Kylo Ren is the best character and performance pairing to come out of the sequel trilogy, and ultimately one of the best in all of Star Wars’ filmography. His arc throughout the trilogy was brilliant to watch and was arguably the best underlying story of it all. The big debate on his character as soon as The Force Awakens hit was two-fold; would he be redeemed, and if so, would he die.
In the end, Kylo Ren was redeemed and once again became Ben Solo before coming one with the Force. The Last Jedi seemed to hint at a more villainous route for Kylo, but The Rise Of Skywalker managed to fulfill Kylo’s redemption brilliantly. Whether he deserved said redemption though, is another story, so, here are 5 reasons why Kylo earned his redemption and 5 reasons why he did not.
HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE SLAUGHTERED INNOCENT PEOPLE
Fans’ introduction to Kylo Ren comes at the start of The Force Awakens in what is a brilliant and brutal scene. Kylo and his First Order troops arrive on Jakku in search of the map to Luke. Kylo then confronts Lor San Tekka and strikes him down before ordering his troops to slaughter the population of the village he has invaded.
In The Rise Of Skywalker, we also see Kylo on Mustafar slaughtering inhabitants as he searches for the Wayfinder. These people are Alazmecs and were in Kylo’s way, but his ruthlessness nonetheless points to his redemption turn being out of reach.
HE EARNED REDEMPTION BY STILL CLEARLY LOVING HIS FAMILY
Adam Driver’s phenomenal acting drives this home as it ties in perfectly with the core trait of Kylo Ren; his torn emotional state. The initial signs of this all comes in The Force Awakens when Kylo and Han confront one another and Kylo is visibly upset, torn, and confused.
Han’s reappearance as a memory of Kylo’s as he makes the turn back to Ben Solo reaffirms the idea he always loved and missed his father, deep down. The more obvious signs of this are through Kylo’s love for Leia. In The Last Jedi Kylo is so close to pulling the trigger on his ship and killing Leia, tear eyed, but cannot do it. Then, in The Rise Of Skywalker, it is Leia’s death and last action as she calls out to Kylo through the Force that turns him back to Ben Solo and stops him battling Rey, instead he mourns his mother who he later joins in the Force.
HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE DESTROYED THE HOSNIAN SYSTEM
Leading on from Kylo’s slaughtering tendencies, alongside Snoke, Hux, and the First Order, Kylo Ren used Starkiller Base to destroy the five planets of the Hosnian Prime system.
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To end the New Republic and bring the First Order to power, Starkiller Base was unleashed. It killed millions, five planets worth of people, while it was not all down to Kylo, he was a major part and it brings his redemption to question.
HE EARNED IT BECAUSE HE MADE THE CHOICE
Luke Skywalker teaches us in Return Of The Jedi that nobody is beyond being redeemed. Darth Vader helped destroy the Jedi order, slaughter younglings, hunt people, slaughter people, bring destruction to the Rebellion, was redeemed when he made the choice and “killed” the Emperor.
Kylo earned his redemption by completing his redemption. The light side of the Force is forgiving, the good people in the universe are forgiving. Kylo chooses to turn back to Ben Solo, and that tumultuous journey back to the light is enough for him to have earned it and he is forgiven by the people around him for it, like Leia, Rey, and undoubtedly Luke too.
HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE TORTURED, HUNTED, AND ATTEMPTED TO KILL OUR HEROES
A lot of what Kylo does in the trilogy involves hunting and attempting to kill the heroes of the said trilogy which he kicked off with quite a bit of torturing. In The Force Awakens, he captures Poe and tortures him for information before doing the same to Rey.
From there, he nearly kills Finn and battles Rey which he ends up doing multiple times. He hunts the Resistance heroes to Crait where he unleashes all his power in an attempt to kill what he thinks is Luke. On top of all that in The Rise Of Skywalker he hunts Rey down and battles her a couple of times in an attempt to either bring her to his side or kill her.
HE EARNED IT AS HE WAS YOUNG, MANIPULATED, AND CONFUSED
Similar to how Anakin is manipulated by Palpatine, Kylo is manipulated by Snoke (who is controlled by Palpatine so it’s actually the same) to the dark side of the Force. When Kylo believes Luke is trying to kill him, that’s when the turn begins to properly occur.
This moment, however, is a state of confusion. It is assumed by some Kylo burned down Luke’s temple, but, it was the Knights of Ren before they met Kylo. Kylo attempted to save fellow learners before being confronted by those believing he did it. Kylo is manipulated with thoughts while he is relatively young, he is completely torn and confused throughout the trilogy as the light still calls to him, allowing him to be redeemed.
HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE KEPT SEEKING POWER
A quality possessed by Jedi and light-side Force users and most good people in general in the Star Wars universe is that they do not look out for and seek, nor crave power. They usually want to help those without it. What we see throughout the trilogy though, especially The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker, is Kylo desperately seeking power.
Kylo kills Snoke because, for one, he realizes he is being used, for two does not want to kill Rey at that moment, and for three, and most importantly wants that throne and Snoke’s power for himself. The same thing arises in The Rise Of Skywalker, he seeks to kill Palpatine because he is a threat to Kylo’s power, he only abandons this plan because Palpatine promises him much more power.
HE EARNED IT BECAUSE HE WENT TO EXOGUL TO BATTLE PALPATINE ALONGSIDE REY
After his conversation with Han, his throwing his lightsaber into the ocean, and realizing who he is and what he must do, Ben Solo makes his way to Exogul to battle Palpatine, and to help Rey.
Kylo is already Ben at this point but one way he earns his redemption is by doing this. He finds a way off of Kef Bir, makes his way to Exogul to save Rey, to battle Palpatine, to make things right.
HE DIDN’T BECAUSE HE MURDERED HAN SOLO
One of the most defining moments of not only Kylo Ren’s character, or in the sequel trilogy, but in the entire Skywalker saga is the death of Han Solo. Murdered on Starkiller Base by his son.
Kylo and Han plead with each other with Han begging for Ben back and Kylo begging for help. Kylo begs his father to give him the strength to do what must be done, before impaling one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, his father, and killing him. One of Star Wars’ most emotional moments and one that makes it hard to forgive Kylo.
HE EARNED IT BY SACRIFICING HIMSELF TO SAVE REY’S LIFE
Following Kylo’s turn back to Ben Solo, the battle with Palpatine is a great way for Kylo to solidify his redemption. However, the true definitive way Kylo earns his redemption is when he sacrifices his life, for the life of Rey.
After a battle with Palpatine, Kylo crawls out of the hole to Rey’s body which is done due to the energy and Force used to kill Palpatine. Kylo heals Rey, kisses her, and because healing used the last of his life energy, he dies. He sacrificed himself for Rey in what is an emotional and beautiful moment that solidified Ben Solo’s hero status, and Kylo Ren’s redemption.
