What Makes Kylo Ren Great - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
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- Опубліковано 27 гру 2017
- Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) has one of the most compelling character arcs in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Episode 8 sees Adam Driver's Kylo face down Rey, but also his own past in the form of Luke Skywalker. In this video essay I break down what I like about Snoke's apprentice.
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I think that Kylo Ren is the best part of the new trilogy.
Yes I am
@@AngelHernandez-wj8hl 😂😂😂
Tony Mancuso definitely.
That's not saying much
@@AngelHernandez-wj8hl no your not.
I totally agree. I went blind watching the force awakens, and when kylo ren removed the mask i was disappointed in the appearance of the actor. But then i slowly began to like it, he is a good actor that can show us all the range of complex emotions of the character. You didn't mention the voice, he has a remarkable voice for a villain, it's in tone with the character.
Hayate lol I don't get why people hate the looks of the actor like SERIOUSLY?! That isn't a logical reason to hate a character
Alvin Nguyen it depends. Obviously the appearance of an actor is very important. The first tool of an actor is his appearance. Casting an actor has many requirements, first and foremost his appearance. For example you can’t cast a short fat girl to play Wonder Woman. About Kylo Ren for example, would you accept.. mmmh.. Danny de Vito for the part? I hope not. So yes the appearance counts. a. lot.
Hayate Yes but think about , we've never had a book or anything telling us how Kylo Ren should look. Besides he doesn't look ugly or anything tbh
Alvin Nguyen yeah I just said I was disappointed (at first impression) not that he was ugly. The mask and the voice were so menacing, I was expecting someone different. Maybe even More menacing without the mask, but I got that pouty face. Anyway later I understood better the decision of the cast, he has to look redeemable at any point, so they couldn’t cast someone with a “pure villain” look
Hayate yea but there's other people that I've see where they pretty much hate the character because how he looks
One thing:
It's salt not snow.
Henry Ambrose also, he didn't just get shot in the shoulder. He got shot in the stomach, with Chewies blaster! Which was clearly shown through the entire movie as being insanely strong. At one point, blowing up 3 stromtroopers with one blast
salt is rough and gets everywhere edit: don't forget it is also irritating
It's all salt now
No it's snow on top of the salt.
ACTUALLY... Its frosted over salt...
Perfect analysis. Adam Driver is the saving grace of this new Star Wars trilogy. He gives such a layered portrayal of the dual role of Kylo Ren AND Ben Solo. Even when he wears the mask, you can sense his tension and conflict as Ben through his body language and violent outbursts. The Last Jedi gave him a well-rounded character arc that even naysayers from TFA recognized as solid character work. The way he protected Rey in the Throne Room and looked concerned when the guard was hurting her spoke volumes about the depth of feeling he actually has for her.
I think most naysayers were angry because they wanted to like Kylo in TFA, but the movie tried to undermine him in every way.
Also, since The Last Jedi Rey's character has improved, but at the cost of being dependant on Kylo: all the interesting parts are in relation to him.
So you call trying to manipulate and kill her as 'having' feelings for her
hey there demons he was not trying to kill rey in TFA. he was intrigued by her and he’s drawn to her, so he was trying to care for her... but the only way he could do that is to kinda fight back with her. i think a big reason why Rey kicked his ass in TFA is because he was going really easy on her. he cut down Finn pretty easily because he hates Finn- He’s competition for Kylo (and a traitor). but rey on the other hand.... he really didn’t want to hurt her because he’s got such strong feelings for her
I agree
Adam Driver is a good actor. How he played Kylo is so watchable.
His feeling isn’t love it’s power a new apprentice
Here are some reasons why I love Kylo Ren:
1. Adam Driver is a great actor, everything I've seen him in is great, and he brings great emotion to Kylo.
2. His costume design was intimidating and kinda scary the first time I saw it. It's definitely a throw back to Darth Vader, but it has a more modern look which I like.
3. He has emotion, he's not the straight up confident, capable bad guy, he's inexperienced, full of rage and hate. It makes him a more realistic and relatable, deep down under it all, he isn't all emotionless and confident, he has his flaws.
4. His scene in TLJ where he takes on those red troopers (I'm not sure what they are called) was so badass, it really showed that yes Kylo is inexperienced, but that he is deadly in a sabre fight.
I have a couple more reasons, but those are my main ones.
The uh...the red troopers are called Praetorian Guards.
@@tarmainecrane8487 Praetorians , just praetorian
Completely agree
Do u know how bad is that fight (4) is actually made ? watch it closer and u will see sith troopers were just being stupid
How is Kylo Red inexperienced? He was easily 3v1ing Praetorian guards while Rey was struggling against 1. After he killed Snoke, he wasn't this weak and unstable child anymore he was the Supreme Leader. Just look how more confident he was after the Throne Room scene, he was the master of his own path, he even said to Rey that he wanted to bring a new order to the galaxy. You can see he was fully into the dark side at the end of episode 8 and in episode 9, it took all Leia's strength, Rey's force heal and Harrison Ford's cameo to bring back Kylo Ren to the light side. I'd say Kylo Ren has become greater than his grandfather. Kylo was able to kill his master and reign on the First Oder while Darth Vader was more of submitted dog his whole life.
