When Adam Driver was cast as the key villain in the new trilogy of sequels in the Star Wars universe, fans thought the casting was a bit less than satisfactory. The ionic villain from the first two thirds of the saga, Darth Vader, was a mysterious figure whose deep voice was just as menacing as his towering stature.
Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, despite how much fans may love him, doesn’t evoke the same fear his dark-side idol did. He seems more like a pale imitation of the real thing.
however, the more sensitive and multi-dimensional Ren has resonated strongly with many fans, giving depth to a villain in a time when so many blockbusters fail to do so. Star Wars: The Force Awakens started an intriguing complexity that Star Wars: The Last Jedi added to through Ren's relationships with Luke, Rey, and Snoke.
As we have previously revealed, even Darth Vader himself isn't without his flaws and inconsistencies, so it only stands to reason that his less impressive heir would have his fair share of issues as well.
Well, like grandfather like grandson; Kylo Ren isn’t without his own set of imperfections, despite many of them rarely being highlighted by fans. However, hardcore fans aren’t as willing to let those flaws go unnoticed as regular audiences are. In fact, what makes Kylo Ren a great villain for the modern Star Wars saga are his many flaws.
Let’s go ahead and emphasize those imperfections with the 20 Things Wrong With Kylo Ren Everyone Chooses To Ignore.
He Never Has Helmet Hair
Anyone who’s ever ridden a bicycle, played a game of baseball, or worn a helmet on their head for a lengthy amount of time, knows that it is not meant for someone with long, luscious, black, “sith-like” locks.
It's head-scratching and frankly frustrating that Kylo’s able to leave on that useless helmet (more on that later) and still have perfect looking hair when it’s removed.
Wearing helmets is nothing new to Star Wars Siths, but none have the boyish charm or dashing do of the First Order’s main man.
Ren’s helmet appeared less in Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, but from wearing that bad boy as often as Kylo did in The Force Awakens, he should have permanent helmet hair.
Kylo Can’t Take Out Finn In A Lightsaber Duel
Sure, Finn was fueled by his rage at Kylo for Force-throwing Rey about 10 yards through the air into a tree, but there is no way a Force-using, lightsaber-experienced, Jedi-trained man such as Kylo should have any trouble taking on a lowly rogue Storm Trooper like Finn.
Not only is Finn able to hold his own for long enough to give Rey a chance to recuperate, but he’s able to actually get in a few good shots of his own, slashing Kylo along his shoulder.
After seeing what Kylo is able to do to Snoke’s Elite Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi, it’s pretty peculiar that he barely beats Finn.
Maybe he was just taking it easy. He also had a wound on his side brought on by Chewbacca, which could have something to do with it.
Ben Was Luke's Son, Not Leia's
In April of 2014, a few years after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy decided that all of the Star Wards Extended Universe literature, games, and television would be branded as Star Wars Legends and thus not cannon to the overall story.
In these Legends, it’s known that Luke and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, bore a boy who was named Ben Skywalker.
It’s no coincidence that Ben Skywalker and Ben Solo share a name-- both were trained by master Luke. It's thought that J.J. Abrams had taken a page from Legends, quite literally.
Ben was turned to a Solo by Disney.
He became an accomplice to the dark side, unlike his Legends version who served as a Jedi.
Why is he named after Obi-Wan?
Sure, Ben Kenobi is a vital part of Star Wars: A New Hope and more or less the reason that Han and Leia met, but neither of them had much of association with the Jedi.
Han only adventured with him for a brief time and Leia knew him through rumor and as a friend of the Rebellion-- even then, she mostly knew him as Obi-Wan.
As discussed previously, it would much more fitting for Ben to be a Skywalker and not a Solo, as Luke had a very close friendship with the renowned character.
With Han’s ending in The Force Awakens, Luke’s in The Last Jedi, and vast speculation as to the ending of Leia in Episode IX, seeing as the actress has passed away before filming, the naming of Ben Solo looks to remain a mystery.
He Isn’t Suspicious of his Force Bond with Rey
When Rey and Kylo first begin their conversations, what many fans have cleverly coined “Forcetiming,” Kylo tells Rey that there’s no way she could be conducting the conversation, “You aren’t doing this, the effort would [end] you.”
Then Rey and Kylo continue their long talks throughout the night, and he is seemingly never worried about why they exist.
Kylo isn’t the one making the Force connection and he knows Rey isn’t able to, so who is?
