Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Ranking The New Characters Worst To Best

2. Kylo Ren

Much is going to be said about the character's big moment in the film from now until time itself comes to an end, but even putting aside the emotional pain he inflicted on the audience, Ben "Kylo Ren" Solo was far and away one of the film's most engaging characters. Over the course of the film, we learned bits and pieces of his story, from his parentage to his failed tutelage to his sway to the Dark Side under the influence of Snoke, but outside of a few brief glimpses of the past itself, it really had to rely on Adam Driver's performance to convey the weight of events left unseen resting on his shoulders. His off-screen journey from Ben to Kylo Ren was entirely informed by our knowledge of the Skywalker lineage, particularly Anakin's fall from grace, lending the character an unspoken credence that was easy to accept and understand as more was revealed about him. Through his emotional outbursts or pleas to his grandfather's helmet or genuine uncertainty about whether what he's doing is right or not, everything built up to that fateful make it or break it moment with his father, with Driver's conflicted performance - and Harrison Ford's earnest one as well - lending the emotional weight needed in a film that had to juggle it all in one go. He's a complex character complete with a cool design and cool voice, and now the sky's the limit for what happens to him next.