.” Adam Driver, too, has said a number of things that nod to Rey and Kylo Ren’s romance, including his explanation of Kylo’s arrival on Exegol.

In one bonus feature on The Rise of Skywalker physical release, Driver explained, “So long as he’s with her, he’s on the right path.” If this doesn’t speak volumes about at minimum Kylo’s feelings for Rey, perhaps nothing will, but, at least from Kylo’s perspective, that kiss certainly seems to be a romantic moment. While the topic will no doubt remain a Star Wars debate for some time, these 20 moments all point to the fact that the relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey was romantic in nature from the very beginning.

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