Ben Solo and the First Order

The identity definitely matters and that's also something I really dislike about the ST. We just don't know the answer. In my headcanon Poe knows that Kylo Ren was once Ben Solo and they were even friends at some point. #WishfulThinking

The general public probaby doesn't know Kylo Ren's true identity. It would be pretty bad for Leia's Resistance. Storywise it would be a nice callback to the Vader reveal of the novel Bloodline.

 

People complain that the scope of the ST is small, that there isn't enough politics, we don't see enough of everyday life, etc. but when we do get glimpses of that, like with Canto Bight, then the problem is that it's not deep enough, that someone saved animals instead of children and how cruel and insenstivie that was (if someone will point this out once again I will hit the ceiling.) The truth is - this the most we can get out of such stories if we don't want to sacrifice what ACTUALLY matters, which are characters and their development. Everything else is just window dressing.

Would I like something like this to be explored in a SW film? Sure, why not. But I am also a weirdo who loves watching Extended Editions of Lord of the Rings for their obscene length and inclusion of plotlines like that one would bloat the runtime considerably. Would I be happy to watch a three-and-a-half-hour long SW film? Yup. I would. But not many people would as well. No other member of my family has been willing to sit with me throughout any of the LotR films despiite my heaping praises, even my sister, whose taste in film probably matches mine the most. A true SW epic would a tough sell to the general audience, to cinema owners and to the big-wigs at the top of Lucasfilm and Disney. Granted, people seem more lenient with respect to long runtimes, so maybe a true SW epic sis coming soon towards us. But, there is one more problem with this storyline I want to discuss and that problem is...

Luke and Leia's legacy. If this becomes a part of Episode IX's storyline, then we'll turn them into Harvey Dents, i.e. false symbols of hope. Such a revelation would plunge their popularity ratings into the depths of the Sarlacc pit and telling a story that convinces the audience that the Skywalker twins did in the duration of TFA and TLJ is enough to repent for their sins is enough would require a damn fine storyteller. It would require a person who is able to convince all the people disappointed with Luke in TLJ that they are in fact wrong and, as we've seen, this hasn't happened and I'm positive Abrams is not a guy who'd be able to do such a thing. So, instead of focusing of people whose minds won't likely change anytime soon he should just move on and tell the rest of the story of Rey & co.

PS. Ooo! If you crave more public perception of poolitical events in SW, watch A New Hope, especially its beginning.

 

@DarthSnow: the reason i think he wouldn't exploit this is because his own perception is that his parents were actually traitors and terrorists to the "true" ruling class. i think for him to use the Solo/Organa name to now curry favor would be really Machiavellian in a way that he just hasn't demonstrated as of yet.

so unless he really has totally lost his way and is no longer an idealist, but an opportunist who doesn't actually care about order in the galaxy, i can't see him doing anything but sticking to his own vision of ruling the galaxy out from under the shadow of any of his predecessors (which is what he was preaching to Rey).

 

that makes sense post-redemption: absolutely!

it also pretty much eliminates the problem of society accepting Ben Solo back into the fold (and leaves a dark secret for later exploitation by storywriters ~ hahaha).

 

“Sure, we blew up five whole planets because we ‘suspected’ they were up to no good, but we’re under new management now! This guy hasn’t murdered NEARLY as many people. Like, triple digits, tops.” What’s not to trust?

 

i honestly don't know if Ben Solo thinks that clearly or strategically. but it would definitely work! XD

also, his mother saved this list of his very clearly delineated goals in her hope chest from when he was a child:

 

Just from a public relations perspective, it would be pretty hard to walk back a 5x global annihilation. There is rebranding I guess. “No no no, you see, we’re the SECOND Order now. Totally different thing.”