Think whatever you want of the Last Jedi (I think it's fine) but I am LOVING Kylo Ren. Adam Driver is fucking perfect in the role and the willingness to let a villain be vulnerable and continue to be conflicted and ever changing in his development. I hope at the very least the next movie gives him a great ending with his character arc
krusnik94 same, the last Jedi made me lov him more than darth Vader, he’s getting really interesting
krusnik94 He's suppose to be a protagonist, there's still a powerful villain in this story.
I don't think that's true...
and if that is, I don't think I want that. I like him evil and conflicted
krusnik94 But Kylo has already been shown up by Rey and Luke. He'd be showing up in this last movie going "Ok I'm now badass and can take you all on", except an evil villain has no time left to win at the end of the movie cuz that's for the heros. The audience is expected to sympathize with Kylo.
There's no Star Wars movie without a powerful sinnister dark villain. Snoke is definitely alive though (in some sense or another) because they're releasing more hints. The pre-title for Ep 9 turns out to be 'Black Diamond'. Snokes ring...there's a black diamond. That's not all, but that was the last piece for me to go all in on it. Too much of it adds up.
Yeah, He's not going to win. I forsee a timeskip and Rey and him will have a final showdown. Also an audience can sympathize with a villain. In fact, that's what makes a villain compelling is that you're able to see their side.
For the last part, I don't want another cartoonishly evil villain for the third movie. I respect the emperor and Snoke but I think it's time for a different villain at the end. In fact, that's why I love Kylo
He is beautifully flawed and conflicted. Spot on, man. I feel the same way about him!
Kylo is amazing and Adam plays him wonderfully
Victoria McIntyre yeah such a great bad guy his so edgey I mean you could just cut someone just walking by
Sherlock Wayne yeah also I like the part about the rage driving him forward lol puns since Kylo is being played by Adam driver...but maybe that’s just me
I agree with the second part
Kylo is amazing because they casted Adam to play it.
Noooooo reylo
He is great cuz he a wide boi
Josh Margolis
Ben s w o l o
I've heard of barrel chested, but not BOX CHESTED HAHAHAH
I love this
Another great thing about Kylo Ren is the fact that he did something that we've never seen another other Sith apprentice do in the Star Wars films & TV shows: Overthrow his master.
Yes, Vader technically did this but it was not to assume power as it should be for the Sith. He was saving his son.
Kylo Ren, however, overthrew his master in order to take power (as a Sith should) and thus he did what Vader never could: Rule.
Whether or not he is actually ready to rule is another story, but the fact that he was willing and able to take that step speaks volumes
This is a thing I noticed as well. We see it in the books and games, but not the movies.
That is true
And he just didnt did it for himself
He killed snoke so that he could save Rey as well
Well ... he is not a sith ... and we don't know if snoke was one ...
But yeah you re right
@@MrYolrs yeah they’re not, but they do follow on the principles of the sith. They’re wannabe siths if you will, kinda like Kylo was a wannabe Vader In 7.
Agreed. Kylo Ren is done excellently in these movies. I don't see him as a Vader 2.0 at all, which is a good thing.
Those intermissions are hilarious
They're just distracting
My favorite UA-camr expressing his liking on one of my favorite characters of all time? This truly made 2017 for me. Thank you as always, Captain Midnight.
Adam uh...
I agree completely that Kylo Ren is perhaps the single most complex and compelling villain in the history of the franchise, and that is one of the reasons why I think his redemption is likely - the writers have put an awful lot of effort into creating a character who is not simplistically evil, and endlessly remind us about how conflicted he is about his every villainous act. They even go out of their way to depict in detail the moment of crisis when he truly transformed from Ben Solo into Kylo Ren, or perhaps more accurately when Ben Solo retreated behind the mask of Kylo Ren; it was when Luke experienced a moment of weakness and doubt and considered what should have been unthinkable - murdering his sleeping nephew to prevent the possibility that he might become a Sith in the future. It is made very clear that this wasn't actually Ben's fault - it was Luke who was being tested (either by his own fears, the Dark Side, or possibly even Snoke's influence), and while Luke ultimately made the right choice and stayed his hand, the damage was done since Ben awoke to see his own uncle poised to kill him, and familial betrayal like that does immense damage to anyone's psyche.
Then we have the changes between how the Ben Solo character is depicted in the Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, ranging from the purely symbolic (the helmet he wears for so much of the early portion of TFA in order to mask his humanity before the reveal in the interrogation scene with Rey, and which symbolises his ruthlessness, intimidating mien, and capacity for violence, is smashed by his own hand in TLJ) to the practical (he was able, with a great effort, to kill Han Solo in TFA, but in TLJ he was unable to pull the trigger to destroy the bridge of Leia's ship and with it his mother). As time passes, his inner conflict is growing, not subsiding, and for all that he didn't choose to go with Rey this time and went on to attack the rebel base on Craite, his doubt and instability is very much on the rise, which seems to me like the growing crisis before the move toward a fully formed desire for redemption.
