I Say It With The Words Of Matt The Radar Technician: "Exactly! Exactly!"

I say it with the words of Matt the radar technician: "Exactly! Exactly!"

I don’t think Disney actually gets why everyone is so upset about Ben Solo. 

He was the first non-toxically masculine and emotionally vulnerable male character in a big movie franchise. He was a byronic hero and was a character that was written incorporating the female and queer audience. Also incorporated the men who were relentlessly ridiculed for having any amount of emotional intelligence and vulnerability growing up. He cried. He held the hand of his lover and told her that she wasn’t alone. He begged her for companionship. He was human and loving. He wasn’t a caricature “villain,” just a broken boy who was hiding behind a mask to protect himself. 

And then you kept the pew pew flyboy alive to satisfy the dudebros and killed off the actually complex and well-rounded male character. 

That is sickening. 

Same.

I'm a feminist and I hate the ending of TROS.

I can relate to that a lot. 

I found this absolutely breathtaking and beautiful dissertation about Ben Solo, his story, and his relationship with Rey. It made me cry! Disney needs to see this, because they did a wonderful and relatable character really dirty.

Credit: @Drunk0nSunlight on twitter

Did you ever hear the tragedy of the Skywalker family? I thought not. It's not a story DLF would tell you.

This is the tale of how Sheev Palpatine (better known for his Sith name Darth Sidious) successfully wiped out the Skywalker bloodline and end up winning a 40 year old saga.

At the beginning of our story, Palpatine took an immediate interest on Anakin Skywalker ever since he was a boy, because he was produced by the Force itself and was said to be the “chosen one” who would bring balance to the Force. As confirmed by “Attack of the Clones”, the two grew very close and Palpatine offered him guidance and council. Anakin goes as far as saying to both Obi-Wan and Padmé that the senator is wise and to be trusted.

Palpatine was behind the attempt on Padmé Amidala’s life in “Attack of the Clones”: he hired Jango Jett and commissioned the clone army from Kamino. Jango Fett was a top bounty hunter, he would have succeeded in killing Padmé, however he hired another to do the job, meaning Palpatine didn’t actually want her dead.

He then insisted Padmé needed to be protected at all costs and stay away from Coruscant: he’s the one who suggests Obi-Wan Kenobi to be responsible for her protection because he’s an old friend (and mostly because Anakin is his Padawan, and he was aware of his feelings for Padmé);

Anakin and Padmé go into hiding on Naboo and they fall in love, like Palpatine intended: “everything is proceeding as I’ve foreseen”

Then Palpatine places the nightmares inside Anakin’s mind about his mother dying. Later on, he’ll do the same about Padmé. Anakin believes these nightmares entirely because they have proven right about his mother. 

Anakin falls to the Dark side and becomes Darth Vader because Palpatine manipulates him with false promises of learning how to save Padmé from death

Anakin is not the one who kills Padmé, since she’s still alive to give birth to the twins. However, it’s said Padmé is completely healthy but has “lost her will to live”. It’s like her Force life is being suck out of her. Hmm, I wonder who is known for doing this… Exactly: Palpatine. 

With Padmé gone for good, Darth Vader would be by Sidious’ side always, especially since he believes himself responsible for her death.

Then in the OT Palpatine wants the Skywalker bloodline wiped out: he wants Vader to kill his own son and Luke Skywalker to kills his father. When all of this fails, he wants to kill Luke himself.

Vader end ups betraying Palpatine, preventing him from killing his son and dying in the process. Luke forgives his father and wants Anakin to come with him. However it’s too late because Sidious’ Force lighting damaged Vader’s suit (the only thing that was keeping him alive after Mustafar) and he dies.

Luke carries on the Jedi tradition. But Palpatine isn’t gone. He keeps an eye on Leia’s unborn child with Han Solo: Ben. And apparently he gets to have a granddaughter of his own too: Rey. He sends for an assassin named Ochi to kill her parents and get her but then drops it because reasons.

Anyway, Palpatine pretends to be a man called Snoke and Darth Vader to communicate with Ben, and alienate him from his family because there is no way the Skywalkers can have a moment of happiness on their entire existence. Ben is Force sensitive and strong in the Force, so Leia sends him to Luke’s Jedi academy even tho she has been trained as a Jedi herself apparently. 

As confirmed by “The Rise of Kylo Ren” comics, one night Palpatine gets into Luke’s mind and shows him visions of Ben’s future as Kylo Ren. While manipulated by Palpatine, Luke thinks about killing his nephew but immediately regrets it. However, Ben wakes up and see his uncle’s lightsaber over him and destroys the hut to protect himself.

Ben is confused and asks himself why Luke would ever do such a thing. Palpatine creates a fire on the temple, killing all the Jedi who lived there. Ben tries to save his colleagues but can’t. Inside his mind, he hears he doesn’t get to choose.

