I recently finished the junior novelization of The Last Jedi. It's worth reading both the regular and junior novelizations because they each include slightly different content, maybe different scenes or different looks into character motivation. This book made quite a point of showing the theme of failure--and then hinting at the connections between the different times of failures in the three plot lines of the story.
Finn and Rose go off to try and disable the First Order's tracker so that the Resistance can escape. They try and they fail and nearly get killed. Poe tries to reroute the Resistance to his rule by leading a mutiny against Holdo; he finds out in the end that he was wrong to not trust that she had a plan and that his actions have in fact destroyed that plan and allowed the First Order to nearly wipe them all out. Luke is trying to escape his failure to teach Ben Solo to be a good little Jedi and Rey is trying to reach out to Kylo and bring Ben back. Luke realizes that he shouldn't have just tried to leave it all and Rey realizes that bringing Ben back isn't so simple as just giving him the offer.
Everyone in this story fails. That's life; failure happens.
Finn and Rose's adventure is obviously connected to Poe's because Poe tries to take control of the Resistance in order to follow the plan the trio has made apart from Holdo's plan. But Rey's adventure is connected, too. She seeks something (a great teacher and helper) that she does not find and she goes after something that she does not achieve (the redemption of Kylo Ren).
Just the way that this junior novelization wrote everything out made me hear Rose's words about saving what we love versus killing what we hate in a new way. It made me think of everyone's attitudes towards Kylo/Ben. Luke and Leia have given up on him and don't think that he can be brought back. Rey thought that he could, only to find him still hanging on to his current path. But what if they're all going about it in the wrong way?
Don't kill what you hate (Kylo Ren). Save what you love (Ben Solo).
When Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, Anakin died and Vader took over. When Luke initiated Vader's redemption, Vader died and Anakin came back. What if the redemption of Kylo Ren happens differently?
Kylo says that Ben Solo was his old identity. The identity of Kylo Ren he created for himself; it was his way of separating himself from who his parents and his uncle tried to make him. It was his way of saying, this is who I am. I'm not the son whose father won't spend time with him. I'm not the son who can never live up to his mother's reputation. I'm not the nephew whose uncle fears him. I am all powerful. I can, not I can't.
So maybe, even though Kylo Ren is the representation of evil and wrong, just maybe there is something about his new identity that will linger. Ben Solo didn't feel comfortable trying to be Ben Solo. So he tried to be Kylo Ren and that only brought him more pain.
Maybe he will find the happy medium. After all, isn't he supposed to be the one who is composed to equal parts of the dark and light sides of the Force?
Kylo Ren won't become Ben Solo again. He will just accept that he is on the wrong path and readjust his path. Rey, in reaching out to him as he is, will say, I don't hate you, I care about you and I know you're better than this.
We fail when we ignore the fact that we can be wrong. We achieve when we remember our weaknesses and move forward despite them.
Showing posts with label Kylo Ren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kylo Ren. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2018
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Luke Skywalker & the Dark Side
Yes, spoilers for The Last Jedi. You haven't seen it yet?
Alright, then.
Not that I intend to come around and bash Luke (he's just a person, after all), but isn't he a bit hypocritical here? He looks at Rey with wide, fearful eyes and says in shock, "You went straight to the dark." How scary for him! First Ben and now Rey, too! Poor Luke with all these evil apprentices.
Think about it, though. What was one of the first things that Luke did when he was training with Yoda? He felt cold (which is a sign of the dark side) and he felt called to go into the cave in the tree that festered with the dark side. When Yoda advised him to leave his weapons, Luke ignored him and went and had a vision of violence and darkness. He dreamed he fought Darth Vader and then saw himself in Vader. All very dark. But was Luke overcome by darkness, or did Yoda say, oh, my, you're so deep into the dark side, boy? No, no, no. Luke just had to be aware of the dark side. He went, he saw, he left, he moved on. A couple decades or so later, Luke needed to let Ben and then Rey do the same.
He looks at Rey with such fear. Sure, he has bad memories of Kylo, but doesn't he treat Rey a little unfairly? She was just aware of the darkness under the island in the same way that Luke was aware of the darkness in Dagobah. Rey even went into that dark place and had her own vision--and it wasn't even a very dark vision. She just saw herself, a visual image reflecting the very fact that it is her own choices that shape her identity. For all that Luke pretty much washed his hands of guiding Rey from the dark side (though honestly all he needed to tell her was what the Force was and what what light and dark mean when it comes to the Force), Rey handled herself pretty well.