Thematically, there are many hints that this trilogy will focus on balance in the Force, and may well employ the concept from the old Expanded Universe of the Grey Jedi to do so. Many of the trailers for the movie revolved around Rey's description of how she perceives the Force, as Light, Dark, and most centrally of all, as Balance. It seems that the movies are setting up Rey as the Light and Kylo/Ben as the Dark, but you can't achieve balance by killing off one of the sides in the equation. In the source materials, Balance is reached by consensus, not force. I think Rey and Ben are in truth the two halves of a sort of composite protagonist of the trilogy, and together they will form that Balance rather than resolving the conflict between Light and Dark through violence. Look at the earlier movies in the Star Wars Saga - predominance of either Light or Dark simply results into the continuation of a cycle of conflict. The original Republic from the Prequels was a society dominated by the Light, and in reaction the Empire rose which was dominated by the Dark, which brought forth the Rebellion and with it the New Republic, which was in turn countered by the First Order. Dominance by either Side of the Force never brings lasting peace or stability in the fiction. The Prequel Trilogy was about Light being consumed by Darkness, and the Original Trilogy was about Darkness yielding to Light. I think this trilogy will be about transcending that cycle as both elements of the Dark Side and the Light Side are synthesised by Rey and Ben as Grey Jedi who represent Balance.
Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that this is Disney's take on Star Wars (whether that bothers you or not, it is a factor that cannot be ignored), and Disney's creative DNA will manifest in one way or another in the franchise sooner or later. Some people have already joked that Rey is Disney's space princess, and if any company were to go for a 'love redeems' plot line with Ben Solo's character, it would be Disney. Substantial stretches of the movie were dedicated to showing the development of Rey and Kylo/Ben's relationship from enemies to something just a few steps short of lovers, and great energy was expended showing us how Rey's perspective on him shifted as she perceived both his humanity and his inner conflict and attendant emotional pain (along with his abs and pectorals - no one said the process was 100% subtle). Her attempt to 'turn' him to the Light didn't work because a core plank of the concept of redemption is that no one else can redeem you - you have to redeem yourself. Rey can't fix Kylo Ren and turn him back into Ben Solo herself, but she can be the reason and inspiration that causes him to want to be a better man, and thus leads him to set his feet on the path to redemption of his own volition. If I had to guess, that will be his character's journey in Episode IX. I don't think the idea he is too far gone holds water, since Vader got his redemption, and he had been doing far worse for far longer. It is possible that the Ben Solo character will die as a part of his redemption or as an immediate consequence of it like Vader did, but I don't think so. Disney will hesitate at killing off their heroine's love interest, and they may well also want to explore the notion that redemption isn't necessarily something you do for the last ten minuets of your life, but instead is a long and rocky path. Then there is the point that Starwars is in many ways the Saga of the Skywalker's, and Ben Solo is now effectively the last extant figure in that family with the sad passing of Carrie Fisher meaning that we won't see the return or Leia Organa. Killing off his character effectively eliminates the Skywalker bloodline from the sage entirely.
Gregory Greenwood-Nimmo agree with everything you said. kylo don't die otherwise there would be no "balance" and "resolving of gray" (actual words from TFA novelisation). Disney likes their happy endings, imo we will get one. ben will just have to suffer a huge portiom of the next film before reaching that resolution but i have 100% faith in JJ "this is a fairytale" Abrams.
Amazing. Every word of what you just said, was correct.
I love reading your comment
Wow this is spot on, absolutely BRILLIANT man
100th like
BEEN SAYING IT SINCE FORCE AWAKENS CAME OUT!! If you judge Kylo Ren and Darth Vader by their first or now second film ever, which character is more interesting and intriguing? Sure Vader was badass and intimidating and cool and had a cool lightsaber and suit and mask but what was he? He was basically just an evil guy who murdered Luke's father, he's the last of the ancient Jedi religion and he's eventually Luke's dad. Kylo Ren on the other side is, like you said, a much more compelling villain with actual emotional motivations and conflict that makes him so interesting. I love pretty much everything about Ben Solo and his story and I just can't wait for Episode 9 to give me more of him.
Vader...
Kylo Ren isn't interesting or intriguing. He's just a random child who doesn't have a clue what he's doing and isn't particularly dangerous. By the end of the second film, Vader was both more interesting, more threatening, and frankly scarier. You wanted to know more about him and how Luke's father got to this point.
What more do we need to know about Kylo Ren? We've got his whole life story already explained. The First Order is clearly screwed with him in charge and he doesn't have the intelligence to improve himself in the force much further. Give Rey any amount of time and actual Jedi texts to read through and she'll blow past him in no time.
Exactly Kylo by no means as a villain fills his role which is being scary and powerful he is neither of those yes the actor does a great job playing as a whinny bitch kid but Kylo is more of a joke if anything his character is not really interesting. He just yells is really immature and kind of annoying where’s the bad ass Kylo I saw at the opening of TFA where he froze people and bullets I thought he was gonna be a bad ass but sadly disappointed because he’s not. People say oh he’s going through so much... like Anakin didn’t? Becoming a slave as a child and his mother dying right in his arms and his visions of people he loves that are dying but he can’t save then being corrupted by the emperor and he knows it and he knew he shouldn’t have but he wants to save padme who he loves, then his finally scene with obi wan and he had all his limbs cut off..... sure went through a lot more then Kylo did.
FlareKnight *“He’s just a random child who doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing and isn’t particularly dangerous.”*
Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong. The child of Han Solo and Princess Leia and grandson of Darth Vader is just a random child? That’s news to me. I guess beheading an old man then ordering your troops to fire upon innocent, defenseless civilian isn’t dangerous. That’s also news to me.
