Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been theaters for over a week now and the Internet has a lot of feelings about this last film in the Star Wars Skywalker saga.
The item of greatest discussion is the finale’s redemption of sequel trilogy villain, Kylo Ren. Did he deserve to be redeemed? Did he not? There are clear arguments on both sides, and it is very difficult to claim one side is more correct than the other. No matter what one believes all fans will have to live with J.J. Abrams’ redemption on screen. But for the rest, fan fiction can heal some wounds, no matter what Kylo Ren did or did not deserve.
Did Not Deserve – Killed Han Solo
Let us begin with the sorts of Kylo Ren’s on-screen crimes the murder of not only his father but fan favorite and original star, smuggler (and general) Han Solo. Not only was Han Solo, Kylo’s father, he was also there to rescue his son, literally and figuratively.
He gave Kylo (or Ben, as he was named by his parents) a way out. He offered him a trip home, the chance for redemption at the beginning of a trilogy rather than at the end. What did he receive for his troubled? A lightsaber through the heart. Kylo Ren was irredeemable after that.
Deserved – He Was a Child
As was made clear in The Last Jedi, and even more so in The Rise of Skywalker Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was corrupted as a child. Secrets were kept (for those who follow the Star Wars books as well as films it is understood that the fact Darth Vader was Ben’s grandfather was hidden from the boy for many years).
Who could have fought the whispers in his head at such a young age without being able to speak freely to the adults who claimed to protect you?
Did Not Deserve – Ordered the Slaughter of the Village on Jakku
“Kill them all,” says the man behind the mask when viewers are first introduced to Kylo Ren on Jakku. He starts his journey in the sequel trilogy with the slaughter of innocents.
It’s a very hard thing to forgive, especially because, on Jakku, Kylo Ren is alone. Neither Hux, Snoke, Palpatine, nor anyone else is there to give him orders. This is the man that exists, the villain. Does he deserve to come back from the cold-blooded murder of regular people, possibly refugees? Not really.
Deserved – He Was Being Manipulated
As Palpatine makes clear in Rise of Skywalker he, the Emperor himself, has been all the voices Kylo Ren and Ben Solo have ever heard inside his head.
Anakin Skywalker couldn’t escape the pull of the Emperor and the dark side what hope did a boy have when the Emperor himself was inside of him? His choices, no matter what they were, were not his own. He deserves redemption because the evil and pain he caused were not of his own doing, not really. Kylo was allowed to reclaim his own mind and thus should be allowed to claim redemption in the eyes of those around him.
Did Not Deserve – Destroyed the Hosnian System
It was Kylo Ren and General Hux who destroyed not a single planet (like Alderaan in years past) but an entire planetary system, and home to the New Republic. This was no backwater, but a well-populated and thriving collection of worlds. Hux had no voices in his head and, while the Emperor claims power later, in the moment, we are treated to no whispers in Kylo Ren’s ears.
He does not debate or fight to stop the destruction of a system, but stands up straight and watches it all take place.
Deserved – He Fought the Manipulation
When Kylo Ren finds his connection through the force to Rey in The Last Jedi we see him begin to fight the manipulation of his evil overlords clearly. When he kills Snoke, when he fights side by side with Rey, audiences can see that there is something within Kylo Ren that is different than the cold harsh reality of his mask.
Rey and Leia may talk about the good they feel in Ben, but here, on-screen, viewers are allowed to see it too. Remember when he doesn’t shoot his own mother? There was good inside him, all good deserves a chance to grow.
Did Not Deserve – He Betrayed Rey
So we got to see Kylo Ren/Ben Solo fight back to back with Rey. We got to watch his conflict as he refused to fire upon the ship holding his mother. But what did any of that mean in the end? He didn’t save his mother, her ship was still destroyed by fighters following him. And Rey?
He used her to take down Snoke and Snoke’s men, and then what? He was given his second major chance at redemption (offered hereby Rey instead of Han) and again turned it down? He will take her friendship if she helps him run the First Order and not otherwise? How many chances is an entitled man supposed to get?
Deserved – “No one is ever really gone”
Let Luke Skywalker’s words to his sister encompass the entire sequel trilogy as a whole. Though in the moment, when Luke’s force projection is speaking with Leia, it may seem like he is talking about the loss of her husband (and his best friend) Han, but the words can very easily also apply to her son (and his apprentice) Ben Solo.
No matter what has happened in the past, Luke is saying, there is always the chance a person can redeem themselves with the right actions.
Did Not Deserve – Entitlement
“That lightsaber,” Kylo tells Rey, as they duel in The Force Awakens, “Belongs to me.” Kylo/Ben’s obsession with his legacy (particularly that surrounding his grandfather, Darth Vader) highlights him as being rather entitled. Because of who his grandfather is, who his mother is, who his uncle is, he deserves not only the lightsaber of the Skywalker family but the power and legacy that comes with it.
He’s not saying it belongs to him because of his hard work or his skills, he’s only saying it because of what he is born. Redemption and what a person deserves should come from their actions, nothing else.
Deserved – The Sacrifices of His Family
In the end, Kylo Ren’s (really, Ben Solo’s) redemption is deserved because it is a fitting end to the sacrifices made by those around him.
For Han, Luke, and Leia to all perish in the hopes of protecting and redeeming the last remaining member of their family and then have him remain unredeemed is far less fitting, and is a far less satisfying end to a saga that followed the family as a whole, and not one person.