And Ben? Luke's reaction to Rey makes me wonder how much Luke also overreacted with Ben. No, I'm not saying that he completely made up Ben's infatuation with or weakness toward the dark side. But Luke did make up the fact that Ben was automatically aligned with the dark side. He says now that such "raw power" didn't scare him enough then, but I think the opposite is true. I think Luke was so scared by Ben's potential to be a second Vader that he withdrew himself and he forgot that it was the very connection between individuals, specifically between family members, that brought Anakin back from Vader. Rey says it herself: Luke's mistake was acting like Ben's choice was already made. Did Luke create Kylo Ren? No, everyone makes their own choices--but Luke did label Ben as something dark and evil. And Ben, already conflicted, believed him.
The first ill that Luke did Ben was to pull out a deadly weapon against him. The second ill was to tell him the lie that he was born of the dark side, that he was darkness who could only rise to be darkness. That is the lineage that Ben received. He was already an adult when he learned that Darth Vader was his grandfather (and that his parents and his uncle knew all along)--and then right after his uncle tries to kill him. So he embraces the darkness, the only thing he has left.
But isn't part of it true? We are all born into a certain darkness. In our galaxy, we call it sin. In the Star Wars galaxy, it's the dark side. Everyone has that legacy and that capability. The important thing is to choose the light over the dark. Kylo's still stuck thinking that the darkness is all he deserves. Leia gave up on him. Luke gave up on him. Snoke was just using him. Now even Rey has closed the door on him. So he's left holding the locks on his own chains, ignoring the key because it must just be a phantom vision, it can't be something real.
Ah, Luke, you didn't put the darkness in your apprentice--but you might have forgotten to tell him about the light of hope that extinguishes darkness.
Alright, then.
Not that I intend to come around and bash Luke (he's just a person, after all), but isn't he a bit hypocritical here? He looks at Rey with wide, fearful eyes and says in shock, "You went straight to the dark." How scary for him! First Ben and now Rey, too! Poor Luke with all these evil apprentices.
Think about it, though. What was one of the first things that Luke did when he was training with Yoda? He felt cold (which is a sign of the dark side) and he felt called to go into the cave in the tree that festered with the dark side. When Yoda advised him to leave his weapons, Luke ignored him and went and had a vision of violence and darkness. He dreamed he fought Darth Vader and then saw himself in Vader. All very dark. But was Luke overcome by darkness, or did Yoda say, oh, my, you're so deep into the dark side, boy? No, no, no. Luke just had to be aware of the dark side. He went, he saw, he left, he moved on. A couple decades or so later, Luke needed to let Ben and then Rey do the same.
He looks at Rey with such fear. Sure, he has bad memories of Kylo, but doesn't he treat Rey a little unfairly? She was just aware of the darkness under the island in the same way that Luke was aware of the darkness in Dagobah. Rey even went into that dark place and had her own vision--and it wasn't even a very dark vision. She just saw herself, a visual image reflecting the very fact that it is her own choices that shape her identity. For all that Luke pretty much washed his hands of guiding Rey from the dark side (though honestly all he needed to tell her was what the Force was and what what light and dark mean when it comes to the Force), Rey handled herself pretty well.
And Ben? Luke's reaction to Rey makes me wonder how much Luke also overreacted with Ben. No, I'm not saying that he completely made up Ben's infatuation with or weakness toward the dark side. But Luke did make up the fact that Ben was automatically aligned with the dark side. He says now that such "raw power" didn't scare him enough then, but I think the opposite is true. I think Luke was so scared by Ben's potential to be a second Vader that he withdrew himself and he forgot that it was the very connection between individuals, specifically between family members, that brought Anakin back from Vader. Rey says it herself: Luke's mistake was acting like Ben's choice was already made. Did Luke create Kylo Ren? No, everyone makes their own choices--but Luke did label Ben as something dark and evil. And Ben, already conflicted, believed him.
The first ill that Luke did Ben was to pull out a deadly weapon against him. The second ill was to tell him the lie that he was born of the dark side, that he was darkness who could only rise to be darkness. That is the lineage that Ben received. He was already an adult when he learned that Darth Vader was his grandfather (and that his parents and his uncle knew all along)--and then right after his uncle tries to kill him. So he embraces the darkness, the only thing he has left.
