Why I Donât Want Ben Solo to Die
Look, I am aware that Kylo Ren is a widely unpopular character with Star Wars fans. And that seems only legitimate, after all he killed his own father.
But reading and listening to fansâ comments, I come across the same judgement all over again: he is simply hated because heâs not badass.
The moment he destroys the shipâs console in a fit of rage it was already clear to most fans: what a baby.
When he took off his helmet so we could see his vulnerable features: that is supposed to be the villain?! Heâs neither ugly nor beautiful enough! He looks normal!! (How awful.)
Kylo Ren / Ben Solo after the patricide, obviously traumatized. What a sissy. He did not enjoy the terrible thing that he did. Heâs in pain and sorrow because his father is dead by his own hand, which means that he did love him.
A villain who loves someone? Who doesnât enjoy the terrible things he does? My, my, how uncool is that. What a bad example to kids watching the show.
Ben watches Rey leave with the Falcon, tears on his face. Heâs more miserable than ever, kneeling on the ground, literally having hit rock bottom.
But heâs the Supreme Leader now, folks!! Wasnât that what he wanted all along? Why isnât he triumphant?!
Ben Solo / Kylo Ren, like Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader is a split personality. Many fans have never seen Ben behind the mask, not even in his interactions with Rey, because hey, if he was secretly a hero, he ought to be badass. And Ben is not badass, the son of Han and Leia is vulnerable and timid. So there canât be a good guy in there somewhere, am I right?
Sorry, but I canât help wondering how people can be so blind. It has been staring us in the face from the start that this man is not the storyâs villain, that he is on a painful but ultimately successful way to redemption.
And by âredemptionâ I donât mean coming back to the Light, but finally finding and sharing the balance the Force and the galaxy so desperately need. It wasnât for nothing that he had promised his grandfather that he would finish what he started.
A guy I know claims that the wide-spread sympathy for Kylo / Ben (mostly coming for females) springs from the fact that for some unexplainable reason the role was given to Adam Driver, and that the actorâs personal charisma is leading fans to unhealthy and illogical conclusions. He never wondered why Disney gave Driver of all people this role in the first place, and that there actually might be a very good reason for that.
Itâs easier to pretend that the saga is ruined, that Lucas has lost his magic touch and Disney is defiling the sagaâs miserable remainders, than to sit down and try to think about it for just a minute. To listen, instead of believing to know everything by breaking down a 9-film-3-trilogies story to âitâs always black against white, ka-boom, the white ones win, the endâ. Maybe, just maybe, Lucas had a good reason for telling the prequels the way he did and for selling the rights for the sequels to the Disney studios of all places.
One of the things that annoy me most is that so many fans keep calling Ben âKylo Renâ and simply refuse to accept that actually they are speaking about Ben Solo, the son of Han and Leia and the nephew of Luke. Hence, also, the stubborn and unrelenting âit will turn out that Rey is a Skywalker / Organa / Solo / Kenobiâ, even if in the first three cases these fans would actually be expecting her to kill her own cousin or half-brother.
Many of us have grown up with and loved the Star Wars original saga. I can understand that a lot fans are irritated by both prequels and sequels because used to stuff like Jaws, Rocky, Rambo, Alien etc. they of course expect a diluted and warmed-up rehash of the original story and not a development of themes and characters.
But these antis never seem to consider that Ben dying, and dying unrepentant, is the very worst service the saga could do to the original story. It has been said and shown over and over that Rey is a nobody from nowhere. Ben is, thus, indeed the last scion and heir to the heroes from the original trilogy. If he âgets by his desertsâ, all that his family suffered and went through was in vain.
His father sacrificing himself - for nothing.
But to these fans, Kyloâs miserable death would be the only thing that could still halfway reconcile them with the allegedly disastrous, or at least very unsatisfying, sequel trilogy. If they were âreal fansâ like they claim, in my opinion they rather ought to pray day and night for Benâs redemption. If they would dare to look beyond their noses, they would realize that Ben has his uncleâs learning, his fatherâs slyness, his grandfatherâs protectiveness and his motherâs empathy and that these qualities are only waiting for the right spark to ignite inside of him and light the galaxy.
I have my own, personal reasons why Iâm hoping for Ben Solo to be redeemed, and Iâm going to admit that they are pretty personal.
