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SPECULATION Why Did Ben Solo Turn to the Dark Side?

Discussion in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' started by DailyPlunge, Aug 24, 2016.

  1. DailyPlunge

    DailyPlunge Coramoor

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    We know very little about why Ben Solo turned to the dark side. What's your best theory? Is it love lost? Is because he parents lied to him? Is all Snoke's fault?
     
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  2. nightangel

    nightangel Rebel Official

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    Probably because he felt lonely. :p But to be serious, I really hope there is a more serious reason than feeling to have not gotten enough attention by his parents. I remember some comments from Driver though that this may have played into his fall. ;)
     
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  3. LadyMusashi

    LadyMusashi Archwizard Woo-Woo-in-Chief
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    That is actually an excellent question. It is suggested by Bloodline that he didn't know that his granddad was a space Goebbels and that this might be the cause.

    But, it also seems to me that we are blaming everyone else - Snoke, Leia, Han, Luke - everyone but Ben. No one can make you go to the Dark Side, that final decision is yours and yours alone.
     
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  4. Bandini

    Bandini Jedi Commander

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    It feels weird to be seduced by some despicable monster like Snoke. I was wondering if Luke made a mistake or if his grievance were against Solo. He seemed to have a lot of anger against Han but we don't know why.

    I don't know if Leia and Han separated because of Ben's fall or the opposite.
     
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  5. DailyPlunge

    DailyPlunge Coramoor

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    Perhaps the Resistance does something after Bloodline that Ben Solo thought was wrong? Heck, even Luke went away. Is is possible the Resistance has/had a powerful weapon that was used in divisive way? Perhaps the Resistance killed someone close to Ben?
     
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  6. Lazlo

    Lazlo Rebel Official

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    He felt Luke was holding back on him (Luke sensed the darkness creeping around at the edges of his psyche) and was looking for another teacher. I am leaning toward a "Solo" quest for knowledge like what Jacen Solo did in the EU before turning to the dark side.

    Much like Anakin, he was seduced by the promise of more power from a teacher who could show him the way to achieve his (from his own perspective) noble and worthy goals.
     
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  7. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    these are the reasons we have evidence for:
    • he felt abandoned by his parents (they were absent, Leia sent him to Luke).
    • he felt betrayed by his family (none of them told him about Vader until it became public knowledge).
    • Snoke was manipulating him from the start in some fashion (we don't know exactly how yet).
      • speculation: Snoke turned him against his family.
      • speculation: Snoke gave him a sense of purpose that his family did not.
    • he believes he has a critical destiny to fulfill and believes that Snoke and the FO are the path to that.
    • he is politically Centrist and his family represents everything bad in the galaxy.
    they split up after Ben went Dark. this has been confirmed by Pabs.
     
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  8. NinjaRen

    NinjaRen Supreme Leader

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    Adam Driver himselft talked about this topic and he confirmed parental neglect turned Kylo Ren to the dark side.



    But there is certainly more to it but we don't know yet...
     
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  9. master_shaitan

    master_shaitan Jedi General

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    This.

    + He was in his parents' shadow and wanted to aspire to greatness himself. (This is something particularly evident in generations who witness their fathers/parents fight in times of war - such as WWI and WWII. I find it an interesting little theme to add to Kylo's collection).
     
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  10. Choose Light

    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    I don't think it can have been only parental neglect, although that certainly seems to have been a gripe of Ben's. After all, it seems he was at least 23 when he turned, and surely perceived parental neglect as a 23-year-old adult is not quite the burning injustice that it would be at, say, 17. That is not to say that this perceived wound didn't fester. I suspect it just laid the groundwork nicely for Snoke to work with.

    The thing that puzzles me is that we know from what Leia says in the novelization that Snoke had wormed his way into Ben's life "from the beginning" somehow, and yet with that, and with the resentment of his parents, and whatever "Vader" he had "in him"...it still (apparently) took at least 23 years for him to turn (although certainly he could have been difficult in some way, or showing signs of "Darkness" before this, and yet hadn't turned per se).

