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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
Happy May the Fourth! Star Wars is absolutely filled with characters from all over, and while they each bring their own greatness to the screen, for me, no one is perhaps better than Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. I also want to preface this by saying Episode IX is my personal favorite of the series as well (I know what you’re thinking, it’s okay).
Kylo Ren was played by the impeccable Adam Driver and it’s one of the roles he’s most notable for. He gave the role an absolute fury and I think he gave his best performance of the role in The Rise of Skywalker. Starring opposite Daisy Ridley, who matched him perfectly in their scenes, Driver was a great choice to play the son of Han Solo and General Leia, and the primary antagonist of the Sequel Trilogy.
The hype was real when Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released. It was a new age of Star Wars, a new age of stories to tell and characters to grow with, and a new trilogy. While Disney’s take on the series, their mainline entries anyway, Episodes VII, VIII, & IX, have always been anything but perfect to some, I just enjoyed the fact that we were finally getting more content. I didn’t care what we got as long as it was on the scale of the other mainline films, and they were, but they’re still very divided among fans.
While the complaints are all over the place, Episode VII (directed & co-written by J.J. Abrams) is a fantastic introduction to the world of the Sequels and what would come. Kylo had some great, and not-so-great, moments in this film too. This one might make some people click away from this article. One of my favorite Kylo Ren moments in this film is actually when he brutally strikes down his own father, Han Solo. Let me humor you: in terms of his own character development, in retrospect, this is actually a big moment for Ren.
In terms of the Dark Side, he wants to be more than Darth Vader was. We can see somewhat of a struggle to “release” the Light in him and embrace the “power of the Dark Side.” When he strikes down Han, two things happen: first, Harrison Ford can finally be finished with Star Wars (you get it, right?), and second, as he says to Rey in Episode VII, he can let the past go. In that moment, he could begin to better embrace what he really wants. I also want to mention the fight afterwards between Kylo Ren, Rey, and Finn. It’s a great battle to top off the first of the Sequel films and a nice showcase of Rey’s potential, even though Finn ends up on the sideline.
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, written and directed by Rian Johnson, is another film full of fan complaints. However, I enjoy Johnson’s work (his early stuff’s great) and continue to enjoy this one too, being my favorite until Episode IX was released. While it may have taken an off-ramp in terms of where certain folks wanted the story to go, I think it worked and was a great display of Rey’s power.
Moreover, Kylo Ren continued his hot streak, and while most of the time he just yells in this one, Driver still makes it work. One of Ren’s best moments in this one would have to be the whole sequence of his betrayal against Snoke and then with Rey’s help defeats the Praetorian Guard. The lightsaber choreography in that scene is intense, but very smooth considering the amount of guards they take down. In terms of Kylo’s own motivations, he continues to embrace the power he wants by overtaking the rule of the First Order and that weird, old Sith rule about masters and apprentices is kind of reinforced, but it’s also just a dope moment in the whole film.
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams, is the grand finale of the Skywalker Saga and the last mainline entry in the series. It’s my favorite because of the sheer grand scale of everything in the film. I will say that while it could have used a little tweaking on the final script, I’ve always thought Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio did the best with what they had, especially in the amount of time Abrams and Terrio were given to re-write the script again and then Abrams take the helm of directorial duties. Kylo Ren has some great moments in this one as well and Driver gives his best performance here. I want to be cliché and say that my favorite moment is when Kylo, at this point now Ben again, teams up with Rey during Act Three, but I’m not.
I think Kylo Ren’s best moment in this one is when he becomes Ben Solo again. Before this moment, we get another great lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo, but also a moment for Rey as well, which is excellent honestly. However, I think Kylo kind of sees the error in his ways in this moment too. There’s that age-old trope of good always triumphing over evil, and it begins to creak into Kylo here. Sure, it took Rey putting his own lightsaber in him in order to realize, but the message is still ever-present. After she heals him with the Force, he has a moment of clarity and sees his father, Han. Upon this, they speak for a minute and by the end of it, Kylo knows what he has to do. I really enjoy the writing of this scene in particular and it’s an exceptional one between the characters.
Say what you will about Episode IX and the Sequel Trilogy, but they still work so well and feature some of the best moments and characters of the whole series. I also think Episode IX gives Ben a great arc and his redemption is indeed noteworthy considering the original inception of the idea of Star Wars by George Lucas. Who’s your favorite Star Wars character? Sound off with their best moments and stay right here all day for May the Fourth content! Happy Star Wars Day!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
This article was edited by Sarah Taylor.