But isn't part of it true? We are all born into a certain darkness. In our galaxy, we call it sin. In the Star Wars galaxy, it's the dark side. Everyone has that legacy and that capability. The important thing is to choose the light over the dark. Kylo's still stuck thinking that the darkness is all he deserves. Leia gave up on him. Luke gave up on him. Snoke was just using him. Now even Rey has closed the door on him. So he's left holding the locks on his own chains, ignoring the key because it must just be a phantom vision, it can't be something real.
Ah, Luke, you didn't put the darkness in your apprentice--but you might have forgotten to tell him about the light of hope that extinguishes darkness.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The Mask of Kylo Ren
The mask of Darth Vader was fashioned after a skull, with blank spaces for eyes to imply the nonexistence of a soul. The mask of Kylo Ren is formed without a mouth because his is a character who cannot speak.
There are many possible ways in which he can't speak. It may be that he doesn't know how to express himself or even that he doesn't know what he wants to express; "I'm being torn apart," he says. Perhaps he is hiding something, which would be the case if he is some kind of double or undercover agent. Or it might be that someone is trying to not let him speak; he is being contained in some way (presumably by Snoke). He himself might also be trying to repress something (like the light), to not let it speak out of his mouth and his actions.
Visually, the mask looks something like a criminal's muzzle, something made to contain threats and danger. It suggests that Kylo Ren is a threat, which is in fact why he chooses to wear this mask: he wants to look like intimidating, like his grandfather before him. But his mask has less of a "crown" than Vader's did: he is less powerful. And where Vader's mask was about blankness, Ren's is about blocking. There was nothing for Vader to hide because he had all but killed all the good in himself, but Ren has much that he still tries to suppress.
Speaking of his mask leads me to think of his face. I commented before on the unique, well, mutilation that Kylo Ren receives during his battle with Rey: Star Wars has so much of chopping off hands and limbs but he just got some deep wounds and a sliced face. Now I see why the face is significant.
The face is vanity. The face is self-image and your level of comfort with the idea of how other people perceive you. Ren wore the mask to feel powerful and to intimidate others into thinking he was powerful. So when Rey cuts his face, that's showing that his true face is damaged and that he is aware that it's damaged. The vanity is marred. The bravado fades into shock. His self-image struggles, as it probably has before, as only anger (which he is so quick to cultivate) can heal. Unless he can finally accept that he is damaged--and that damage to the light is not good.
Oh, Kylo Ren, don't you see that even though you've fashioned this dark mask for yourself, you are constantly wanting to take off the mask and let your own face be free? This shroud of darkness is not the answer. If you continue down this path, you will have even more scars than the slash across your face. It's never too late to turn away, but now you're marked. Now your mask is not just there to intimidate: it is there to hide your weakness and decay, as visually represented by a deep scar.
There are many possible ways in which he can't speak. It may be that he doesn't know how to express himself or even that he doesn't know what he wants to express; "I'm being torn apart," he says. Perhaps he is hiding something, which would be the case if he is some kind of double or undercover agent. Or it might be that someone is trying to not let him speak; he is being contained in some way (presumably by Snoke). He himself might also be trying to repress something (like the light), to not let it speak out of his mouth and his actions.
Visually, the mask looks something like a criminal's muzzle, something made to contain threats and danger. It suggests that Kylo Ren is a threat, which is in fact why he chooses to wear this mask: he wants to look like intimidating, like his grandfather before him. But his mask has less of a "crown" than Vader's did: he is less powerful. And where Vader's mask was about blankness, Ren's is about blocking. There was nothing for Vader to hide because he had all but killed all the good in himself, but Ren has much that he still tries to suppress.
Speaking of his mask leads me to think of his face. I commented before on the unique, well, mutilation that Kylo Ren receives during his battle with Rey: Star Wars has so much of chopping off hands and limbs but he just got some deep wounds and a sliced face. Now I see why the face is significant.
The face is vanity. The face is self-image and your level of comfort with the idea of how other people perceive you. Ren wore the mask to feel powerful and to intimidate others into thinking he was powerful. So when Rey cuts his face, that's showing that his true face is damaged and that he is aware that it's damaged. The vanity is marred. The bravado fades into shock. His self-image struggles, as it probably has before, as only anger (which he is so quick to cultivate) can heal. Unless he can finally accept that he is damaged--and that damage to the light is not good.