Meanwhile, three Jedi arrive and confront Ben. He tells them Luke tried to kill him but they don’t believe him and engage on a lightsaber fight to avenge their “murdered” master. Ben defeats them and leaves. Believing he can’t go back home to his mother Leia, Ben goes to the only person he believes to be his friend on the entire galaxy: Snoke/Palpatine:

Alienated from his family and believing he has nowhere else to go, Ben Solo becomes Kylo Ren: a server to the Dark side of the Force. He’s brutally trained, brainwashed and abused while Snoke/Palpatine keeps him on a leech. He also becomes the master of the Knights of Ren and a soldier of the First Order, an organization who rose from the ashes of the old Empire.

A few years later, Kylo Ren meets Rey (Palpatine’s granddaughter) and they have an immediate connection. Kylo kills his own father at Snoke/Palpatine order to prove himself strong in the Dark side of the Force. However, this breaks him instead of making him stronger. Snoke/Palpatine is disappointed. Rey Palpatine and Kylo Ren share a Force Bond and become closer: Rey beings to emphasize with him and believes there is Light in him still.

However, Luke and Leia don’t believe this anymore because their entire trust is in Rey, who they know for a fact is a Palpatine but that doesn’t define her character while being Vader’s symbolic heir surely defines their own flesh and blood.  Anyway, Rey goes to Kylo Ren because she believes Ben Solo can return. Things don’t well and Snoke/Palpatine wants her granddaughter killed so Kylo proves himself strong in the Dark side. Kylo kills Snoke instead and wants Rey to join him, she refuses and leaves him.

It’s time for Palpatine to reveal himself and Rey as her granddaughter. Kylo finds him on Exogol and he reveals this. Kylo tells Rey the truth about her heritage. She refuses to accept it. Meanwhile, Leia decides to sacrifice herself to make Ben return to the Light. She dies without ever reuniting with her son. The most important reaction to her death comes from Rey Palpatine also, who Force heals Ben after stabbing him with his own lightsaber. Rey confesses she wanted to be with Ben all along.

Meanwhile, Rey Palpatine goes to confront her grandfather alone. Ben returns to the Light and goes to her rescue. He gets thrown into the pit during the final showdown against the Sith lord who destroyed his family and entire life. After having his vengeance taken away from him, the last Skywalker gets out of the pit to find Rey Palpatine dead. He loves her so much, he end ups giving up his own life to resurrect her. Completing what her grandfather started and wanted all along: the Skywalker bloodline is officially over because of Palpatine’s heir. In the end of it all, Palpatine’s heir usurps the Skywalker name for herself and gets to see Luke and Leia’s Force Ghosts smiling at her. She also gets to have the two Skywalker lightsabers to build her own. The end.

Recap of the Skywalkers end:

Padmé Amidala: most likely killed by Palpatine.

Anakin Skywalker: killed by Palpatine

Luke Skywalker: killed himself to save Palpatine’s heir

Leia Skywalker: killed herself so her son can save Palpatine’s heir

Ben Solo: killed himself to save Palpatine’s heir

Bonus - Han Solo: killed by his son at Palpatine’s order

Prayer circle for Ben Solo.

Oh my god this. I was so PISSED that they killed Ben and then completely acted like he's never significant in the first place like. Not even a force ghost? When Leia and Luke were? I was holding out hope that when Rey only saw Leia and Luke it was because she would turn around and see Ben smiling at her or something but NOPE. NOTHING. Not even an ambiguous silhouette that teases the possibility of him being alive/force ghost/vision. They killed him for real and I will forever be salty about that

There are literally only two options here: bad writing (they forgot to put him in, generally bad storytelling, etc.), or they purposefully left the door open for him to come back.

The latter is much, much more likely than the former. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of our boy.

Nothing to add here. 100 per cent correct. 

My main issue is that Star Wars is a fairytale and fairytales have morals, what is the moral of TROS? That if you’re abused from the womb but still fight with all you have and find the strength to redeem yourself, you deserve to die with only a moment of happiness? That love just isn’t enough? That abusers always win in the end? That it’s okay to be alone as long as you have a cool material possession (the lightsaber) and a name that means you’re important (forget that “anyone can be a hero” stuff, back to aristocratic bs)?

Everything was pointless at the end, the story ended with no hope. Han’s and Leia’s sacrifices only gave their son a moment of happiness before he died. Rey’s entire arc was about finding “the belonging she sought ahead of her” and she found it in Ben, Ben was the one who understood her. Her attachment to him isn’t replaceable by her comparatively superficial relationships with Finn or the resistance or a bunch of old ghosts. What Ben and Rey had was a special bond that hasn’t happened in generations. Rey experienced an intimacy beyond our understanding only to lose it, to be forever haunted by its absence and forever feel lonely because no other bond will ever compare.

Does that sound like a fairytale ending to you? The abuse victim dying the moment he earned a chance at happiness after years of suffering and fighting, and the girl who was alone for so long finding her soulmate only to have him ripped away after one kiss? No. That’s a Greek tragedy. That’s some George R.R. Martin levels of bullshit. That’s never what Star Wars was at its heart and everyone involved should be ashamed that they disgraced the series like this.