The Star Wars sequel trilogy heavily features Rey and Kylo, with their relationship and individual characters at the heart of much that happens across the three films. For so long, fans speculated over the nature of their relationship and were divided into those who saw them as romantic and those who saw them as far too toxic for that.
The films made the nature of their relationship hard to understand, with multiple scenes pointing to some sort of romantic chemistry between the two and many pointing to the two having some deep-rooted hatred for each other. Of course, their kiss is a bit more than flirtation, and even this long after, some fans wonder if it was even romantic.
Flirtation - Rey Leaving At The End Of The Last Jedi
This is definitely a tense moment. As is revealed in The Rise Of Skywalker's novelization, this was the last time the two connected across the Force to one another until the events of that last movie.
There are no words spoken, but Kylo specifically is visibly shaken by what had just happened, and Rey is obviously a good yet hurtful sight. The moment is polluted with a feeling of this could have been different. There are some undisclosed feelings, romantic or otherwise, from Kylo and Rey here.
Hate - Rey's Initial Reaction To Seeing Him In The Last Jedi
Jumping back to the start of the movie with their initial Force facetime, while Kylo was more curious about how the two were communicating, Rey was simply filled with rage.
Rey shoots at the image of Kylo and later threatens him with clear anger in her tone, all while Kylo tries to figure out what exactly is going on. There is definitely hate at this moment, at least coming from Rey.
Flirtation - The Elevator Scene
This short scene plays a lot into the trilogy's common idea, that Kylo is torn, conflicted, and balancing on a tight rope between the dark and light side of the Force, waiting for the right push to come in either direction.
He is leaning towards the dark even in this scene but still hangs onto the idea of him and Rey side by side. He seems enamored by her when she speaks while she talks about the good within him. This is not outright, explicit flirtation, but the tension and chemistry definitely show there may be something more to them than being enemies.
Hate - Kylo Telling Rey She Is Holding On
That elevator scene, of course, leads into what many see as the best sequence in the entire sequel trilogy. The throne room sequence does not end the way either character anticipates, and as usual with Kylo, his emotions are high.
He is constantly struggling to control himself, and in this scene, when Rey does not want to join by his side, instead of wanting to be with the Resistance and be a force for good, Kylo snaps, telling her she is holding on to a past he wants to eradicate. It is the slightest moment, but in it, Kylo displays his hateful, spiteful side, backed up when he decides to go after the Resistance and take up the moniker of Supreme Leader.
Flirtation - Kylo Reaching His Hand Out
If there is any way to encapsulate the torn-up emotional state of Kylo perfectly, it is that few seconds in The Last Jedi. The above entry is a moment of hatred, spite, and anger, whereas mere seconds before was a moment of seemingly genuine care.
Kylo reaching his hand out for Rey to take was undoubtedly on the verge of flirtation, even though his intentions still lay in the evil of wanting to rule the Galaxy in some way, shape, or form. He wanted Rey to join him, something he alluded to earlier, and her rejection of that was the reason for his snap and anger.
Hate - Kylo Torturing Rey
In The Force Awakens, there was not much of a bond or relationship between Rey and Kylo. She thought he was evil while he saw her as a way to get to Skywalker. Their lack of understanding of each other does not mean there was no hatred there.
Kylo was evil after all, while Rey was fearless, so when Kylo attempts to torture Rey, and she resists, taunting him, he hates her even more than he did while trying to torture her. When she escapes he has an absolute meltdown.
Flirtation - Rey Wanting Ben's Hand
Once again, we go back to the topic of Kylo's hand, which he reached out to Rey in The Last Jedi; that moment became pivotal in their storyline together in The Rise Of Skywalker and the redemption of Ben Solo.
After their duel on Kef Bir and Leia Organa's death, Rey is kneeling next to Kylo, telling him how she wanted to take Ben's hand. This confirms there was some sort of feeling there, more than just her trying to convince him to be good again; she wanted to stand side by side with him, but as a force of good, not evil.
Hate - The Fight On Starkiller Base
Perhaps the point at which the hatred between the characters was at a mutual highest came at the end of The Force Awakens as the two do battle on Starkiller Base in one of the trilogy's best battles.
Rey was still reeling from Han's death, Kylo was running on feelings of anger and hatred alone with his injuries being almost fatal, and the two coming to blows was the culmination of a lot of emotion between the two, none of it good.
Flirtation - The Force Call On Ahch-To
The Dyad of Rey and Kylo is one of the fascinating aspects of the Force explored in the Skywalker saga thus far, with the TV shows and extended canon usually doing more to explore that side of Star Wars. It also produced arguably the best scenes of the sequels.
One of which comes on Ach-To, where Rey and Kylo once again communicate through the Force, except this time it is calmer, more familiar. Before Luke barges through the wall, the two characters are reaching their hands out to one another about to touch through their connection. It is tense, almost emotional, and a moment that definitely blurs the lines of flirtation.
Hate - Rey Stabbing Kylo
Kylo Ren is not the only sequel trilogy character who is torn in a lot of ways internally. While he is the most volatile, Rey also has intense moments, especially in The Rise Of Skywalker, where her identity shocks her.
While the fight on Kef Bir was not filled with as much black and white hate as that of the one in The Force Awakens, there was hate there in the complex amalgamation of emotion between the two. When Kylo drops his guard after handily dealing with Rey for the most part of their battle, she does not hesitate to take his saber and stab him right through the gut. She soon realizes what has happened and heals him, but at that moment, there was hate, similar to Luke's moment of hate in Return Of The Jedi towards his father.