Oh, Kylo Ren, don't you see that even though you've fashioned this dark mask for yourself, you are constantly wanting to take off the mask and let your own face be free? This shroud of darkness is not the answer. If you continue down this path, you will have even more scars than the slash across your face. It's never too late to turn away, but now you're marked. Now your mask is not just there to intimidate: it is there to hide your weakness and decay, as visually represented by a deep scar.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Thoughts on the New Star Wars Information
In case you haven't heard, J.J. Abrams announced in a Q&A that Rey's parents aren't in The Force Awakens, which has given rise to much more speculation about who she is and what her role will be in the future films. In particular, people are excited that this makes Reylo possible and might mean that Rey is a Kenobi.
I had to take a little bit of time to ponder this new info. I'd been planning a different post on the movie (the DVD release has me excited to start talking about it again), but we'll just let that wait for some other time. For now let me get some thoughts out (probably nothing that hasn't already been said elsewhere, just my way of putting together what I think sounds most plausible). I also just want to record at what point I thought what--that way I can look back at this years from now and see how right or wrong I was.
When I first saw Episode VII, I was convinced Rey was Luke's daughter. Absolutely convinced. But the more I thought about it, the more boring that seemed. And then as time went on, my interest started to transfer from Rey to Kylo Ren. I went into it all loving Rey's character and walked out thinking only about Kylo Ren.
So by the time J.J. Abrams made his little declaration (which had better be true and not just a lie to throw us off the track), I was already feeling like Rey wasn't Luke's daughter after all. It's almost a relief now to think that she isn't and to feel like I don't have to keep wondering if that's true. Yes, the movie is constantly pairing her, visually, with Luke (her outfit looks like his Episode IV getup and her new outfit at the end of the movie closely resembles his Episode V look), but that can be because of theme instead of because they're related: her character can be playing the same role in this trilogy that Luke played in the OT. Like how BB-8 resembles R2 in some ways because he plays a similar role in the story as R2 did--not because he's a droid descendent of R2.
And now on to Reylo. I have confirmation (in this post) that I was considering the idea of Reylo at least by the second time I watched the movie. I figured that if the characters weren't related, then this was a way that they could be connected, with Rey possibly helping bring Ren back to the light side. And I thought it also made sense with the dual look the two characters have: one light and one dark, both paired together and reflected back on each other.
I thought about that. But I also apparently mostly dismissed the idea at the time (I still thought they were probably cousins). And now, well, I'm just like everyone else: I can't stop thinking about the idea of Reylo (I kind of like saying that name, too: it's funny).
It makes sense. I just rewatched the movie with this theory in mind. And if fits very well in his side: the complication's move on her side. Here is how I can picture it.
I tend to be interested in the theories that Ren is not all bad. We know that he was born with equal capacity for the light and dark sides because that's been stated (Even though that seems weird because how is that different from someone's free will to choose light or dark? Or does Star Wars believe in fate over free will now? Did it always?). The question is how much he wants to follow the light or dark side: everything he says and much of what he does is ambiguous. Is he ultimately trying to defeat Snoke by getting in close to his enemy? Is he trying to channel both the light and dark sides simultaneously to achieve the greatest power? Or is he just stumbling after mistakes he made because of his bad family life? We don't know anything for sure, but there is enough material like this that he isn't just a blank, evil character and therefore we can imagine how some type of relationship with Rey might develop.
Then watch the movie, watch his scenes with Rey, watch how he looks at her and what he says to her. He either knows something about her (her identity, her past, or the meaning of her strength with the Force) or he loves her (either romantically of platonically). He does look her up and down when he first meets her--in a completely ambiguous way (Adam Driver certainly knows his acting); he might be kind of checking her out or simply sizing up his enemy. He obviously grows fascinated by her, which could be because he likes her or simply because of her power (or, of course, both). When he takes off his mask in the interrogation scene, it's as if he wants her to see his face. Because it'll make his task easier? I don't see how. So it can only be because he wants her to see him as human and not the "creature in a mask." Either because some part of him wants her to like his face or because he is hoping to get her to join him on the dark side and showing his humanity seems like a good way to do this. (Or he might remove his mask to see if she recognizes him from the past, to test and see if she is who he thinks she might be. But I'm not sure about that one: it seems possible that they might have known each other in the past, but that would need a lot of explaining.)