*“By the end of the second film, Vader was both more interesting, more threatening, and frankly scarier. You wanted to know more about him and how Luke’s father got to that point.”*
The trick to arguing is evidence and then using that evidence to further your point, not shallow statements. How was Vader more interesting, threatening, and scarier? The failure of your argument resides in the fact that you think the mystery about a character’s backstory is what makes them interesting. You know everything you need to about Kylo’s backstory by the end of 8, but his backstory isn’t what makes him an interesting character. It’s his conflict between the light and the dark like Captain Midnight explains and his unpredictability. Did you guess that he would kill Snoke and instead of going to the light side, stay on the dark side and lead the First Order? I highly doubt it. Throughout both films, Kylo has on multiple occasions succumbed the dark side and the light side, never knowing which side he will truly land on when the trilogy is complete. That’s what makes him interesting. Without the twist that Vader is Luke’s father, what would make Vader interesting?
+Arc 48 Kylo has already been beaten, he's going to get beat again. The fear factor has been diminished since TFA.
suemorphplus2009 Being beat doesn’t eliminate a fear factor. Voldemort was defeated in each book and movie except the third and sixth (because he wasn’t in those), but he still had a huge fear factor.
both Kylo and your intermission selections are awesome!
Just noticed that Kylo Ren's character is a perfect aligory for Star Wars fan expectations.
I hope they'll actually deal with the consequences of Kylo's incompetence. It's hard to imagine that a lot of people would willingly follow him. Hux already hates him. It probably won't take long before his underlings try to assassinate him.
Although, the First Order itself is portrayed as pretty incompetent. Hux is a complete buffoon. The only way the First Order could have taken over is if the New Republic was even worse.
I feel Kylo Ren's reign as Supreme leader will mirror Macbeth's. He will just kill whoever gets in his way which will eventually lead to his downfall. I do think they need to show him do something of competence though so we'll actually be invested to see Rey vs Kylo part II.
There is reason for buffoom villians :The Last Jedi is made by Disney Committee to be a Kids Movie for CHILDREN.
As such, the film maker assumes that the audience is not smart enough or knowledgeable enough
to notice plotholes and logic errors. Thus, no fact checking, no lore continuity, no
scientific consultation. Thus, Max Kids Stuff, cute animals, childish jokes, more toys,
no good guy deaths, dumb bad guys and an ending kids would like. If you are smarter than a child,
you just might be offended and angered by this movie.
jiunn wong Rogue One was also made by Disney and the Empire was more competent than they were in the OT. And all the heroes die in that movie.
And Star Wars has never cared about science. Their ships move as if there was air in space. Pretty much everything is designed to look cool rather than for function. Heck, the fact that they have droids should make all non-Force using meatbags obsolete in warfare.
What if, just an idea, Kylo Ren himself destroyes the First Order because he wants his own group, something like the grey jedi, in the end and sees the First Order as competition. Would make for a nice viewing in my opinion.
jiunn wong
Luke dies. We lose admiral ackbar. We lose the entire resistance and they're down to like a dozen idiots. And scientific inaccuracies? What the whole chasing setup and the idea of entropy in space? The idea is that the resistance ships are smaller and hence can go faster. The second idea is that they're not both going the same continued speed. I think that they're both accelerating at the same maximum speed. Simply easier for a smaller ship. Jumping ahead of the resistance would make some sense. But it is known that hyperspace jumps arent easy to pull off without extensive calculations and precisionz I'm pretty sure that getting right in front of the resistance, not crashing into them during the process etc isn't very effective. Simply waiting them out was the best strategy. And during that they whittled them down. It was a tremendous victory if we forget the idiotic final actions of the first order and their failure due to the kamikazi purple hair tumblr feminist. Anyway we're talking science in a movie with plasma swords. With faster than light travel. With fucking space wizards who can do force choke the bad guys and end any of the conflicts by simply taking or their high command. Star Wars is stupid ok?
I love how he has surpassed Vader in two things: 1st, Vader succumbed to emotion and turned to the Light Side to save his son. Ben didnt. He wanted to stay in the Dark Side. 2nd, Vader was an apprentice to Palpatine for 19 years, too afraid to even try to overthrow him, while Ben seized the opportunity and destroyed his master.
Because he's T H I C C
Ben s w o l e
Swolo*
Ben Swolo is the single best character in the history of ever
You mean S W O L E ?
Thats what rey thinks
Nice video, he was shot in the abdomen though not his shoulder.
The hitting of his wound to either hype himself up or to keep him fighting was pretty intense even if it was small detail.
Yay! Nice to see another Kylo Ren fan out there. I knew he was something special like 10 minutes into TFA, but I remember everyone saying he was just a sulking child.
This has been nearly my exact thinking for since Force Awakens and built further by The Last Jedi.
Incredibly well put, thank you.
Fancycam if only the movie was good
I fuckin' love Kylo Ren.
same
You forgot to mention his amazing hair
Awesome video as always!
THANK YOU! Kylo is an amazing character.
