This fan theory makes the case that Kylo Ren is actually NOT evil
Over the holidays, I learned some of my extended family members have still not seen Star Wars. Even though it feels silly to put up a spoiler warning, maybe your grandmother hasn’t seen Force Awakens yet either, OK? I don’t want to be the one to spoil it for her. So turn back now if you’re still avoiding Star Wars spoilers.
As for everyone else, we know that Kylo Ren is one bad seed. It’s alarming, considering that his parents are Han Solo and Princess Leia, and they sent him off to train with the greatest Jedi of their time (and at the time, the only Jedi), Luke Skywalker. However, at some point during his training, the guy formerly known as Ben Solo turned to the Dark Side, killed all of Luke’s other padawans, joined up with the Knights of Ren, and found himself serving the First Order. Then, as if that’s all not terrible enough as it is, he kills his father. He’s bad.
But, is he?
There have been lots of theories to come out of Force Awakens, most of them focused around Rey and her parentage. Stepping away from that, there’s a new fan theory that suggests that Kylo Ren isn’t all that bad, because he’s actually working as a secret double-agent, trying to take down the Knights of Ren/First Order/Sith/Supreme Leader Snoke from the inside.
According to murphcooper (actually, according to murphcooper’s dad), Kylo chose to go to the Dark Side in order to defeat it once and for all. He can only do that by gaining their complete trust, and immersing himself in the evil. When Kylo tells Darth Vader’s helmet, “I will finish what you started,” he’s not talking about destruction of the whole galaxy, but rather taking down the Dark Side once and for all. When Kylo tells his dad he feels like he’s being “torn apart,” it’s because the pull from from the Light Side is too much, and he doesn’t want to keep doing these awful things — like killing his father. But killing Han proves that Kylo’s loyal to Snoke, and maybe Han even knew what was going on. Han knew he was sacrificing his life so his son could carry on with this mission.
There’s also the idea that the Force needs to be balanced. That’s what Darth Vader (née, Anakin Skywalker) was prophesied to do, but couldn’t, until his son, Luke, came along. That idea might still be in play here, but instead of one person bringing balance to the Force, it might be two people: Kylo on the Dark Side, and Rey on the Light Side. Together, they’ll balance the Force, and defeat the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, finally restoring peace to the galaxy.
Sound good? Make sense? Maybe the black mask, brooding disposition, and temper tantrums are simply fronts for what Kylo’s really trying to do.
(Image via Lucasfilm.)