Kyp Durron-Was He Really a Dark Lord of the Sith?

From Dark Apprentice, Page 298:

Exar Kun was long dead, and Darth Vader lay in ashes on Endor. "Now I am the Lord of the Sith," Kyp said. With that admission he felt a cold strength creep up his backbone, as if his spine turned into a column of ice.

Here, Kyp clearly believes he is the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Later in the book, on page 328, the scientist Qwi Xux mistakes him for Darth Vader and has her scientific memory erased. A clear act of the Dark Side. On page 337:

"Kyp," Luke said, keeping his voice even and taking a step towards him, "you've been lured by the dark side, but you must return. You were deceived and misled. Come back before its grip becomes too strong."

Here, Luke recognizes that Kyp has fallen to the Dark Side. Does that automatically mean that he a Dark Lord though? As we know, Kyp (and the spirit of Exar) effectively put Luke into a coma at the end of this book, another clear act of darkness. Also, Kyp uses the Sun Crusher to destroy the Caludron Nebula in order to destroy Admiral Daala's last two Star Destroyers, again an act of the Dark Side.

Jumping to Champions of the Force, Kyp uses the Sun Crusher to destroy the Imperial Academy on Carida, accidently killing his brother. Here's where my issue with Kyp as a Dark Lord begins, on page 138:

And then the haunting voice of Exar Kun rose to a wail in his mind, an utterly forlorn scream as if he were being torn out of this universe and exiled to another place entirely, where he could torment Kyp Durron no more.

Ok, my point is this: Was Kyp Durron truly a Dark Lord of the Sith, or was it all Exar Kun? Without the influence of Kun, would any of those events have happened?

 

I think Kyp was never "branded"

He was a Sith apprentice, nothing more. He never visited Korriban or recieved their Dark blessing.

 

I say he wasn't. When Luke joined Palpatine, he didn't become a Sith, and he went dark without being controlled by a Sith ghost.

 

Sounds like possession by the Dark Side!

The only way to become a Dark Lord of the Sith is to choose to and completely go down that path. Except here, it seems like the evil overwhelmed him rather than Durron saying "I am turning to the Dark Side."

It's like Yoda said, "Once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." Anakin Skywalker chose to go down the Dark path, as did many did before him, and it completely consumed him.

So the answer is no, Durron was not a Dark Lord of the Sith. Durron was beat by the Dark Side, but he never really gave into it, he just let defeat him. That's why he was turned away rather "easily," because he didn't choose the Dark Side and thus was never consumed by it.

 

My main belief is Kyp wasn't a powerful enough Jedi to be immersed into Sith teachings.

I'm reminded of Freedon Naad personally. Even as he was a powerful Dark Jedi, he didn't gain the power to become Dark Lord.

Nor did Ludo Kresh or Ventress despite both claiming to be Sith.

Same for the girl in the "Empire Arc"

 

I think it all comes down to choice.

It seems like the policy of the Dark Side seems to be, "Join, or lose." Kyp Durron was lucky enough to lose without getting killed.

 

That's the real question. Kyp made it pretty clear in Jedi Academy that if he managed to escape from Daala that he'd never be so weak again as to not be able tokeep his freedom without at least a fight. So he'd opened himself to temptation right there. He finally arrives at the academy and finds Luke's teachings to slow for him, he wanted to learn quickly so as to keep his promise to himself. Again he opens himself to temptation with that little desire to learn faster. Kun's spirit could see this opening and he took it.

I think Kyp knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he allowed Kun to teach him, and that his desire for revenge against those who had wronged him in the first place only caused him not to care about the consequences. Furthermore, I don't think Kun wanted him to leave Yavin IV when he first did, that I think was Kyp's choice. He wasn't acting out of the greater rage we see him acting out of once he's in possesion of the Sun Crusher there, other wise he'd have been much more likely to have killed Qwi rather than steal her memories from her and leave her without the ability to remember them herself. And it was during that time which he proclaimed himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith.

I have said in another thread that I do think he was possessed (spelling please) by Kun, but only up to a certain extent. Everything Kyp did I think was something he chose to do. But Kun's possession of him was only to increase his rage and prevented him from using common sense which might have caused him to stop far sooner.

 

See, I agree with the possession theory. It seems though, that we are meant to believe Kyp is the new Lord of the Sith because it comes straight from his mouth. Plus, like has been already stated Kyp had at least some level of control because he didn't follow Kun's plan exactly to the letter.

 

I think Durron's intention was not to go the Dark path, but rather, he was just interested in what the Dark Side may have brought. Remember, this is Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order. He almost tries to censor knowledge of the Dark Side, aside from "it's bad." So Durron may just have been looking for a way out, rather than saying "The Dark Side is the way to go."

To me, the best indication that Durron was possessed was that he wasn't as powerful as a Dark Lord could be, and the fact he went do the Dark Side and survived showed me he had turned about only 10%. Very little of his true self.

If you read up on the ancient Jedi, those who turned to the Dark Side completely, none of them ever turn back, nor do any of them survive. If a person turns completely to the Dark Side, the only escape is death. Again, like Yoda says, "Consume you, it will."

That's why the Dark Side is so dangerous and why the Jedi are as wary as they are. Yes, the biggest reason is that it's just plain terrible, but there is almost no redemption or escape from the Dark Side. That's the worst, knowing you can never be saved.

 

No.

Because he was "in thrall" (literally under Kun's sway) the entire time, he cannot be considered a DLotS...

 

I think Durron's intention was not to go the Dark path, but rather, he was just interested in what the Dark Side may have brought.

After what had happened to first send him to Kessel, spending so many years on Kessel, and then being captured again after finally escaping from Kessel, Kyp would have not cared what he managed to get that would prevent him from being that helpless again. It wouldn't have mattered what it was or where it came from. Nor would he have cared. His only true intention was to never be that helpless again no matter what it would take. If it meant the dark side, then so be it.

 

Kun tricked Kyp into turning to the Dark Side. Once that was done, Kun managed to take over Kyp and manipulated him like a puppet. In fact, in the scene where Kyp is about to blow the Falcon away and Kun dies, it acyually says that Kyp felt like a puppet whose strings were finally cut.

Did he turn to the Dark Side? Yes, briefly. Was he a Sith? No, he was just being controlled by one. Was he responsible for all of his actions during that time and should be executed as some would like? I'd have to say no, since he was being controlled by another person.