I always imagined that some hypothetical edit could extend the scene where Kylo “prays” to Vader’s helmet. Kylo asks his grandfather to show him the power of the dark side again, to help solidify his resolve. So, maybe we could see it actually respond to Kylo’a request. I feel like this vision could sum up Kylo’s motivation with a few lines.

Palpatine: If the Jedi are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end.

Vader: End this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy. It is your destiny.

Maybe we could get glimpses of the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War over these lines. The implication would be that Kylo believes that the eternal conflict between the Jedi and the Sith, the dark side and the light, can only end by bringing order to the galaxy. Of course, it is a totalitarian kind of order he believes in.

So ironically, both Kylo and Luke would be aware of this question of balance, but they have two different answers to this problem. Perhaps it is this philosophical difference that leads to their falling out, which leads to Kylo destroying Luke’s Order, because he sees it as a necessary evil. Plus, it ties in well with some of the things he says to Rey in TLJ.

Rey: Why did you hate your father?

Kylo: I didn’t hate him.

So, Kylo feels like he has to kill his past and destroy his former identity in order to remove all of his weaknesses and be strong enough to bring order to the galaxy.

Kylo: It’s time to let old things die. Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the rebels, let it all die. Rey, I want you to join me. We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy.

Although Kylo is, in the end, motivated by his own quest for power, and falls into the same mistakes as the Sith before him, at least we could better understand what Kylo believes in, regardless of how misguided it is.