Later in The Last Jedi, we learn it to be Supreme Leader Snoke, but Kylo just goes on with his conversation, never questioning the anomaly or who could be behind it.
Kylo’s Mask Is Just For Fashion
Darth Vader was severely deformed and needed assistance just being able to breathe, so his wearing of a mask was justified; Kylo’s is not.
Sure, the helmet is incredibly menacing and gives a reveal in The Force Awakens when it’s discovered that the most feared member of the First Order is just a young man, but beyond that it has quite literally zero efficiency.
Nor does he ever wear it during combat for armor; the helmet is nothing other than an accessory.
Maybe if Kylo had worn it during his fight with Rey and Finn, he would have saved himself from a little facial scarring.
His Scar Is In The Wrong Place
At the end if The Force Awakens, when Rey finally gets her devastating strike against Kylo, right before the Earth literally separates them, she leaves him with a little reminder of their duel.
The slash along his face was going to have to be shown in the sequel, but director Rian Johnson had an idea to make it a bit cleaner.
When many fans saw the trailer, they were worried it was one gigantic continuity error.
Understandably, Johnson nor Lucasfilm would let that big of a mistake occur. Johnson took to Twitter to clear up the controversy, “It was my decision to slightly adjust it, and that was my justification. It honestly looked goofy running straight up the bridge of his nose.”
How did he get Vader's mask?
In The Force Awakens, we see Kylo talking to a deformed helmet that belonged to none other than his grandfather himself, Darth Vader.
Kylo exclaims to the object that he, “Will finish what you started.” Putting aside why Kylo even has any fondness for his paternal elder or his ideals, how in the world did Kylo get that helmet?
The helmet was last seen at the cremation of Anakin Skywalker, in his Darth Vader garb no less. Despite the fact that the helmet was retrieved in the first place, an even more burning question is how the mask is remotely intact.
Did Kylo retrieve the mask himself? Was this before or after his turning to the dark side? Does the whole First Order praise the late Sith?
Kylo's hero Betrayed The Dark Side
Keeping on the subject of the original Star Wars villain, there’s not much reason for Kylo to have any admiration for his late grandfather. The man took out a Sith Lord (something that Kylo ends up doing, actually) and betrayed the Empire, which was the grandfather itself of the First Order.
One theory is that Kylo isn’t aware that Vader ended Emperor Palpatine.
His uncle could have hidden the secret from him, though there isn’t much evidence nor reason for Luke to have done this.
Despite their similar philosophies and red light sabers, Vader eventually betrayed his own cause and turned to the light. How is this Kylo's hero?
His Lightsaber Isn’t An Original Design
Despite appearances, the crossguards at the hilt of Kylo Ren's lightsaber aren’t exactly a unique concept in the Star Wars universe.
An even longer time ago in the galaxy far, far away, there was a famous battle known as The Great Scourge between the Jedi and the Sith. The battle ended with a weapon being activated that petrified soldiers from both parties.
When the dust settled, a green lightsaber with now all too familiar crossguards on the bottom revealed itself.
As Kylo’s lightsaber is obviously red, there’s no real way of telling if the saber is a callback or just a coincidence.
Why was he drawn to the dark side?
Master Luke exclaims to Rey that he could feel a darkness inside of Kylo, and that’s why he was so keen on ending him. But the question brought on from this is that there is no reason for Kylo to have wanted to go to the dark side.
He was already becoming a Jedi in training under his uncle and had loving parents who cared for him.
Nothing in his home life reveals reason for darkness to reside in him.
Han did divulge to Leia in The Force Awakens that “there’s too much Vader in him.” That's something that Luke, and even Ben himself, may have also felt.
Regardless of the reason, Snoke came to Ben and the dark side has forever been his home.
Kylo Followed Snoke
In the same scene discussed above, Leia explains how, “It was Snoke. He seduced our son to the dark side.” But neither in that outing nor its sequel is it divulged exactly how or why Snoke decided to target Ben.
Was there a darkness in Ben that Snoke saw, or did Snoke implant every ounce of darkness inside of him?
Snoke's backstory was a huge opportunity for theories after The Force Awaken’s release, but of course that storyline was cut-off, quite abruptly and literally, in The Last Jedi.
What made Kylo follow Snoke, though? What promises did Snoke make to Kylo that seduced him to serve the First Order? After Snoke’s ending, it seems unlikely that Episode IX will shed further light on this.