Kylo is my favorite fictional villain of recent years. I’m sooooooo happy other people understand and appreciate how intriguing and risky a character like him is for the SW franchise! Also your channel is amazing! I spent the entire day watching all your videos! Subscribed! ❤️👍
Kylo is a S W O L E B O I
hell yeah
Kylo is being set up to be a far more dangerous threat than the emperor or snoke ever was simply due to the reasons you mentioned. He's unstable and the galaxy is going to suffer
Is he really tho?!??! Who is going to teach him to harness the dark side? He has already lost to someone who has never held a Light Saber. He would of been amazing if this was a 6 movie arc where it showed him progressing into someone powerful. Right now imo he gives off 0 threat and the next film will be easily defeated by Rey. IMHO if Rey would of went through the cave to take on Kylo she would of easily won.
He doesn't need to be shown how to be an unstable angry person
I like it just not the actor...
I'm not sure this is true. He's not as dangerous a threat. It was hell for the Rebellion to gain traction over decades because of how utterly solid the combination of the Emperor and Vader was. Kylo is so incompetent that they should be able to rebound relatively quickly and easily. Any time there is a threat just send the Falcon flying off away from a fleet and he'll chase it down like a crazed dog.
He is certainly reckless and dangerous, but that's only for his allies. The First Order will suffer more than anyone from having Kylo Ren in charge.
Andrew O He can still find holocrons and old Sith teachings. He still has resources and an army starving for leadership.
I think Adam Driver has gave the best acting performance we've had in Star Wars so far. Hes amazing
Personally, I think Kylo is the most compelling villain in the series thus far. Vader is iconic, no doubt, but his a) his transformation from Anakin in the prequels is done sloppily, and in a way that still feels forced to me, b) he's primarily used as an imposing/intimidating figure in ANH, and c) only in Empire and Return do they give his character any meaningful depth. Kylo, on the other hand, right out the gate is front-loaded with his conflict on sleeve and his past written in his eyes.
I mean, just _think_ about his experiences as a child - being born from arguably the most famous power couple in the galaxy (who has also saved it on more than one occasion), one of which is the postergirl for hope in the Rebellion/Resistance, then finding out you're Force Sensitive only to be immediately thrown into training with your *legendary* Jedi uncle to become the next powerful Jedi who will inevitably save the galaxy when the time comes. Then imagine that you wake up to the sight of your legendary Jedi uncle trying to assassinate you in the middle of the night. I would want nothing to do with the Jedi Order, either.
His entire life, the galaxy has told him who he is/what he's supposed to become, but it's only in his defiant rage that he feels like he can be his own person. Imagine the sheer weight of everyone expecting only the best from you, then almost dying because someone senses only the worst from you? How are you _supposed_ to feel? Damn straight I'd be disillusioned with the light side of The Force. In between those gaps, it seems that the peers he spared in his rage were recruited to become his lackies as the Knights of Ren, serving under Supreme Leader Snoke. For Kylo, killing all ties to past, especially his own personal ties to the Jedi while under Luke's tutelage, is instrumental in him forming his sense of sense/finding his worth. Only when he can openly reject the heavy expectations laid upon him by his bloodline does he feel that painful burden lessen.
I just..... I really love Kylo.
I think Adam Driver kills it in this role, and I'm so excited to see what madness he gets up to in IX. I'm a little iffy on whether or not I want to see him redeemed (as Leia openly states she thinks he's completely lost at this point), but I'm stoked to see where he goes.
Agree with you my friend! ^_^
Very well said!
Luke said no one is truly gone .
Who do we get to play kylo ren...someone who could be scary yet commanding
This actor was a marine
PERFECT!
I saw a tumblr post where someone said Kylo Ren is a really great example of how villians should be made to fit with the current times. There's no point making another menacing and powerful Sith lord anymore. We're not afraid of that. We're afraid of the emo guy who worships the menacing and powerful Sith lords and tries way too hard to be like them.
This video was great btw and explains my own thoughts on Kylo very well
EXACTLY.
You've nailed precisely what makes Kylo Ren one of the greatest villains in the entire Star Wars franchise.
And yet people use his insecurities and inexperience to suggest that the character is poorly written. These are the same fans mind you that judge good character writing on how powerful someone is.
As usual, they're completely missing the point. And this franchise often suffers for it.
I do want to see Kylo Ren redeemed, even though Disney is trying their hardest to make us believe that that is impossible. I think Kylo Ren has become my favorite character of the new trilogy.
Kylo Ren is unique, I believe when he broke his mask he was over being "like" Vader. I agree he's a great villain but insecurity isn't really what he has. It's more conflict.
He wanted to become something more then darth vader after the last Jedi
It’s insecurity he was a joke but now actually became something
I remember back in TFA days when Kylo Ren was hated by almost everybody. I'm just glad he's getting the appreciation he so long deserves
Wait so you post only after midnight?
It usually turns out that way!
Why do you think he's captain midnight?
Wow great video
Really owning the name there cap
His character is quite simply gold. Easily the best thing about this trilogy, EASILY. For me it kinda saves it cause the antagonist is what makes the movie. I really loved how he and Luke described the same event from different POVs. He will get an epic redemption i'm quite confident that he will. I like to think it's in his nature.
the only thing I DON'T agree with in the video is that you can't have a similar conversation about Hela, you can, but it's gonna be a different talk because she's really there to give more depth to the other characters and so, indirectly, gives more depth to herself, there's a lot implied in what we see and the similarities she has with Thor and Loki, and their own relationships with Odin.