Then there's this. Both novelizations (adult and junior editions) have Ren telling Rey that he's going to take the map from her mind and to not be afraid. But the movie's line is a little different. There's a gap after he talks about taking the map and then he says, "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too." Feel what? The presence of the map? No. Her fear? That seems more likely (though this would more be him thinking he feels her fear but actually he's the one who's afraid). Someone said it's the connection between them. Maybe.
In both novelizations is also the line from Snoke: "You feel compassion for her?" Ren denies this but the fact that Snoke says it must mean there's some truth to it. The question is whether he means compassion as in sympathy or as in Anakin's definition that he gave to Padme in Episode II (basically, love).
If Ren's attracted to Rey, then that would easily give a reason for him not wanting to kill her in the final lightsaber battle (I can't quite bring myself to believe that he was really trying to defeat her, for whatever reason). After all, in the beginning he just throw her at a tree and fights Finn instead--then she has to peskily start a fight with him. He offers to teach her. How's that for a pick up line: "I can show you the ways of the Force." Could be because he wants her to stay with him or just because he knows she's strong and wants her on his side.
What makes me pause so much is his expression after she beats him. There he is on the ground, all wounded and cut up and defeated--and he looks maybe like he's having an out of body experience, maybe he's a little shocked but mostly he just looks still. Kylo Ren, still. Usually when things don't go his way or he gets shocked he reacts by getting angry and throwing a tantrum and slashing things with his lightsaber. Obviously he's very injured here so that affects how he can react, but he doesn't even look angry. Whatever it is, there has to be a reason why he isn't angry at Rey: if it had been anyone else defeating him he would have been angry. But because it's her he isn't.
So in the future I think there will be even more scenes between these two characters. Possibly they may shift light/dark roles (Rey has to get tempted by the dark side at some point, just as Luke was. Maybe Kylo Ren himself will be her temptation.). Possibly a love story will develop (Ren has to either come back to the light side or be revealed to be secretly working for the good all along for this to happen: no one's advocating a creepy attacker/victim relationship here. Even if Rey joins him on the dark side, I still don't think that would make up for how he treated her.). But they are for sure connected in some way, even if it is just thematically.
I had to take a little bit of time to ponder this new info. I'd been planning a different post on the movie (the DVD release has me excited to start talking about it again), but we'll just let that wait for some other time. For now let me get some thoughts out (probably nothing that hasn't already been said elsewhere, just my way of putting together what I think sounds most plausible). I also just want to record at what point I thought what--that way I can look back at this years from now and see how right or wrong I was.
When I first saw Episode VII, I was convinced Rey was Luke's daughter. Absolutely convinced. But the more I thought about it, the more boring that seemed. And then as time went on, my interest started to transfer from Rey to Kylo Ren. I went into it all loving Rey's character and walked out thinking only about Kylo Ren.
So by the time J.J. Abrams made his little declaration (which had better be true and not just a lie to throw us off the track), I was already feeling like Rey wasn't Luke's daughter after all. It's almost a relief now to think that she isn't and to feel like I don't have to keep wondering if that's true. Yes, the movie is constantly pairing her, visually, with Luke (her outfit looks like his Episode IV getup and her new outfit at the end of the movie closely resembles his Episode V look), but that can be because of theme instead of because they're related: her character can be playing the same role in this trilogy that Luke played in the OT. Like how BB-8 resembles R2 in some ways because he plays a similar role in the story as R2 did--not because he's a droid descendent of R2.
And now on to Reylo. I have confirmation (in this post) that I was considering the idea of Reylo at least by the second time I watched the movie. I figured that if the characters weren't related, then this was a way that they could be connected, with Rey possibly helping bring Ren back to the light side. And I thought it also made sense with the dual look the two characters have: one light and one dark, both paired together and reflected back on each other.
I thought about that. But I also apparently mostly dismissed the idea at the time (I still thought they were probably cousins). And now, well, I'm just like everyone else: I can't stop thinking about the idea of Reylo (I kind of like saying that name, too: it's funny).
It makes sense. I just rewatched the movie with this theory in mind. And if fits very well in his side: the complication's move on her side. Here is how I can picture it.
