10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Saved The Star Wars Sequels

Kylo Ren is the most interesting character of the Sequel Trilogy, a fully-fledged realisation of what Anakin could have been in the Prequel Trilogy in the hands of a better writer than George Lucas.

Throughout the trilogy, Kylo struggles with the Light Side of the Force in a clear inversion of the temptation towards the Dark Side our protagonists felt in the first six movies. While Kylo is unsure about his place in the wider Star Wars mythos, the one thing that is clear is that he resents Snoke, who is holding him back from his true purpose.

Unfortunately, audiences never see what this true purpose is.

Kylo establishes that he wants to "let the past die," but he never indicates what he will replace it with; he asks Rey to take his hand, but never tells her to what end. In The Force Awakens, the Genocidal Murderer Formerly Known As Ben Solo promised his grandfather's molten helmet that he "will finish what you started", but we are never told what he means.

A redeemed Ben certainly helps Rey bring down the Emperor once and for all in the most minor way, but this can't be what he meant: Kylo didn't know the Emperor was alive until Episode IX. Maybe he wanted to kill the remaining Jedi, but why? He resented the Sith as much as the Jedi. Perhaps Kylo felt Luke's Jedi Order was repeating the same mistakes it had made during the Prequels?

The introduction of Palpatine in Episode IX and consequent re-establishment of Kylo as a minor henchman baddie means fans will never find out, nor will they see Ren's vision for a balanced Order come to life.

Kylo Ren's conflicting motivations might make him a more compelling character, but the fact that audiences are never told what he wanted is indicative of poor character design and lack of a fully fledged blueprint for the trilogy.