Also, we just found out (from Kylo’s perspective) that his uncle tried to murder him, so I think we, and Rey, are already set up to sympathize with him more, seeing as he had been betrayed by his own family.

I also have an idea to try and show more clearly Kylo’s motivation for joining the dark side, and why detaching himself from his weaknesses is a necessary evil, from his point of view. It’s basically what he says to Rey. He didn’t hate his father, but he felt like like he had to destroy his weaknesses in order to fulfill his destiny and bring order to the galaxy.