Kylo Ren was a great villain... Just different (SPOILERS)

I thought Kylo Ren was not only a great villain but, a great character!

You could see from the very beginning what JJ tried to create. A tall, imposing figure with a mask that's used to strike fear in opponents eyes. Yet, he did not need it for any reason but to look menacing. Darth Vader on the other hand, needed it of course to survive. The fact that he voluntarily takes off the mask symbolizes that his role of evildoer is not truly a part of his identity, compared to Vader whose mask (one of the most iconic symbols of the dark side and evil) is vital to him. Vader needed anger and hate to simply allow himself to survive!


You could sense as the story went on that Ren became more and more insecure about his powers. Temper tantrums, his makeshift lightsaber, and Rey overpowering his force capabilities showed that he is not as powerful as his idol. Vader's character was welded from the pain and grief he experienced that was used in the Emperor's advantage to harness his hate into a nearly unstoppable force. Kylo simply does not have that anger in him yet and is, in turn, frustrated by his weaknesses. Most likely, he was swayed in an attempt by the Dark side to develop his powers like Lord Vader. But he has not experienced the trials and tribulations that forge such evil to make him as powerful as he thinks he should be.

This, if anything, shows that JJ and crew actually put forth effort into making the main villain of this new chapter of the saga. It would have been easy to make Kylo Ren into Darth Maul 2.0 and have this arse kicking villain with no emotional overtones just destroy shite. I think that's what some people wanted. But in reality, when he takes off the mask you can see "Ben" still in him. His emotions convey fear and indecisiveness as to who he is and what he wants to become. He is not fully committed to the Dark Side.

That's what makes Han's death so much more damning. He did it solely for the fact that it would make him look more evil to eyes of the Sith. There were no reasons to turn out this bad except for his selfish desires. And yet, still, his powers were no match for Rey once she realized her own connection with the force.

My point is (for the TL;DR crowd) that I think Ren's character is being trained into someone far more sinister than what Force Awakens portrayed him to be. I think showing his weaknesses in the film allows for a more complex character/villain arch that can be developed over subsequent movies.

I think the character and the actor who plays him did a fine job