I think the saddest thing about Ben dying so soon is that he was so confident for such little time.
Like you can see how comfortable he finally is. He’s not stiff—in fact there’s a certain elegance in the absolute wildness of his movements. I don’t even know if I can explain it accurately, but he doesn’t even have a solid plan going into Exegol other than just getting to Rey, and yet he looks more composed and sure of himself than ever before.
It’s so Han. Both him and Ben manage to pull off crazy situations, and it’s not because they have a plan, but because they have the determination and confidence to carry it out. The Solo Shrug is the absolute embodiment of this—the “I never ask that question ‘till after I’ve done it,” way of getting things done.
It’s clear that Ben is so much like his father, and throughout his childhood it was like that part of him purposely got suppressed in order to feed the darker parts of himself. It was pushed aside. Vader became the image. Vader became the idol when it was obvious Ben was the furthest thing from him, even when he was at his lowest point.
I can just imagine how Palpatine’s voice convinced him of it, that being similar to his father was a fire in need of extinguishing. It needed to be put out.
After being manipulated for years on end to compare himself to Vader, the mere idea that Ben resembled Han was like an alarm going off in that suppressed part of himself, telling his mind to wake up. It’s another reason why he thought killing Han would be better for him because killing the man he once looked up to and saw himself in would push his commitment to the dark side further. It would cement the idea that Ben is the New Vader and nothing like his father.
And so ironically Snoke uses Ben’s effort to erase any link to Han in order to hurt him further. He tells Ben that even after killing Han, even after giving everything to the dark side, his heart was just like his father’s nonetheless. He was a Solo no matter what, making it seem like killing his father was pointless and didn’t even need to be done. Ben would live with the blood of his father on his hands knowing it didn’t serve the purpose he thought it would, making him fall deeper into regret and self-hatred. Deeper into suffering.
That’s why Ben tries so hard to get back to where he “needs to be” with the Kylo Ren persona—letting the past die and killing it if he has to because that’s the only way he can become who he’s “meant to be” a.k.a Vader.
But deep down, Ben always knew that wasn’t true. Everything he tries to destroy is an attempt to kill the truth and cover it up with lies. He could only go on for so long before letting go and embracing a strength that was once considered a weakness.
And it’s his family. His father. Who he loves and always loved. Who he looked up to. Who he still resembled even when he was shrouded in darkness.
Finally we see him. We see Ben fully, not just the glimpses of him when his mask starts to crack. We see him in his entirety, not holding back a single thing. Not convincing himself that the truth—the past—is worth killing.
We see that elegance and chaos blending in with the natural ability to fight, the clarity in his mind even though there’s no structure in his next step. No clear outline. He just moves effortlessly, in his purest state, and you can tell he feels it. He feels the determination that runs through him and he feels for once what it’s like to be deadset in a decision. To get to Rey. To get to her no matter what. He’ll handle what comes at him as long as he ends up with her.
We finally see Ben Solo revealing the part of himself he tried so hard to demolish.
He is truly his father’s son.
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