There are some unfortunate things that we have seen. Many events that have divided the fans and widened that rift. Even now, many seek to rewrite pieces of the story. But, I think there is a path that will fix it all. That will give a meaningful impact to all that has already happened. And nothing else has to change. I won’t tease you by withholding the punchline any longer…
Rey needs to become the villain.
Now, while some of you will cheer at this, you may even already be seeing the advantages this brings to the table, some of you will definitely, immediately protest this. You might think, “she’s way too much of a beloved, heroic character. She stands for hope and is that symbol for the rest of the galaxy. But if you allow me, for a moment, I can show you how and why she not only needs to become a villain, but may even rival the bad-assery of Vader once she becomes one. In other words, by making her a villain, I think she can become an even cooler character. (I already like her, for the record).
Let’s start off with the easy and obvious…
Rey is gifted, her power has come easy, and her backstory (aka, lineage) is completely unknown. Sound familiar, anyone? Not only that, but can we talk about the fear and anger she is harboring for just a moment? Regardless of her reasons, regardless of the justifications, she is openly seeking revenge against Kylo and the first order. I do not think her motives are that strong, but that doesn’t matter. That’s not the Jedi way. Throughout all of Star Wars history, a powerful force wielder without the discipline of Jedi, or similar teachings, nearly always succumbs to the dark side. She is emotional, and rushes into battle, throwing personal care aside. She does not think through her actions, but acts solely based on her feelings. “But Luke…” I hear you saying. Yeah, Luke did the same thing. Lost his hand and nearly his life as well. He didn’t save his friends either, they saved themselves. All he did was jeopardize himself. And he learned from that, he grew from that. The next time we see him, he is far calmer. He has reigned in his emotions and learned to think and listen.
Rey is conflicted. Lets add one more emotional point of turmoil here. Rey became attached to Han. She watched him die attempting to be heroic. Rey idolized Luke. Between receiving training from him, discovering his disappointing retirement, and losing him as a teacher and influencer, you better believe she should be emotionally conflicted. And who will guide her through those emotions? Who will guide her through overcoming all she has lost. She is an emotional time bomb and she has lived her entire life answering to no one. She is reckless and anti-authority. Luke even pointed out how quickly she embraced the call of the dark.
Rey is alone. Emotionally, Rey has all the makings of a dark side wielder… we shouldn’t even need to go into her parents and abandonment issues with all the evidence we have just from the movies alone.
Rey is undeveloped. Coming back around to her being gifted, imagine what she can become. We have seen her perform incredible feats with little to no training. Most villains become such because they are naturally powerful, but lack training and discipline. She answers to no one. She is a “strong, independent woman.” What lessons has she learned? What arc does she follow? What can I learn about myself by watching her? So far? Nothing. She is ripe for corruption. There is no one powerful enough to oppose her.
Next up, the Kylo redemption…
Kylo is still conflicted. At this point, Kylo has been narratively forced to become the villain and that strain is showing. When has a dark force wielder ever redeemed themselves? He is already torn, called by the light, even though he has made countless and continuous attempts to fight it. He is a drifter. He has followed the paths laid out in front of them, but never has had any true motivation to pursue any of them for his own sake. He has only ever sought the approval of his parents, mentors, and teachers. Now he has none of those. For the first time in his life, he is free to make is own choices. To ask himself what he truly desires on his own. This is also an opportunity to reintroduce the knights of Ren. For a moment, he did pave his own path. But we know nothing of what kind of teachings those knights adhered to. And for all you Legends lore lovers, I think it is safe to assume that those teachings may very well fall outside of Jedi and Sith, forming a balance of those two sides. Okay, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves… this deserves a little more of a breakdown.