    To fight the Dark that long, and then suddenly to embrace it--it must have been something that he just felt he couldn't deny anymore. Like that his parents had "lied" about his heritage when Snoke had told him the truth? Or maybe that he might as well stop denying his Dark destiny (and perhaps to stop feeling torn apart? Haha--joke was on him) as the heir of his grandfather's mission, as described by Snoke (whatever it was that he started and Kylo Ren thinks he will finish)...?
     
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  11. singlern05

    singlern05 Rebel Official

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    "Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him."

    He was concerned about being too weak. He must have felt a burden... that there is something he needs to be powerful enough to accomplish that compels him to the dark side. For Vader and Jacen Solo it was a vision of the future they wanted to change. Luke had similar visions but did not fall to the temptation of the dark side. What could be the future Ben wants to change? What does he care about the most?
     
    #11 singlern05, Aug 24, 2016
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  12. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    i don't know if i would characterize it that way just yet. we need to know more about what he thinks of himself.
    right now everything's coming through the filter of Snoke.
    if anything, we have only evidence that he's afraid of not measuring up; that he's actually pretty insecure.
    even his desire to "conquer" is merely a desire to serve out his grandfather ~ it's not an agenda of his own making.

    could be that he aspires to greatness. or it could be he merely believes it's his duty to the galaxy as Vader's grandson.
    i'm inclined to believe the latter because of the way he expresses himself in the novel. we'll have to see how it plays out.
     
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  13. Choose Light

    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    I took it to mean that Ben Solo was weak and "sentimental," loving his family. In the novelization Snoke suggests to Kylo Ren that Vader's great mistake and why he "fell" was that he was foolishly sentimental about his son.
     
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  14. master_shaitan

    master_shaitan Jedi General

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    Yeah, but wouldn't that stuff come later? After he is on the dark path? Once his mind has been distorted by Snoke.
    I know Snoke has been there all along but I think he needed something to work with.
    Han and Leia's inadequate parenting may have been enough but I also think Ben came from a pretty difficult legacy to live up to.
     
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  15. FN-3263827

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    i think he might have felt aimless until Snoke gave him this grand purpose (all lies, of course, but it got him where he wanted him).
    all of the characters in TFA want a place of belonging. Ben thinks he found his, unfortunately.

    possibly weak because he wasn't Force sensitive?
    perhaps because he wasn't the father Ben hoped for? needed?
    because he was a "nobody" smuggler with a criminal past?
    because he supported the "evil" New Republic?

    interestingly, he perceived Ben as such ~ suggests he identified with his father at one time? or certainly wanted to.
    --- Double Post Merged, Aug 24, 2016, Original Post Date: Aug 24, 2016 ---
    oh absolutely. particularly on his mother's side: a political leader, hero of the Rebellion, daughter of royalty?

    this is why i think Ben just felt untethered: lacking purpose. from Bloodline it seems he wasn't interested in politics and he wasn't interested in Han's business. that just leaves the Force, which isolates him. where does he belong in his parents' world? nowhere.
     
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    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    Dang it, Han! Why didn't you grab the kid and run there on the catwalk? Sure, you're old and all, but the fireman's carry would work, and Chewy could carry him the rest of the way. It would serve him right for kidnapping Rey anyway. :p
     
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    i yell this at the tv screen almost every time i watch the movie: "just grab him and run!!!" ~ hahaha!
     
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    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    I know right? No one on TV ever listens to me. *sigh* :p
     
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  19. PrincessLeiaCB3

    PrincessLeiaCB3 The Princess that was Promised
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    We don't know yet when Ben started training with Luke in the Jedi ways - personal theory is that in his early teens. But if he turned to the Dark Side after 23 it would sort of mirror his grandpa - though he actually became a Jedi knight, got married and had kids before that.

    +1

    He loved his family, though he felt abandoned and betrayed when he found out the truth about his mother true origins.

    Agree. And he might have been torn apart by that: just imagine wishing to be part of your parents' world, but lacking the abilities or natural disposition to do so. Or having a clouded vision that does not let you see your abilities - having said that, I definitely expect he is a good pilot after all.
     
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    Han didn't follow his own advice: escape now, hug later!
     
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