He Tried To Destroy Rey
This one hinges on the complexity of Kylo and Rey’s relationship-- and stating that it’s a complex relationship is an understatement, to say the least.
Did Kylo always have this wish for Rey to join him, or did this solely come from their long talks at night at the hand of Snoke having them involuntarily “Forcetime?”
One could probably argue that he wasn’t actually trying to end Rey, but just get back Luke’s saber-- and also maybe end the traitor Finn.
There’s a chance Kylo didn’t realize he would develop feelings for Rey-- whatever type of feelings those may be-- but it’s improbable that he didn’t see a world in which it could happen.
7. Kylo And The First Order Have No Real Reason For Their End Game
In General Hux’s speech in The Force Awakens he screams that, “Today is the end of the Republic. The end of a regime that acquiesces to disorder.”
The speech is grand and theatrical, but its message is basically that The First Order wants to end the Republic and the Resistance in hopes to return lawlessness to the galaxy.
Duly noted-- but why?
Do they despise organized government and law? The First Order itself is a governing body that has rules, regulations, and punishment for traitors.
The remnants of the Old Empire may know what they want, but we have no idea why or how they came about this philosophy. Not yet, anyway.
Kylo Has No Reason To Find Luke
Snoke may remember how just a few Jedi, like Obi-Wan and Yoda, set off the dominos which led to the Empire’s demise, but Luke has no desire to help the resistance. So why is he a threat?
Kylo and co. hope to stop the Resistance, and eventually the Empire. Finding and destroying the last remaining Jedi will surely lead to their success, but this is only if he is a current Jedi. Luke has renounced the Force.
There’s a chance that Kylo has no idea Luke’s disinterest in helping the Resistance, but his seclusion on a deserted planet is a pretty big hint.
Unless Kylo’s reason for finding Luke is for revenge, which is very likely seeing as Luke did try and end Kylo is his sleep.
Kylo Shouldn't Know Who Rey's Parents Are
Kylo seems so sure of Rey’s parents being nobodies who sold her for drinking money, but how could he possibly know that?
If she knew, then maybe he could see into her memories while “Forcetiming,” but if she couldn’t even remember, there’s no way she could show him.
Many theorize that he isn’t telling the trust; just saying this to get her on his side.
Another theory is that her subconscious remembers her parents, but she can’t access the memory, or is even refusing to believe the memory.
Episode 9 could shine some light on the controversy, but as of now, it makes absolutely no sense as to how Kylo can say this as a certainty.
Kylo Committed Patricide (And Nearly Matricide)
As Kylo stuck his lightsaber through his father, it showed just how deep into the dark side Kylo had truly gone.
If that wasn’t enough to show his true colors, he went a step farther in The Last Jedi. Kylo shoots at a Resistance ship, sending many of the members of the bridge into the nothingness of space, including his own mother.
Thankfully, Leia survives, using the Force to fly herself to the safety of the ship.
Kylo committing these acts made him much darker than anyone with a hope of redemption could be . That said, his grandfather did some pretty awful stuff in the prequels.
The Knights Of Ren Are Nowhere To Be Found
The Knights of Ren were exclusively mentioned by Supreme Leader Snoke in The Force Awakens.
Snoke talks to Kylo about what he’ll have to do to truly turn to the dark side, “Even you, Master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test.” Of course, he’s talking about what Kylo eventually does to his farther.
It’s implied that Snoke is the leader of the Knights of Ren, who, during Rey’s flashback, appear to be six in number. Why did these Knights of Ren form their group, and were they already an assembly or did Snoke assemble them? As of now, we have very little answers.
The Knights were nowhere to be seen or heard in The Last Jedi, so it’s completely likely that they’ll be more fleshed out in Episode 9.
2. Kylo Sees Luke With A Blue Lightsaber
After Anikan’s lightsaber splits in half when Kylo and Rey are having a sort of “force-tug-of-war” over it, that should have been the end of the weapon for good.
When Luke force projects to Kylo and the rest of the First Order, he has the same blue lightsaber that Kylo just saw literally explode.
As to why Luke decided to do this is a mystery; Luke knows Rey left with the blue saber in her possession to go and find Kylo, but maybe the emotional attachment Kylo has to the colored weapon was Luke’s reasoning.
Maybe Kylo’s a bit too preoccupied with rage to notice, but it’s a pretty egregious hint that this is a ruse.
Force projecting is a pretty unique ability, so Kylo probably didn’t know it even existed. Still, the reincarnation of a destroyed lightsaber should've caught his attention.