Kylo is trained. “The Last Jedi” can have many meanings. It could be referring to Luke, Rey, or even Kylo. All three qualify. The movie intends to specify Luke as the last, leading us to believe that the Jedi die with him. Sad for us, difficult to accept, but it is done, let’s accept it and move on. The movie also gives the message that Rey will go on to preserve the Jedi, forming a new Jedi order based on her own interpretation of the original texts. The movie wants us to believe that she will restore the Jedi and become the new “first” Jedi. Great… no problems so far. Now let’s look at what it means if the last Jedi in that movie is actually referring to Kylo. Luke is gone. Rey, while powerful, would be considered a mere initiate, apprentice at best in the Jedi order. Kylo, is the only remaining person alive, that we have seen, with formal Jedi training. (Yes, the knights of Ren… whom we have yet to see, and who follow Kylo). It gives a deeper meaning to the entire movie and all the events within it. It gives deeper meaning to Luke’s sacrifice. And the title alone takes on a whole new perspective. If we follow the arcs of the other trilogies, the 2nd movie, like a 2nd act, is where the protagonist learns, accepts their flaws, and grows. Therein gaining the knowledge they need to overcome their enemies. In this case, Kylo is, and always has been, his own true enemy.
Kylo is doubly trained. Kylo has also had dark side training. Compare him to both Duku and Vader, the only other canon characters to go through such a thing. Duku, killed by Vader, never rose to the top of the Sith. And Vader’s reign was short lived, his rise costing him his own life. Kylo now stands at the top. There is no other villain above him. Also compare those two’s demeanor. During their time on the dark side, they acted like Jedi. Calm, collected. They were not conflicted as Kylo is. Kylo is the only force wielder we have ever met or seen in canon to fail to find his place on either side. He his ripe to start something new. Something that falls somewhere in between the dark and the light. Something that has balance within, rather than without. But in order for that balance to truly become a galaxy wide “force,” the external extremes also need to be addressed… namely Rey, (regardless of which side she represents).
Part 3, more on Kylo…
Kylo is a Skywalker. This point will be short, but it is a powerful one. One that is meant to address the fans, their concerns, and their feelings of abandonment and disregard. These movies were always meant to tell the story of the Skywalkers. Anakin was the Jedi turned evil, redeemed by his own son. We have seen the return of Han, Luke, Leia, and even Yoda. We even had a small tribute to Obi Wan. But the most important character in the franchise has yet to appear in a meaningful way. Anakin, redeemed.
Kylo is the descendant of Anakin. We already know that he is a force ghost. Now is the perfect time to bring him back as Kylo’s new mentor. Vader, and therefore Anakin, is Kylo’s true hero. And Vader, is the only one capable of teaching Kylo how to balance the light and the dark. This is a Skywalker story, after all. And more specifically, this is and always has been, Anakin’s story.
Kylo is the underdog. Last on this point, he is weaker than Rey. They may be equally matched in the force now, but Kylo is trained, Rey is not. Rey’s raw power exceeds Kylo’s. With a bit more understanding, Rey would easily best him.
Finally, the impact of character…
Rey and Kylo were NOT interesting. Up until now, Rey and Kylo have been cool, but we have felt very little connection to them. Now we have some backstory. But we still lack the emotional connection. When we met Vader, we saw a powerful villain in his height of power. Later, we would watch his fall, but we knew it was coming. It was hard for us to connect with a character we already knew would turn.
Rey will teach us about the "easy" path. Imagine the impact of watching Rey fall. Not in a big way. Not in a single moment. She has already been walking up to this path. With a few more questionable choices, we could watch her slip… slide slowly as we lament that loss. Her story is a tragedy, and it will tear us apart to watch her slowly digress, embracing the dark side. Her actions will call to the darkness that resides within all of us. That side of us that begs us to seek vengeance, to curse the names of our enemies. It will echo within us, and it will call us to be better, because we will mourn the loss of goodness and right as we watch it happen in her.
Kylo will teach us about the "return" path. And on the opposite end, we will watch Kylo. He, like us, will see that darkness rising within her, and know where it leads since he is already there. And since he can now watch it from the outside, instead of his own actions as he has previously seen, he will feel as we do. He will become our emotional guide, recognizing the pain and destruction that his actions have caused. He will come face to face with the death of his father. He will see his own darkness and desire to overcome it. And he will have to face the entire galaxy in an attempt to redeem himself. He is the “prodigal son.” He will be rejected and mistrusted by all who he would hope to call allies. He would feel far more alone than any other character as he tries to make right his wrongs.
Rey and Kylo will give us something to look forward to. Then, these two characters will become something more. Something we care about. Something we’ll want to know, “what happens to them now?” And the saga will be able to continue.
