The Fate of Ben Solo

If he does return to the light, I see him as a more independent character, attached to no order or organization. It would be pretty shocking to see him totally join hands with either the Resistance or New Jedi. Unless, Disney pulls off a super duper redemption theme where Kylo and Rey and up raising a whole new generation of warriors.

 

Little Ben with Han and Leia



Makes everything after even more devastating

 

That photo really does something.

Kylo's personality has been joked about, parodied, and criticized quite a bit, but this photograph, if regarded in just the right frame of mind, can remind us Ben was once a young boy, loved and in the makings of a happy family, an image many of us can identify with, in terms of "family photos," and without the futuristic and removed context of Star Wars.

The photo humanizes and personalizes the situation, and it really does amplify the sadness of Ben's fall, Han's sacrifice, and Leia's remorse.

It also deepens the sorrow of Han and Leia's supposed rift.

Whoever created / composited this, even if it was in jest, achieved something brilliant here.

JediMasterRobert

 

Yes, I believe a viewer or reader's reactions to a character can offer a wealth self-revelation and understanding.

The fact is, in our own world, there are plenty of Snokes and Bens-turned-Kylo: people who are, for whatever reason, perplexed, feeling lost, impressionable, longing to be in control or to belong, or simply wanting to be taken seriously, yearning to be understood, perhaps even to achieve what they think is "greatness" in some form. And then there are the opportunistic Snokes who make it their business to appropriate, indoctrinate, capitalize on faults and frailties.

Star Wars is fiction, but the majority of ideas it explores have some real basis, relevance, or analogues in our own world, and this is why I tend to take Star Wars seriously and engage it, beyond its obvious entertainment value, for its potential educational worth. Like any great story with compelling characters, Star Wars can and does reveal things about ourselves and our world.

And this is also why forums such as this can be such blessings, if not great public services: we can share in the fun and the excitement, and we can appreciate the serious and sublime parts of the story in-depth as well, helping each other to see and understand a little bit more.

Thank you to all those who sacrifice their time to maintain forums like this.

JediMasterRobert

 

I'm sorry, i just can't that photo seriously. I crack up laughing every time i look at it. You look at 'Han' and "Leia's" facial features, and then you look at 'Ben' and wonder where it all went wrong.

 

I think that, in the eyes of everyone who is aware of his existence, he isn't capable of being redeemed. I think that something will happen and he "sacrifices" himself and becomes "Ben Solo" again. However, as much as he BELIEVES that he is "good" now, he is rejected by everyone including his own mother because killing Han Solo is unforgivable...he still manages to show his love and passion for helping Rey, Finn, & Co. But they refuse to work with him and maybe by the end of IX he does the ultimate sacrifice and then everyone realizes Ben's struggle .

 

Who is Ben Solo to begin with?

 

I don't know.

But we know nothing about what kind of person Ben was before he turned into Kylo Ren. After ROTJ, Lucas needed three movies to present Anakin Skywalker in order to prevent the audience from going "so what?" about Luke's obsession with redeeming his father.

I need to know who exactly Leia wants back before I'm willing to care about Kylo becoming "good" again.

 

I think there will be conflict where he encounters his mom and something happens where he tries to help his mom but she dies and he complete loses it and is confused to where he reverts to the darkside. If fitting cause he kills his dad and is conflicted with him. just having a full circle and have Leia come out just for her son's sake and save him. its a tragic speculation but i wouldnt be surprise if that was a route they went. you have Rey(light) and Kylo so SW has to maintain that in the movies as they did throughout the saga.

May the force be with you always...

 

I think a massive problem the PT caused is that Darth Vader's redemption in Return of the Jedi now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Yeah, o.k., we always knew he was evil. But let's face it, we didn't know he murdered children. I mean, that scene was a bit much.
My feeling is that we have now, importantly, seen Kylo Ren commit some pretty heinous acts on top of already killing Luke's Jedi students.
Ordering the villages be killed. Slaughtering Lor San Tekka. MURDERING HAN FRICKIN' SOLO.
Going by what Vader did, yes he could be redeemed and Ben Solo could return - but would we want that now?
And it isn't just about his evil actions being nigh on irredeemable/unmakeupforable(!) but rather, he killed everyone's favourite Star Wars character.
Do we want to see that guy living happily ever after? Even as a Force ghost?

I think I'd like to see something different here.

Either he returns as Ben Solo and Leia does take him back as her son - but it's not all happiness and sunshine. He's tainted. There is no happy ending. He can only try and do what he can, which will never be enough, for his crimes - somehow.

Or

He sacrifices himself to destroy Snoke but it still means his total oblivion. No Force ghost return.

OR

He isn't redeemed. He dies a bad death. Powerless. Weak. Showing how people's bad choices and living a life of evil will only ever result in your own total destruction.

 

There were actually several on-screen instances in the Prequel and Original Trilogy where Anakin / Vader had a hand, directly or in part, in truly heinous acts involving multiple people, such as:

• all the Sand People (Tusken Raiders) after rescuing Shmi
• at the Jedi Temple
• the Separatists gathered on Mustafar
• the planet Alderaan

In The Force Awakens, the destruction of the Hosnian system actually exceeds Alderaan-scale heinousness. It happens so quickly it might not register for moviegoers the way Alderaan did, which had several moments of a build-up in A New Hope.

With regards to Ben:

Unless, in Episode VIII, there could be some sort of creative plot twist (such as the possible scene I suggested in another thread) where Han Solo could be made to return and Ben/Kylo could redeem himself, I think it would make sense for Kylo to exit by way of your second suggestion above:

There could be some room and balance here for him to redeem himself in some sense.

Perhaps, instead of Han Solo (as proposed in my scene linked above), Snoke brings Leia before Ben and asks him to "complete his training."

Only Ben chooses right this time, protects and rescues his mother, and sacrifices himself in a fatal battle against Snoke.

And maybe, in that hypothetical scene, Snoke flees (perhaps because Rey and/or Luke arrive), and Leia has some moments to communicate love and forgiveness to Ben, who finally expresses sorrow for Han and all he has done.

It could be a bitterweet scene that brings Ben full circle.

Luke could even, using his advanced knowledge of the Force, heal him, so Ben could be "reborn" again and re-commit himself to the Light side of the Force.

JediMasterRobert