I understand what you are coming from Dominic, but we are just going by what the movie presented. Now, you can look at outside sources to help build a picture, but again, I think the topic is what the MOVIE is really showing and implying. That’s where I am in the boat of trying to make the movie explain things without relying on OUTSIDE material to get the “full” picture.

The movie does heavily imply Palps was doing a puppet master thing. To what extent? Hard to say but it really implies Palps was behind everything that happened to Kylo in words … at least. But he strait up does a Snoke and Vader voice … so that also points again toward more control than not.

EDIT: Just saw ROgue’s comment. I do like the idea that Hal had was to remove the Snoke bodies and have body parts to be Palps that helps paint the picture of cloning … parts for him.

I wonder how hard it would be to say something like “I trained him” instead of “I made him.” I don’t know if that is feasible to make it perfect.