As the title suggests, this is a thread for the last Skywalker.

There is a general consensus that Kylo Ren is the best thing about the Sequel Trilogy, and it’s certainly true that he is a character who is entirely new to the Star Wars movies. Tortured, unstable, violent, psychopathic, vulnerable. All of these things describe him, yet I find myself more and more fundamentally confused about his character and how I should feel about his villainy. Is he a ‘good’ villain?

In previous Star Wars movies, the quality of a good villain went from ‘cool horns’ to ‘unstoppable cyborg badass’ to ‘Evil Space Wizard’. They were all painted with a broad brush in terms of their straight villainy, at least until ROTJ. It was a black and white universe in terms of morality, and then Vader was redeemed. Vader, the most powerful and evil force in these movies was now also a Good Man. As the culmination of an entire story it works, because now the ‘battle between good and evil rages on’ no longer. Any villain to exist after this movie would be seen through the lens of redemption, complicating the simplicity of the Star Wars fairytale forever.

Enter Kylo Ren. In contrast to Vader’s mysterious identity, we quickly discover Kylo’s lineage. In contrast to Vader’s mechanical methods, we have barely contained chaos. In contrast to Vader’s inhumanity, we have an intimate portrayal of a tortured youth. In contrast to Vader’s strength, we have Kylo’s innumerable weaknesses. This is a character ripe for redemption, practically begging for it. Yet he murders his father, for no other reason than proving his villainy. And yet it does nothing except weaken him further. By the end of The Last Jedi, he has managed to burn down almost everything in his way and yet at the end of the movie he is weaker than we have ever seen him, a truly despicable and pitiable waste.

What kind of villain is this for Star Wars? I sure don’t know.