Exactly!!! ^_^
His hair! :-)
Fantastic video! Kylo is actually my favorite character in SW (yes, even above Vader), and is one of my favorite villains and characters of all time, for pretty much every reason you mentioned. And Adam has given arguably the best performance of any actor in SW.
Regarding his possible redemption, I *do* think he's redeemable, but I honestly hope he *isn't* redeemed, as I find the idea of a sympathetic, nuanced villain NOT being redeemed incredibly exciting. Most sympathetic villains get redeemed (at least in my fiction-enjoying experience), so to see such a tragic and conflicted villain stay on his dark path, even when he knows it's destroying his life.... *rubs hands in delight*
Anyway, yes, Kylo Ren is a fantastic villain, and I can't wait to see where his story goes in IX. If he does get redeemed, that's cool. As long as his storyline ends in a satisfying way (which I have no doubt it will), I'll be happy.
I feel that, regardless of one's opinion on The Last Jedi, almost everyone can agree Adam Driver's performance was absolutely incredible. Honestly after TFA, I was definitely intrigued by Kylo Ren, but I still yearned for more out of the character, and all I liked about the character was his potential for character development. Despite some aspects of TLJ not working for me, the one thing I love the most is Ben Solo's character. He's awesome. This has me craving Kylo Ren novels and new-EU content.
I am one of those who believes that they intend a redemption arc for Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. But I fully understand why there are people who do not feel the same way. I do think that you have identified one of the major aspects that this character must deal with in order for a redemption arc to work. Kylo must find a way to accept the past, both in what has been done to him and what he has done to others. Only then will he be able to move past it. The ironic thing is that he was able to help Rey to do just that with the acceptance of where she comes from.
I don’t envision Ben returning to the light side per se. What TLJ identified is that there needs for balance between light and dark. Without that the Star Wars universe will always be at war as one side tries to defeat or eradicate the other. I see Ben and Rey as that balance, This is the reason they worked so well together when they did fight as a unit.
The Prime Jedi mosaic represented this in showing the perfect balance as combining both the dark and the light. I believe that what Star Wars is doing with this trilogy is moving towards a more nuanced way of looking at the Force. Instead of pure good versus pure evil we have light/dark, day/night, positive/negative, sun/moon basically Yin/Yang. In this construct good and evil actions may take place on either side of a conflict. But the universe is needing balance in the force to end the long running struggle, or it will just continue indefinitely.
I really like your video and think that you make a number of very good points. And I appreciate the opportunity to express different viewpoints in a respectful manner. We should all be able to have our own opinions and interpretation of this film.
Adam really did pretty damn good. I like him as an actor. Also, the way they took his character and the flaws they gave him make him very intruiging antagonist. He is probably the most flawed character in the new trilogy, and in a good way.
I think he's redeemable.
Bobby da Costa if he dies I'm going to be miserable.
don't worry, he will be redeemed for sure. so damn positive.
Luke even says it, "No one's ever truly gone," which I think is foreshadowing.
It'd break my heart if he dies though.
Bobby da Costa or leia
He's going to kill Rey and Leia and live to be the greatest Dark Side user ever.
Great analysis! Spot on! Love your channel; keep up the good work!
Kylo is easily my favorite now in the trilogy, and Atleast so far as he’s been depicted so far, he’s my favorite and the most compelling villain in Star Wars yet.
Darth Vader is great at being intimidating and scary but he kinda gets sullied by the poor representation in the prequels.
Adam B oh boy does he
Adam B this
Adam B To be fair Darth Vader only appears at the end of RotS; For most of the Prequels we're watching Anakin Skywalker and unfortunately GL chose to portray him in AotC as a whiny, ungrateful, unlikeable brat; and once established this impression of him is difficult to shake off.
So being angry, because your mother died is "poor representation" and being "unlikable brat", but Kylo Ren being a whiny angry bitch EVERYTIME something is not going his way, is being a "great and compelling villain"??? In 2 movies he throws 4 tantrums, cant defeat a garbage collector, constantly fails at everything, copies Anakin in every single way, and isnt intimidating at all. Darth Maul in 10 minutes shows why he is a threat, and Kylo cant show that in 2 movies. Kylo Ren is just a poor man's Anakin, just like sequel trilogy is just an original trilogy without anything good in it. Did you know, that TLJ completely failed in China? Thats how shitty it is.
Михаил Пашковский it’s the 9th highest grossing film of all time calm the hell down. China’s performance isn’t a good indication of whether or not it’s shit. China doesn’t worship Star Wars like the states do.
Kylo Ren is my favourite character ever.
kylo ren is my favourite character man
I take the scene where Kylo is trying to hold his father dices and they vanish as a sign of his possible redemption. It was the first time in the movie, after he talked constantly about killing the past with violence, that he tried to hold on to it. And it was right after Luke gave him a final lesson: if he tries to kill the past with anger, the past is going to haunt him forever. So I believe that last scene wanted to show us that he realizes that killing Han was a mistake and he feels truly, deeply miserable.
Rey and especially Kylo Ren have been great characters throughout both movies. I kind of wished I could say the same about the other characters. I was so disappointed in Finn's arc in The Last Jedi. He was my favorite character in The Force Awakens.
