ST Kylo Ren/Adam Driver Discussion Thread

After re-watching the ST I actually do think Kylo was the best character in it and I get why people say he carried it.

The reason I think he was is because he kind of had a little bit of everything.

I thought he had the best costume easily, the best acting since the actor playing him was top-tier. AD's acting was the driving force (no pun intended) that really made the character so likable and fascinating for a lot of people.

He had the best iconography, amazing mask (I actually think it's cooler than Vader's don't hate me!) and a unique lightsaber.

Even, just overall badass moments, he had it. Both as Kylo and Ben. Stopping the blaster bolt in mid-air, that no-look shot and then climbing out of a deep dangerous pit. If that doesn't show grit and dedication, I don't know what does! Even in things like dialogue, I don't think I'll ever forget "Let the past die" which is better than "Rey Skywalker" for sure.

As for the whole Reylo thing. Yeah, it didn't need to be there and didn't make the sequels any better but after re-watching it really isn't that bad for me. I'm just kind of indifferent to it. The ST had a slew of problems, none of which had anything to do with Reylo.

I've said this before that I thought Kylo should have been irredeemable and if he was he would have been my favorite character in the ST but I realize now that that was a wrong way to look at things because the thing is... it honestly doesn't matter if the character had been redeemable or irrdeemable because it wouldn't guarantee that he be a well-written one.

I think a lot of fans do this thing where they think that making a singular choice regarding a character will suddenly make that character relevant or well-written. A lot of Finn fans think that if you make him a Jedi or the "male lead" or Rey's love interest or whatever that it would mean that he be immediately well-written. I don't believe that it would.

Finn could have been all those things and more and he still could have been a total failure of a character. Rey could have been Luke's kid and could have been very poorly written. Write the characters how you want and not how the fans want you write for their favorite character. If it fails, it fails, but you'll always have my respect if that's your approach.

Anyway, back to Kylo.

So yeah. That's my final answer. (Pulls out mic) Kylo/Ben, you have won the sequel trilogy. Here's your stamp of approval!

 

The saddest thing to me is that unlike Harrison with Han Solo Adam liked playing Kylo/Ben and I suspect he wouldn't have been against coming back some time in the future, but TROS not only robbed him of that, it robbed those who are fans of the character. At least Rey and Finn fans know their faves can come back in future material but Kylo/Ben's fate is thoroughly sealed and Disney have no intention of ever bringing the character back even in comics or books; I'm not interested in prequels as I know now how the story ends.
Biggest shame is we will NEVER really get to see Adam playing the character as Ben Solo. Like Rey in theTROS novelisation, I would have liked to know him better.

 

see I've never seen it as a physical romantic connection.. just one in the force

 

Well, it's neither now, is it?
Let's face it, reylo is dead in the water, and Kylo Ren will NOT be coming back, either as himself or as Ben Solo.

Finn/Rey fans possibly might get what they want; despite apparently saying they're 'done' with SW both Ridley and Boyega, as others have said, are willing to return if the story is good.

Look at the movie spin off shows on Disney+ post Avengers Endgame. There is plenty of room for DLF to create a special 'Finn and Rey' mini series like they've done with the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I'm pretty sure if the money is good and the story is good the original actors would make a comeback, especially as they're good friends and enjoy working together in real life.
That is what I was trying to say when I pointed out that Kylo and Reylo haters won in the end - our favourite character is permanently gone, but theirs live on and there's plenty of things that can be done with them, not just comics and books. Once they've had a stab at new projects and the backlash behind TROS has died down, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Finn and Rey will return.
After all, even The Terminator came back!

 

My favorites aren’t coming back due to Kylo so….

 

No, they aren't coming back due to DLF.

 

My favorite characters are Han, Luke Leia and Vader. And they are all dead.

 

So are mine plus Kylo.
Fact is, I was 'in' Star Wars for the Skywalker/Solos.
I have zero interest in Rey Palpwalker, or her friends, or any other character for that matter.
Let their fans have them. As Jon Snow said: my watch has ended.

 

I actually strongly assumed that Episode IX would involve a substantial time jump and speculated he'd have a child with one of the Knights of Ren or some third party, which has obvious advantages re: continuing the Skywalkers / allowing for his death in the narrative without depressing everyone invested in the family continuing. It's gratifying that I'm not the only one who thought of this.

Instead they only went ahead 1 year which is just a baffling, short-sighted decision for so many reasons. But which still could've allowed for the above anyway, its no real obstacle.

 

I like the idea of Rey, Luke's daughter here, having captured Kylo and holding him in a cell at the end and him blowing her off, and then her simply saying that he has a choice, and when he says that she should've killed him, she says that she thinks that their family has suffered enough, leaving a contemplative Kylo alone with his thoughts, as he considers the legacy of his family. Maybe he reaches out to see them. But it's ultimately left up in the air what he fully chooses, at the end of the trilogy.

 

Aslong as he is with the dark side it was never gonna change. We needed to see him break out of it.

 

Moved from the Rey thread:

Is there evidence that the downward spiral was to continue to his ultimate fate? I know JJ saw him as getting progressively worse as the villain, but I do not recall reading anything about him never turning around from rock bottom at some point. To me, he was always a fanboy character that went too far and thus believed it was too late for him to turn around, so it was either get as dark as he can or live aimlessly.

 

Does this contradict what I posted?

 

It leaves a very open to interpretation ending. but i ain't sure thats as satisfying as just showing him break from it for a reason.

 

I think, in this, Kylo isn't Vader and Rey isn't Luke. It's not Rey's job, and I'd think she'd have not nearly as much reason to, to do much more than what she does in this concept.

I think Kylo turning from the dark side is easy and a repeat of ROTJ. Maybe things could be filled out to give the character a reason more to show that he'd be willing to turn away from the dark side. But, I think an optimistic, but open ending could, in theory, be done.

 

The thing is, Vader's death was a mercy for him. He wasn't living, his quality of life was horrendous. But the tragedy of Kylo/Ben was that he hadn't really lived. He was sent to a Jedi school at about ten then went from there to Snoke and ultimately to the 'dark side'. I not only loved the character but I really really wanted him to live and atone for his actions through a good life, helping and defending people. Instead he dies feeding his life Force into Palpatine's granddaughter. And it was the waste of a truly complex and fascinating character.
The real irony is that throughout promo for TFA both Hidalgo and Abrams couldn't stress enough how neither Kylo or Snoke was a Sith. Then in TROS...guess what?
It was Palpatine all along. Possibly one of the most uninspiring plot twists in film history!

 

I don't think the character is particularly complex or really that fascinating, in the movies, as a whole.

 

Um you know that “let’em die because he was old and disabled and not young or hot” is a very.....not great reasoning considering how many of us have aging, disabled relatives we’d rather NOT die to save their younger kin thankyouverymuch.

According the Lucas, Anakin had to did because of the evil he had done. Not because if you’re middle-aged and disabled dying would be Great, Actually.

Narratively, Kylo murdering Han in TFA was a death sentence. And in keeping with the character concept Adam signed on for. The Kylo you imagine never existed in any cohesive form in canon. He’s a reylo fanon creation. Even had the ST gone smoothly, you would never have gotten the Ben Solo reylos adore. In fact, we likely would have seen Ben Solo only as a flashback or two.

I did think Kylo would be redeemed after TFA and TLJ. I also ignored the huge red flags that should have told me that the ST was being messed with from the start.

 

Guess who is middle aged and disabled.
In any case the lot of you can get lost. I'm tired of being bullied and demonised because I like the 'wrong' character.

Mods, feel free to ban me, I really don't care anymore.