Definitely, it could have worked if they stuck to it. I am imagining an Akira situation and that would have been really good, essentially someone consumed by their ever increasing power. It would have been interesting if Rey also gained more and more power in response, but it again runs the risk of that power creep problem and turning Rey into basically a god in order to defeat him.
Anything would have been better than the half-assed quasi-villain quasi-redeemed Kylo from TROS.