Will Ben Solo be Redeemed?

I agree that Leia was going to play a big role in IX and I too agree that she would have played a big part in Kylo’s possible redemption. However, given the fact that Billy Dee seemed to be cast fairly late in the game, I don’t think his role is going to be that large that it would replace the role Leia would have had.

 

It could be interpreted like that too, why not? I don’t see it like that but Adam’s acting does not give a definite answer, not yet.

 

Parts of Adam's performances as Ben have been a tad monotonous for me

 

I still don't believe they will go the route of redemption.

 

Kylo redemption is boring and unoriginal so they probably Will Redeem him.

--- Double Post Merged, Sep 27, 2018, Original Post Date: Sep 27, 2018 ---

Anakin went to Force heaven, for there to be balance a Skywalker need to go to Force hell? =)

 

Really? For me they have been the highlight of this trilogy. Everyone to their own, I suppose.

 

I enjoyed Driver's performance. He's that villain you like to hate, not as over the top as Jeoffrey in GoT, but the same ilk. I don't like Kylo, but I can appreciate Drivers performance. I think Kylo strikes fans in different ways, which in itself is interesting.

 

I think that it is in his voice...his actions warrant his respect but the direction he has been given so far sounds a bit weird compared to watching him in movies such as "Logan Lucky," in which he is amazing, although missing a apendage
.

 

I think it's because Kylo Ren is a stunted person.
The actions are covering for a not fully formed adult. But they are the actions of an adult in charge.
So he still speaks like an adolescent in a manner because he's not an "adult" yet

 

I’m reluctant to post this since I think it will be an unpopular opinion, but just for me personally, I have to say that honestly, I cannot find the will to care whether Ben is redeemed or not.

Ben still seems like a second-rate knockoff of Vader to me. Even if he goes down fighting in ultimate fury, he can still never be as bad-a** as Darth Vader - and even if he redeems himself, he can never earn the level of forgiveness and compassion that I felt for Vader/Anakin.

I would almost rather see Ben die in the middle of the movie and maybe they can find some kind of new climax instead of “will he or won’t he be redeemed.”

 

If TFA is on cable, I almost always turn it on and I *have* to stop in my tracks when the bridge scene is on and watch it. It really affects me.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 5, 2018, Original Post Date: Oct 5, 2018 ---

I think you're wrong in that this is an unpopular opinion. There are definitely plenty of folks that don't like Kylo Ren, but I'm not one of them. Darth Vader is iconic and a lot of people want exactly that in their Star Wars villain. I find Kylo Ren to be much more real as a person and unpredictable, so I prefer him to Vader, but that's just me.

 

i do the same thing. movie is just playing in the background, but when it gets to the bridge, i stop whatever i'm doing and pay attention.
at my sister's house we joke through the whole movie and then everything suddenly gets very quiet.

 

Yes! It gives me chills.

 

Yes. He is obsessed with the dark. His final act should be to save Rey, which ultimately will help save the Resistance and help them win the day. But it will be clear, like in the throne room, he was helping her, not her friends. His obsession with the dark and killing the past, his his dominate moral compass, and having him become totally redeemed, with some cheesy ending of him smiling and holding hands with Rey as we cut to the credits would be lazy and unbelievable.

I believe Ben Solo needs to die, sacrificing himself to save Rey say from the KoR, only to show he did it for selfish reasons, to try and lure her to his side and that his main goal is still to control the FO and rule the galaxy.

Let's face it... Leia is no longer around for Ben to turn back to tlight due to love of a parent. And Rey can not realistically replace that 'love' at this point as she literally shut the door on Ben at the end of TLJ. The good guys winning is a must, it's Star Wars. But I think a slight bitter sweet ending with Kylo saving our hero, but never really returning to the light is the most believable outcome based on what we've seen from Ben/Kylo so far, and would be the most deeply emotional ending to any of the Star Wars Trilogies as we see the Skywalker bloodline ended.

 

I think you are missing the simple fact that no villain has and it may a few thousand years of literature and film before another villain rivals Vader. Lets be real here Vader is the best villain since Satan. There was zero chance that the writers were going to pull of a villain of any type that resonated with people in the same way that Vader did. Hence they created a character whose personal struggle was to try and measure up to Vader and would be in pain by not being able to do so. Part of Kylo Ren's character is trying to be something he is not. Hence Snoke flat out mocking him wearing the helmet.

 

It's a good point that Vader is almost unbeatable as a villain. But the problem is not only that Ben is not as awesome as Vader, but also that Ben is trying too hard to be like Vader.

You're right that no one can beat Vader at his own game, but that's all the more reason that I wish they had gone in a more original direction with Ben. The ST has basically embraced the fact that Ben is a copy of Vader rather than trying to differentiate between them. They could have gone in a new direction instead. Take someone like Agent Smith from the Matrix - he's not as awesome as Vader, but he has his own style of villainy, and he has a very commanding presence on screen.

No one can tell a Vader-like story that is better than the original Vader story. But instead of just accepting that it won't be as good, why not try to find a new story?

 

I think Kylo was never meant to be an “awesome” villain, but a reflection on Vader and his legacy. Kylo is a product of the world he lives in, of his family history. I thought that angle was one of the best things about TFA. His evil was never only about terror, but about hurt, legacy and terror.

The spirit of Vader is what is linking this trilogy with the previous two I think. It is understood that Kylo’s obsession with his grandfather made Snoke succeed and the FO rise. I imagine Kylo’s further commitment to evil and his possible redemption will still be linked to Vader in episode 9.

 

That's just it though. He is original because he fails at being "Vader." He is like Emperor Comodus from Gladiator. Twisted and broken angry because how he has failed to live up to expectations. He isn't Vader 2.0 they didn't try to make Vader 2.0. The made a character who is motivated with a sick idol worship of Vader who part of his mental anguish is literally not measuring up. The not measuring up to Vader is the originality of the character.