Yes, I like Ben Solo and I like Adam Driver: not because of their pectorals and arm muscles (although theyâre nice to look at đ) but mostly because I identify with them. I want Ben to change and be happy and I hope for Adam to make a marvelous job of this role. I know he and the rest of the crew wonât be capable to convince everyone, but I do hope that they will make Ben Soloâs character, life and development understandable to as many viewers as possible.
I donât want Ben Solo to fail and die miserably, unrepentant.
Nor do I want him to become Reyâs pet, only good enough to have kids with her so that she will finally have her own family.
I donât want Ben Solo to die âbecause that whiny sissy deserves itâ.
I donât want him to die because heâs sensitive and âa real guy isnât sensitiveâ.
I donât want him to die because âheâs done so much evil and doesnât deserve to be forgiven.â
I donât want him to die by Reyâs hand because sheâs badass so whatever she does, itâs ok.
I donât want him to die because âheâs not good-looking so he canât be the heroâ.
I want the last scion of the Skywalker saga, the oversensitive, doubtful, patient, emphatic, funny-looking Ben Solo to prove to the world at large that you can be a hero and find your place in your own place, as a man, even if you donât come up with any of the common prerequisites for a hero in the common sense of the word.
I want him to show the galaxy and the audience at large that itâs never too late, that you can change, grow beyond your wounds and weaknesses, find your own place among humanity and a happy ever after.
I want him to be a role and an encouragement for everyone like me who is introverted, insecure, thoughtful, sensitive and overall not badass.
For the same reason, I was happy when I saw that my theory that Rey would take a plunge into the Dark Side was founded. Rey is being mistaken by most fans as the true heroine of the saga because we see the story unfold mostly from her point of view, so we tend to identify with her and to overlook the arrogance, stubbornness and aggressiveness that were already hinting at her personal development.
I hope that Episode IX will finally make abundantly clear down to the last fan that even the most pure and intelligent and well-meaning heroine can still go down a dark path. (Louder for the people in the back: Anakin and Ben had all chance to be heroes and they were turned evil by the events around them.)
I want the Star Wars saga to end on the note âyou donât have to be badass to save the world.â
I want Love to be the triumphant end note.
I want vulnerability and empathy to be portrayed, in this action science-fiction world-wide known saga, as qualities that do not necessarily make you weak but can make you strong if youâre in the right place and employ them in the right way, instead of denying them and secretly admiring who has no qualms with going over corpses.
I know that many, many fans will never have compassion for Vader or Anakin. For some reason, if someone is frightening, they are likely to bow down before him and to think heâs right with everything he does, even killing and torturing.
Most fans hated the prequelsâ depiction of Anakin Skywalker because he wasnât a fearsome person like Vader but so desperately human.
They similarly hate Kylo Ren and wish him to end in the most horrible way because heâs conflicted and suffering instead of âenjoyingâ his crimes.
I know Iâm being mean now: but I really hope that the expectations of these fans for âthe badass winsâ will explode in their faces when Episode IX comes out.
I predict that countless viewers all over the world will howl to the moon in frustration, claim that Disney ruined the franchise for good and sign petitions to start everything all over again.
But I hope that viewers who are less prejudiced will listen with their heart and find confirmation for what, in Lucasâ own words, the saga is all about: compassion and family.
And I also hope that future generations who will watch the saga on the whole, in particular boys and young men, will grow up with the message that you donât have to be canonically handsome, formidable, violent and cruel in order to be a hero, but that loyalty and belonging to something bigger than yourself are more important; that a true hero is not someone who saves the world all by himself but who overcomes himself and creates a better place for other people and together with other people.
I donât need to watch the lonesome hero, the cowboy riding away into the sunset. There are more than enough action films like that. Let Star Wars be a glorious exception for that clichĂ©. I want it to give encouragement to people who, like me, are not cool and badass but for this are not useless, weak and have nothing to give to the world. If the saga ends the way I hope, I will assuredly not sign petitions for some of its chapters to be removed from canon but send George Lucas personally an enormous bouquet of flowers together with a card offering him all of my admiration and gratitude.
Do it for us, Kylo, Ben, Adam, George, please. Show the world that itâs always love that ought to win, not violence. Prove in a convincing way to whoever watches the saga that emotionality and doubts are not weaknesses but virtues, and that you can be a worthy and happy person without being cruel, vicious and creepy. Iâm right here rooting for you and waving your flag.
See you in December. đ
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