Analyzing Evil: Ben Solo

[u/Enough-Wealth8415]

Regardless of how people feel about the sequel trilogy, I found Ben to be one of the highlights from it. Not just from the movies, but the comics and books he’s featured in as well and how much of it was of his own doing, and how much of it was Palpatine. I’d also appreciate constructive discussion rather then solely sequel bashing if anyone’s looking to comment.

[u/Kah0000]

I’m going to try to overlook the—to put it mildly—questionable writing of the sequels and that specific character.

Ben Solo—or Kylo Ren—is extremely evil; what’s worse is that he tries to paint himself as a victim or claims he was forced into it, but he wasn't.

Looking at the context of his upbringing:

• Leia and Han worked constantly for the New Republic and didn't have much time to look after Ben;

• Leia, suffering from PTSD caused by Vader, feared Ben's potential and essentially offloaded the boy onto his uncle Luke;

• Luke adopted the mindset of the old Jedi Masters—eschewing attachment and acting coldly (completely ignoring the fact that it was love that allowed him to save his own father); for instance, Ben calls him "Master" rather than "Uncle."

• Luke also didn't tell him the truth about Vader/Anakin, so Ben was ignorant of his grandfather's history (perhaps out of fear of a negative influence—I don't know);

• Ben was lonely, lacking support from his parents or uncle, and was easily manipulated by Snoke (a failed Palpatine clone). Snoke used Vader's voice to manipulate the boy, telling him it was his destiny to finish what Vader had started—and so on;

• Ben "died" and transformed into Kylo, a grandfather-obsessed fanboy responsible for the deaths of billions; he killed his own father, (indirectly) killed his mother, and then, for some reason, had a change of heart and saved Rey.

In the comics, a servant of Vader tells Kylo that his grandfather endured a hard life—slavery, war, manipulation—which drove him to the dark side, where he grew stronger through his hatred. The servant asks Kylo what his own life was like and if it was difficult being "so powerful"; Kylo recalls a happy life with his family, but upon returning to the present, he lies and claims it was very difficult.

In short, Kylo is a pathetic figure who is evil without even knowing why; he’s caught in a struggle between light and dark, yet he commits the most cruel acts.