Rey a great character ? Overpowered since the beginning of the first movie with no possible character developement this is one of the worst written character in the trilogy. On the other hand Kylo Ren is one of the best. We are able to see him become more and more powerful to be able to compete against the omnipotent Rey.
I like Poe
Hunterend07, well, she's a lot like Luke. If you love Luke and don't like Rey, you're a hypocrite. Plain and simple. They're both extremely overpowered and are perfect and can do everything well.
Hunterend07
I don't know how Rey is overpowered since the second act was here being decimated by Snoke (throwing her about like a ragdoll and whacking her in the head with her own lightsaber) and his guard. If anything, the movie cemented that just because you're strong in the force, it doesn't mean you can fight experienced, trained fighters (she only beat Kylo in TFA because he was injured and in TLJ only had a brief upper hand because he let his guard down. even then she ran off after their tug of war not killing him). After TLJ, I'm looking forward to where they take Rey and Kylo. I see her being a grey Jedi but him using his losses as fuel to be even more unpredictable along with finally introducing the Knights of Ren.
Troy Taylor
Same
I couldn’t have put the thoughts about Kylo compared to anakin better. He’s by far the best part of the new trilogy and I wish they’d used to to his full potential as a character in TROS, instead of giving in to the fan backlash against Last Jedi and retconning his whole thing about rejecting the past
AWESOME video. Love your points about Kylo
Love this! Agree with 100%
Honestly, this is a really good analysis, thanks for sharing. :)
The trilogy should have focused on Kylo and Rey. Their journey and force bond was intriguing. They were the ying and the yang from each other, and cared for each other. The plot should have been about them.
They've sort of did that already through the 8th and the 9th episode especially, just... not... too well. The idea was there, though not comlplete. And the execution was... mostly poor. I don't mean the acting though, I actually thought it was pretty good and the lowest the actors ever hit was still acceptable to me. I mainly mean the pacing and the inconsistency.
The editing also got slightly confusing at times. Am I the only one who felt like they totally cut a whole different scene of Rey off right when she was holding Ben in her arms near the end? I mean it just pans from Ben's dissapearing body to her grieving expression, but then.. it's nothing? No actually fleshed out reaction from her, and she never speaks of him or his death ever again in the film. Jump to a completely different set.
I don't wanna be one of those people who just recklessly hates on a sequel series lol, but it's fair to say that while not being "unwatchable" as so many would claim, this trilogy wasn't particularily great... A bit of a pity. But oh well.
Idk, made some good memories with these 3 movies. If one of my Star Wars obsessed friends hadn't dragged into theatres to watch TFA I probably wouldn't have even given this franchise a chance. Years later I'm a pretty big fan myself lol.
@@snowpoler 👍
Ik ik this is gonna get me killed but I'm kinda liking kylo over Vader in some areas
John Terpack the clone wars kinda fix that as they show a growth and change
John Terpack disagree about TFA part ...rest is on point
I like characters that are conflicted and show a lot of emotion like ben or anakin during his fight with obi so yeah I agree with you.
Tarn same
Tarn me too. I like him more than Darth Vader
The dice represent Han Solo' s memory in every scene they're in, and when Kylo Ren picks them up at the end it proves what Luke said: his father will always be with him - you can't kill the past
Great video!
I actually enjoyed Kylo Ren a lot (he is also maybe the only character with actual character development and interesting backstory)
Captain Midnight you're right, he wouldve made a great Anakin
He's a great character - this is a great video - Driver is a great actor.
Again, it's like poetry
I love his character
All I have to say about this video is: "You're so right."
Kylo Ren’s character is the one thing really keeping me invested in this new trilogy.
Great video I also loved Adam Drivers performance in The Last Jedi and his inner struggle I will be seeing the movie again just for those gripping scenes.
Wonderful video!
Kylo is a tsundere
Genovious, true! 😂
I agree with a lot of what you say, but I think you're missing something big. It's not about making peace with his past, it's not about being upset with his parents for being caught up with the resistance. Sure he has some hard feelings over it, but that is not enough to be evil, that's not his motivation for turning to the dark side. You fail to touch upon the fact (and so do the movies to sufficient level) that he was tormented and tempted by Snoke to turn to the dark side since early childhood. He didn't turn from teenage angst or upset over his parents. he says it himself to Rey - he didn't hate his father, that's not the reason he killed him. His parents are both still his continuous pull to the light that he cannot shake, killing Han Solo is his attempt to get rid of the light in him.
He was constantly being abused to make him a tool for someone elses bad intentions, because he had so much raw power that could turn either way. He resisted that until he perceived even his uncle found him to be too far gone. It's made clear to us that that Luke was wrong, he is still in conflict, we see that proven over and over. He is still in pain because Snoke made him insecure and deeply damaged. This is what allows for him to be redeemed, he didn't want this, he was forced to this life. In a way he is another Stormtrooper taken from a family for purposes of the First Order.
Fantastic dude, thanks 🤟👏😁
GREAT video! ❤
Excellent video!
Kylo is such a compelling character and I'm really excited to see him in charge in Episode IX.
A few things though:
Kylo was shot in the stomach in TFA, way worse than the shoulder.
The planet Crait is salt not snow.
Finn doesn't notice that Kylo hates the Falcon, he's only commenting on how the First Order as an organization, and probably especially the TIE pilots, have a long, long history with it.