I tend to be interested in the theories that Ren is not all bad. We know that he was born with equal capacity for the light and dark sides because that's been stated (Even though that seems weird because how is that different from someone's free will to choose light or dark? Or does Star Wars believe in fate over free will now? Did it always?). The question is how much he wants to follow the light or dark side: everything he says and much of what he does is ambiguous. Is he ultimately trying to defeat Snoke by getting in close to his enemy? Is he trying to channel both the light and dark sides simultaneously to achieve the greatest power? Or is he just stumbling after mistakes he made because of his bad family life? We don't know anything for sure, but there is enough material like this that he isn't just a blank, evil character and therefore we can imagine how some type of relationship with Rey might develop.
Then watch the movie, watch his scenes with Rey, watch how he looks at her and what he says to her. He either knows something about her (her identity, her past, or the meaning of her strength with the Force) or he loves her (either romantically of platonically). He does look her up and down when he first meets her--in a completely ambiguous way (Adam Driver certainly knows his acting); he might be kind of checking her out or simply sizing up his enemy. He obviously grows fascinated by her, which could be because he likes her or simply because of her power (or, of course, both). When he takes off his mask in the interrogation scene, it's as if he wants her to see his face. Because it'll make his task easier? I don't see how. So it can only be because he wants her to see him as human and not the "creature in a mask." Either because some part of him wants her to like his face or because he is hoping to get her to join him on the dark side and showing his humanity seems like a good way to do this. (Or he might remove his mask to see if she recognizes him from the past, to test and see if she is who he thinks she might be. But I'm not sure about that one: it seems possible that they might have known each other in the past, but that would need a lot of explaining.)
Then there's this. Both novelizations (adult and junior editions) have Ren telling Rey that he's going to take the map from her mind and to not be afraid. But the movie's line is a little different. There's a gap after he talks about taking the map and then he says, "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too." Feel what? The presence of the map? No. Her fear? That seems more likely (though this would more be him thinking he feels her fear but actually he's the one who's afraid). Someone said it's the connection between them. Maybe.
In both novelizations is also the line from Snoke: "You feel compassion for her?" Ren denies this but the fact that Snoke says it must mean there's some truth to it. The question is whether he means compassion as in sympathy or as in Anakin's definition that he gave to Padme in Episode II (basically, love).
If Ren's attracted to Rey, then that would easily give a reason for him not wanting to kill her in the final lightsaber battle (I can't quite bring myself to believe that he was really trying to defeat her, for whatever reason). After all, in the beginning he just throw her at a tree and fights Finn instead--then she has to peskily start a fight with him. He offers to teach her. How's that for a pick up line: "I can show you the ways of the Force." Could be because he wants her to stay with him or just because he knows she's strong and wants her on his side.
What makes me pause so much is his expression after she beats him. There he is on the ground, all wounded and cut up and defeated--and he looks maybe like he's having an out of body experience, maybe he's a little shocked but mostly he just looks still. Kylo Ren, still. Usually when things don't go his way or he gets shocked he reacts by getting angry and throwing a tantrum and slashing things with his lightsaber. Obviously he's very injured here so that affects how he can react, but he doesn't even look angry. Whatever it is, there has to be a reason why he isn't angry at Rey: if it had been anyone else defeating him he would have been angry. But because it's her he isn't.
So in the future I think there will be even more scenes between these two characters. Possibly they may shift light/dark roles (Rey has to get tempted by the dark side at some point, just as Luke was. Maybe Kylo Ren himself will be her temptation.). Possibly a love story will develop (Ren has to either come back to the light side or be revealed to be secretly working for the good all along for this to happen: no one's advocating a creepy attacker/victim relationship here. Even if Rey joins him on the dark side, I still don't think that would make up for how he treated her.). But they are for sure connected in some way, even if it is just thematically.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Why Kylo Ren Is the New Darth Vader
Yes, Episode VII spoilers.
Months ago when the merch for The Force Awakens started showing up in stores, I was somewhat indignant that Kylo Ren was everywhere, trying to replace Darth Vader as the main villain. I didn't know who Kylo Ren was, so why would I be interested in seeing him everywhere (well, I did like Rey just because of her costume--but that's a different matter)?
And then we come to the character he establishes in the movie. When he first appears, it seems that he is an attempt at another dark, ruthless, evil character. So your first instinct is to compare him to Vader, to see how his mask's voice is different from Vader's, how (though tall) his figure is not as physically imposing as Vader's, how he walks about with such force and power and yet not somehow quite the same command that Vader had. And then at some point you realize that all of this is intentional; for me, the moment came when he takes off his mask while talking to Rey. In that moment, his character clicked into place.
