10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Saved Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker

3. Have Ben See The Light MUCH Earlier

The problem with Ben Solo's redemption in The Rise of Skywalker is that it just arrives way too late to make a profound impact. Redeemed Ben shows up on Exogol and has that brilliant moment where Anakin's lightsaber gets Force-beamed into his hand by Rey - and there's even a kiss between them too! - but then he dies and fades away, evidently terrified at the thought of having to answer for his years serving a tyrannical military outfit.

There's not much to extrapolate from Ben's demise other than that it feels really lazy. Not just in the sense of it being a retread of Vader's sacrifice in Episode VI, but also because the audience doesn't get to see Ben reckon with his actions when he turned to the dark side. There's a much more interesting story out there when Ben turns early on and has to earn the trust of the Resistance. Instead, we got a five minute redemption that ended with his death. It just isn't all that inventive.

So, following on from the thread of Kylo Ren being ousted from the First Order by Hux and the Knights of Ren, this version of Episode IX would have Ben's redemption occur much earlier on in the story - perhaps the beginning of the second act. That way you open up a whole new dynamic, get more time between him and Rey to help sell their connection further, and are ultimately left with a more edifying conclusion to his arc.