Why Kylo Ren is the Product of Bad Parenting
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We have all heard the adage it takes a village to raise a child. Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo’s village in the galaxy far, far away let him down. The sequel trilogy did not spend much time developing a backstory for Ben so Adam Driver created his own story for why Ben turned to the dark side in the first place. It basically came down to bad parenting. Driver said in an interview with Lev Grossman that appeared in Vanity Fair that “both Han Solo and Leia were way too self-absorbed and into this idea of themselves as heroes to really be attentive parents in the way a young and tender Kylo Ren really needed.”
It stands to reason that Ben’s childhood would not be like other children’s. After all, he has Princess Leia Organa and the adventurous, free-spirited Han Solo as his parents. Given the history of these two characters and their continued involvement with politics, coupled with the knowledge of Leia being Force-sensitive, one could assume Ben would not only inherit their traits/gifts but also spend much time alone as his parents were off saving the universe. There is another old saying…idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
Image Source: Digital Spy
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Is this where the dark side comes in? What do we really know about Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in canon? The truth is we do not know much. What we do know is that Ben Solo exhibited Force sensitivity while he was in the womb and that Leia felt it. She was likely worried that he has a predisposition towards the dark side as her own father did. One might wonder if, being Force-sensitive himself, a young and impressionable Ben felt her fear. If so, it would make sense for him to feed on her fear without understanding anything else, thus opening a potential door for Snoke’s influence. Leia was also aware that Kylo exhibited signs of darkness in his Force signature as early as infancy and his toddlerhood as a temper tantrum could lead to Ben using the Force to throw toys in anger. We also know that he was sent to his uncle, Luke, at the young age of ten years old, and he would spend thirteen years there to be trained as a Jedi.
Let’s review. We have Leia’s possible fear of history repeating itself. Ben felt said fear in addition to the powers of both the light and dark sides of the Force. Han was rarely home as he was off racing and picking up other crew jobs across the galaxy. Leia was also often away from home with royal duties, political responsibilities, and leading the fledgling new government. Ben was then sent away from home for thirteen years. Then, Snoke/Palpatine likely connected with his mind, feeding on his fears and anger.
The catalyst that opened the door to the dark side for Ben Solo was the fact that he grew up unaware of who his grandfather was. After Ben was sent to train with Luke, Leia’s political opposition leaked that Darth Vader was her father. One could argue the anger and betrayal that Ben felt at having been left in the dark about that little tidbit of information made him even more palpable to Palpatine’s influence. The last straw was likely Luke’s fear of Ben turning to the dark side, which led to Luke’s half-hazard attempt to kill his sleeping nephew.
This is probably how Ben Solo ran right into the clutches of the dark side of the Force, transforming into Kylo Ren along the way. No matter how he got there, his turning to the dark side is almost inevitable. In an interview with the Today Show, Driver talked about the early discussions he had with the director going into the sequel trilogy. He pointed out that the prequel trilogy started with a young and vulnerable Anakin who slowly deviated from the Jedi way as he became angrier and more fearful over time. In contrast, the sequel trilogy depicted the process in reverse for Ben. He started out on the path of darkness. Then, we see his struggles as he returned to the light, bringing the Skywalker Saga back full circle.
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Source(s): Screen Rant, YouTube [1], [2]