As I've said before, I came to realize that Kylo Ren isn't just a character we call a wannabe--he is written as a wannabe. He wants to take the place of Darth Vader. He isn't wholly successful yet--but he's trying. And that's just as sinister, if not more sinister, than if he were a full, blown-out, flat baddie character (like Darth Maul, who always felt rather temporary and therefore not terribly powerful or important in the long run).
Back when I started thinking about Episode VII, I wondered how it was possible to continue the story, where the writers would take it. Both the OT and the PT are Vader's story, Anakin's story: it is his character arc that informs the most important part of both trilogies. He was Star Wars. So how do you make Star Wars without Vader? (And I realize that there are and have always been plenty of books and such that focus on other characters--but I'm focusing on the movies here.) Well, you have to create a new Vader. And what made Vader Vader not just as himself but also as an important feature of both trilogies was his character arc. That was where the value was, where the themes were, and where all my greatest interest was. So if you want to try and replace that, you can't just create a villain: you have to create someone with a significant and engaging character arc. And Kylo Ren is just that.
I keep getting more obsessed with this character (Vader will always be Vader--liking a new character doesn't have to replace the old ones). I love the theory that he's secretly trying to take over the First Order from the inside; it's so easy to find evidence for this. But the reality is more complicated, isn't it?
I keep pausing on his conversation with Vader's melted helmet. "I will finish what you started . . . grandfather." We've been so focused on the first phrase that what about that last word? "Grandfather?" Does that seem a little odd to anyone else? Okay, it can just be a line in there to reveal who Kylo Ren is, but that isn't really necessary because Han and Leia (and even Snoke) talk about who he is. Think about it. If he's such a fan of Vader/his accomplishments, then wouldn't he feel the need to have a little more decorum? Wouldn't he have some other title, something else to call this powerful, dark figure? Grandfather? It's such a familiar term, so informal, and it hints so much of kindness. (This could also just back up the idea that Ren simply believes he is in the right and isn't "evil"--but I like to think otherwise.)
So perhaps people are right. When he says grandfather, it means that he is talking of Anakin, not to Vader (Anakin's Force Ghost for Episode VIII, anyone?). And when he fears that he will never be as strong as Darth Vader, it is that he fears he will never have the strength to turn away from the darkness in the end as Vader did. There is that line of his, where he talks of feeling the pull to the light again as if it's a bad thing--but maybe it's a bad thing just because the timing isn't right? Or just because he knows he needs to continue the farce for a little longer, in order to accomplish something.
Whenever I try and remind myself of how creepy and sinister Kylo Ren could be, I keep getting reminded of that constant duality that is in him. When he's talking creepily/threateningly to Rey, he also could seem almost reluctant to actually look in her mind for what he wants--it's like he's trying to put it off (which could also mean that there is something about his "mind power" that works at a cost to himself, even that it's simply unpleasant to do). When he kills Han Solo, he cries. He talks for the whole movie about hating his father but then he cries when he kills him. It's just the best thing ever. Is he trying to be dark or secretly trying to be good--and does he even know what he's trying to do?
There wasn't so much mystery around Darth Vader in Episode IV as this, was there? Kylo Ren, if you're just getting started, this is a good start and I can't wait to see what else is in store. . . . So many years of guessing and theories and imaginings, that's what. (This reminds me of the time before Episode III came out. There was a joke about how Darth Vader's face was burned when he was taking cookies out of the oven . . . it's so funny now to think that we once didn't know how Vader became the burnt, mostly-machine figure he is in the OT.)
(Oh, and what's with the face-slashing of Kylo Ren by Rey? Usually the bodily deformations [hands and arms getting chopped off] happen in the second episode of a trilogy. So why does he get them now? Will he have scars? And why do the slashes on his face look suspiciously like the scars on Snoke's face? Snoke must be him from the future [has anyone built up evidence for that theory yet?] Maybe the slashes are just a physical representation of the deterioration that took place within him when he killed his father. I could talk about this all day--but I've already filled up the space of two or three posts, haven't I?)
Months ago when the merch for The Force Awakens started showing up in stores, I was somewhat indignant that Kylo Ren was everywhere, trying to replace Darth Vader as the main villain. I didn't know who Kylo Ren was, so why would I be interested in seeing him everywhere (well, I did like Rey just because of her costume--but that's a different matter)?
