Man, these Kylo-defenders make Anakin/Vader seem like a much more virtuous person.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition.
I initially walked out of TFA thinking Kylo was by far the more hapless and sympathetic of the villains. But then I started actually thinking about what he’d done. Every time I watch, I notice something else that tips him farther into the side of unredeemed villain.
And that’s even without things like the ashes (which, to be fair, are not established as such in the movie), or pushing Han (which I think happened, but I agree is up to interpretation.)
It’s a credit to both the writing, and Adam Driver’s acting that I feel this way. In the end though, I suspect the “twist” will be that Kylo Ren is NOT redeemed. Because when you start looking objectively at his decisions, he doesn’t deserve it.
Driver does an amazing job, and he’s a great villain but I am getting the same thing. Each rewatch, he’s worse. It’s like these layers of Anakin we’ve projected onto him are just peeling off each time I see the movie.
And then there’s his fans, with their arguments. Every single one of them has me going “But wait, Anakin Skywalker…” And I could lsit a bunch but it boils down to one thing… Anakin did not want to be a bad guy. He thought he was trapped. When he chose Palpatine over Mace Windu, and he did so for what was him such a selfish reason (he wanted that power to prevent his wife from death), he thought he’d crossed the Point of No Return and couldn’t go back to the Jedi. He took a fealty Oath and then ends up causing the death of the person he wanted to protect. He thinks he’s stuck until Luke pops up and shows that the Emperor and the Dark Side CAN be resisted. Anakin thinks he’s lost the right to be in the light until Luke shows up.
Even without the prequels… Anakin is clearly trapped until Luke shows up. He thinsk teh Death Star is a stupid idea but has no real say in the matter. Every time the Emperor’s hologram appears, he has to be kneeling. Hehas to call the Emperor “my lord” and “my master”. He’s dependant on the Emperor for medical help. We see him argue with the Emperor over one thing, killing his son. He’s extremely powerful but unwilling to make a move against the Emperor without Luke’s help, because the Emperor predicted that Luke could destroy him. He believes the Emepror can see the future flawlessly. In the last movie, up until he finally decides to kill the Emperor, he has absolutely no will to resist the Emperor at all.
Kylo, though. Kylo doesn’t think he’s reached the Point of No Return yet, and he is WORKING to get there. He is trying very hard to murder his uncle evne when he’s not busy murdering his father. He’s trying to exorcise every bit of light in him. He wants to be bad and has been working at this for a while, he didn’t need to be trapped there. He’s not trapped at all. He’s uses all thes eimages and things of Anakin’s with no understanding of what they mean.
And honestly… Does Kylo ever kneel to Snoke? He and Hux are standing and looking up at the giant hologram. Kylo ARGUES with Snoke whenever he’s berated by him. Snoke has to flatter Kylo to get him to do things. It is not at all analogous to the relationship Vader has iwth Palpatine.
Really. The idea this guy is getting a redemption arc like Anakin got cheapens Anakin’s arc. Because Anakin suffered and worked for his redemption. He fought hard for years to avoid falling and failed when Mace died. He surrendered to darkness in absolute misery. He had to gather all of his willpower to attack the Emperor and save Luke. Kylo, on the other hand, has been handed chance after chance to do something good or at least less evil and has gleefully chosen the wrong thing every time.
I alwasy maintain that Anakin during the Vader years is a horrible, horrible person. But Kylo is worse.
I’m sort of torn on this, because Kylo is a terrible person and he deserves punishment of some kind…
…but on the other hand, the idea of him not getting a redemption arc just makes my heart break….for Leia. (And for Luke too really, and for the inevitable Ghost of Han.)