And most importantly, it wasn't really Hayden Christensen's fault, it was what George wrote and directed him to do. Hayden acts well in other movies, George just gets the worst performances out of all actors, hopeless and talented alike.
Anyways I really enjoyed your thoughts on Kylo, especially how Adam makes you think there's hope for redemption in pretty much every scene, and I look forward to future SW analyses from you. :)
wish rey has more development as kylo
Legend, happy new years mate
Just discovered ur videos and they're awesome
I think the last Jedi was a pretty good movie, part of, if not most of that is because how much I liked Kylo Ren in the movie, Snoke was interesting but Kylo was a lot more interesting so I am glad he is the main villain leading into 9.
Loved him the moment he removed his mask in TFA
The best decission J.J. made was to hire Adam Driver. Driver breathed life into Kylo Ren in a legendary way.
excellent video!
I adore him he is the only good thing for me in the sequel trilogy
And i really like his saber
Kylo ren is the only character arc that felt planned and natural. Somehow the studio got lucky with his arc
Awesome video essay.. really spot on! I kept thinking about this from SW fa, the moment where we think ben could redeem himself. Then he just do the other way ard. Really good acting and directing i say!
Great video, I never thought about the TFA scene where rey bests him and how having just killed his father would mess with him as well.
After The Last Jedi, I am starting to see Kylo Ren as the truest form of Darth Caedus put on screen. This is why I loved The Last Jedi so much, it took its Legends-like characters from Force Awakens, but put them in a Legends-like story instead of a remake of something from the original trilogy. We have something like the Expanded Universe on screen now.
Every time I defend kylo to my dad (who despises kylo) he just calls me a stupid millennial
Papa Wells Just remind him who will control the plug when hes sick in a hospital bed. :^)
DeclaringPond 22
Exactly what a stupid millennial would say
I think what would've been good for the sequel trilogy was the progression of the protagonist and antagonist. It would have worked if Rey, the protagonist slowly turned towards the dark side, starting from the last jedi. And kylo turning back into ben solo, back to the light side and him contemplating from the second movie. It would have been a good parallel. And no I'm not doing this because of the whole, Rey is palpatine granddaughter. It's because I think she has rage inside, building up. It would have been nice to see in the last movie how everything exploded and in the End Palps is dead, and Rey is either dead or locked up and Ben is welcomed back into the light, hesitantly by his peers but him trying to work it out.
Fantastic analysis.
Nice man I loved Kylo Ren and Rey in tlj then tfa you earned a subscriber
Kylo is better than Vader. Better voice more interesting and complex character, scarier voice embraces his anger more obviously when fighting which really makes him a true sith(or whatever a knight of Ren is).
Vader is iconic and I do like him, his scenes in Rogue One gave me such a good grin on my face (one guy in the audience shouted "YES LORD VADER GET THOSE REBEL SCUM SORTED!" (I live in England so his common accent made it even better XD) during the scene with him and Krennic it was hilarious because it doesn't happen often)
And I get he is one of the main faces of villainy and is super imposing.
But imagine if Kylo Ren came out at the time of Vader, ho-ly sh*t.
Also his instability made him scarier than Vader for me. Remember how Vader choked lieutenants that failed him, it was badass but got to the point that it just was to be expected. When that guy first tells Kylo that the droid escaped Jakku they play a small bit of music with a slow head turn to show that his blood is starting to boil, and when he bursts we expect him to choke him but he actually vents his anger on the control console to make us go "....jeese this guy's nuts", when the lightsaber goes off with a sound that feels like the air has been sucked out of you there is an eary silence for a second and he says "...anything else" in a voice which sounds like he is half way between screaming and trying to keep it together, then when he gets disappointed further he drags the guy using the voice and clenches him by the throat and asks ANOTHER question. we don't see what happens to the guy but each question ended with him venting his frustration in a different way, him attacking the control console was him NOT killing the guy first as it builds the that, the guy was probably slaughtered of screen after the third question, it was a continuous build in tension.
I just find Kylo to be a much more interesting and intriguing villain there I said it.
Vader acts like a real person
Ti My kylo does as well
I think Hayden did a great job... I don't think he was supposed to show how "confused" Anakin was, but how stubborn, unstable and angry he already was. Vader was one of the most ruthless and evil beings the galaxy had ever seen, that doesn't come from constantly asking urself "hmm maybe I shouldn't do this", Anakin slaughtered an entire village, after which he seemingly felt no remorse about it either, calling them animals and saying he hates them. Anakin/Vader hated pretty much everything, while Ren seemingly is just mad at his parents and uncle.
“On one point in the snow”.
Didn’t you hear the guy? “It’s salt!” :P
Great video! I get ripped by my friends for kylo Ren being my favourite character
I didn't care for him in TFA but I loved his arc here.
A. T. Smith I agree, I think out of the characters he has the most potential of character development
He basically has the only character arc in the series thus far. He is my favorite character... On par with Boba Fett.
Totally agree. Love the scene in TFA where he takes off his mask... and he’s just this ordinary, nothing special, vulnerable guy underneath. Adam Driver does a great job bringing inner conflict and insecurity to the screen. Can Kylo Ren be redeemed? Do we want him to be redeemed? Or is this how the Force finally balances: heroes and villains accessing both the light and dark within?
Adam Driver in the Roll of his Life
Go Kylo!