And then we come to the character he establishes in the movie. When he first appears, it seems that he is an attempt at another dark, ruthless, evil character. So your first instinct is to compare him to Vader, to see how his mask's voice is different from Vader's, how (though tall) his figure is not as physically imposing as Vader's, how he walks about with such force and power and yet not somehow quite the same command that Vader had. And then at some point you realize that all of this is intentional; for me, the moment came when he takes off his mask while talking to Rey. In that moment, his character clicked into place.
As I've said before, I came to realize that Kylo Ren isn't just a character we call a wannabe--he is written as a wannabe. He wants to take the place of Darth Vader. He isn't wholly successful yet--but he's trying. And that's just as sinister, if not more sinister, than if he were a full, blown-out, flat baddie character (like Darth Maul, who always felt rather temporary and therefore not terribly powerful or important in the long run).
Back when I started thinking about Episode VII, I wondered how it was possible to continue the story, where the writers would take it. Both the OT and the PT are Vader's story, Anakin's story: it is his character arc that informs the most important part of both trilogies. He was Star Wars. So how do you make Star Wars without Vader? (And I realize that there are and have always been plenty of books and such that focus on other characters--but I'm focusing on the movies here.) Well, you have to create a new Vader. And what made Vader Vader not just as himself but also as an important feature of both trilogies was his character arc. That was where the value was, where the themes were, and where all my greatest interest was. So if you want to try and replace that, you can't just create a villain: you have to create someone with a significant and engaging character arc. And Kylo Ren is just that.
I keep getting more obsessed with this character (Vader will always be Vader--liking a new character doesn't have to replace the old ones). I love the theory that he's secretly trying to take over the First Order from the inside; it's so easy to find evidence for this. But the reality is more complicated, isn't it?
I keep pausing on his conversation with Vader's melted helmet. "I will finish what you started . . . grandfather." We've been so focused on the first phrase that what about that last word? "Grandfather?" Does that seem a little odd to anyone else? Okay, it can just be a line in there to reveal who Kylo Ren is, but that isn't really necessary because Han and Leia (and even Snoke) talk about who he is. Think about it. If he's such a fan of Vader/his accomplishments, then wouldn't he feel the need to have a little more decorum? Wouldn't he have some other title, something else to call this powerful, dark figure? Grandfather? It's such a familiar term, so informal, and it hints so much of kindness. (This could also just back up the idea that Ren simply believes he is in the right and isn't "evil"--but I like to think otherwise.)
So perhaps people are right. When he says grandfather, it means that he is talking of Anakin, not to Vader (Anakin's Force Ghost for Episode VIII, anyone?). And when he fears that he will never be as strong as Darth Vader, it is that he fears he will never have the strength to turn away from the darkness in the end as Vader did. There is that line of his, where he talks of feeling the pull to the light again as if it's a bad thing--but maybe it's a bad thing just because the timing isn't right? Or just because he knows he needs to continue the farce for a little longer, in order to accomplish something.
Whenever I try and remind myself of how creepy and sinister Kylo Ren could be, I keep getting reminded of that constant duality that is in him. When he's talking creepily/threateningly to Rey, he also could seem almost reluctant to actually look in her mind for what he wants--it's like he's trying to put it off (which could also mean that there is something about his "mind power" that works at a cost to himself, even that it's simply unpleasant to do). When he kills Han Solo, he cries. He talks for the whole movie about hating his father but then he cries when he kills him. It's just the best thing ever. Is he trying to be dark or secretly trying to be good--and does he even know what he's trying to do?
There wasn't so much mystery around Darth Vader in Episode IV as this, was there? Kylo Ren, if you're just getting started, this is a good start and I can't wait to see what else is in store. . . . So many years of guessing and theories and imaginings, that's what. (This reminds me of the time before Episode III came out. There was a joke about how Darth Vader's face was burned when he was taking cookies out of the oven . . . it's so funny now to think that we once didn't know how Vader became the burnt, mostly-machine figure he is in the OT.)
(Oh, and what's with the face-slashing of Kylo Ren by Rey? Usually the bodily deformations [hands and arms getting chopped off] happen in the second episode of a trilogy. So why does he get them now? Will he have scars? And why do the slashes on his face look suspiciously like the scars on Snoke's face? Snoke must be him from the future [has anyone built up evidence for that theory yet?] Maybe the slashes are just a physical representation of the deterioration that took place within him when he killed his father. I could talk about this all day--but I've already filled up the space of two or three posts, haven't I?)
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