Kylo Ren may not have been a Sith, but – in a delicious stroke of irony – he followed the Rule of Two better than Darth Vader himself. The grandson of the Chosen One, Ben Solo grew up with no knowledge of his heritage. He only learned the truth at the same time as the rest of the galaxy, when the truth that his mother was Darth Vader’s daughter became public knowledge. This seems to have shaken Ben to the core, and he became utterly obsessed with his grandfather.

By the time of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ben – now known as Kylo Ren, immersed in the dark side – had even established a shrine to Darth Vader in his quarters. There, he kept Darth Vader’s mask, and sought to commune with the dark side through it. He pledged to finish his grandfather’s mission, although it’s unclear just what he thought that mission was. Whatever the truth may be, though, Kylo Ren never became the towering symbol of death incarnate that Darth Vader was known as. But there is one way he exceeded him.

Why Kylo Ren Wasn’t A Sith

Kylo Ren was introduced in The Force Awakens as a terrifyingly powerful dark side warrior – but he was never a Sith. The line of the Baneite Sith ended with Palpatine’s apparent death in Return of the Jedi, and the resurrected Darth Sidious never sought to take on another apprentice. Kylo Ren may have had a red lightsaber, and he may have studied the way of the Sith, but he was never a Sith.

From an out-of-universe perspective, it makes sense that Star Wars wouldn’t want to bring the Sith back. That would have diminished Darth Vader’s sacrifice and his victory over Palpatine. In-universe, Palpatine had been exerting a subtle influence over Kylo Ren all his life, but Vader’s final act of treachery meant the Emperor had no desire to follow the Rule of Two anymore. As far as Palpatine was concerned, he was the culmination and climax of the Sith; a new apprentice would simply be another potential traitor, for the Rule of Two mandated that every apprentice try to kill their master.

Kylo Ren’s Betrayal Of Snoke Followed The Rule Of Two Perfectly

Palpatine had manipulated Kylo Ren through his proxies, including Supreme Leader Snoke – a powerful dark side being who appears to have never known he was really a puppet. Snoke served as Kylo Ren’s master, eking out knowledge of the dark side but always careful not to allow his apprentice to grow too powerful. Neither Snoke nor Kylo Ren may have been Sith, but they were unconsciously following the Sith Rule of Two – almost to the letter.

Matters came to a head in the most striking and Sithlike manner, as Snoke attempted to persuade Kylo Ren to kill Rey. Instead, Kylo Ren carefully guarded his thoughts from his master, engineering events so his lightsaber cut Snoke in two – killing his master in a surprise blow. With that done, Kylo Ren supplanted Snoke as Supreme Leader of the First Order. Ben Solo may not have been a Sith, but this was the most Sithly thing he ever did, perfectly in keeping with the Baneite traditions.

In This, At Least, Kylo Ren Did Better Than Darth Vader

Star Wars: The Force Awakens suggests Kylo Ren believed he was fulfilling some twisted idea of Darth Vader’s mission. It is so very appropriate, then, that he did what Darth Vader never accomplished as a Sith Lord; he killed his master and took his place. When Darth Vader did betray Palpatine, it was not because of the dark side or the Rule of Two; there was no hint of selfish ambition in his actions, only love for his son. Kylo Ren, in contrast, wanted Snoke’s place – even though he hoped to share his throne with Rey.

In general, for all he struggled with the dark side and studied Sith lore, Kylo Ren was never quite so dark as Darth Vader. He was always too conscious of the call of the light side, imprisoned by the dark side through events Palpatine had engineered rather than freely choosing it, and this meant Kylo Ren was never quite so lost. But in this one area, he did what Darth Vader could not – and (briefly) reaped the rewards.