It’s weird how TLJ kept toying with the idea of Kylo being redeemed, only to arrive at the same conclusion that TFA did. Kylo was offered every chance at redemption. Vader at least had the excuse that he was under Palpatine’s thumb, and that he thought he had lost everything and had nothing to live for beyond vengeance and serving the Emperor. By the end of TLJ, Kylo was very much his own man driven by his own agency. Despite the movie’s teasing the idea of redemption and romance, TLJ’s ending seemed to go out of its way to close the door on him ever turning good, and put Kylo into a scenario where he simply didn’t want to turn away from his path. He freely chose damnation rather than being tricked or forced into it, making him have much more in common with Palpatine than with Vader.
I thought his arc was poorly executed, and that he wasn’t a strong enough, intimidating enough villain to carry the role by himself for a whole film, but I appreciate the concept they were going for.
This is why I really can’t feel satisfied watching TLJ standalone as a coda to the OT as some suggest, it still leaves me the viewer to make up my own ideas of what happens afterward the same I would with only TFA. In addition, with no added context from the previous film I now really am placed in the middle, but not in the good ‘in medias res’ way, more the confusing ‘caught it in the middle on tv’ way with fresh new characters who haven’t really been properly established, major elements of at least Rey and Finn’s characters come from TFA, you need the context to have the arc. Cherry on top Kylo’s fate and backstory remain ambiguous and overall the cycle repeating with no resolve paints what happens after ROTJ into a very cynical corner, now we’re again back to imperials/rebels status quo except Han is gone and I can’t connect with the new cast because I have no idea where they’re coming from, a hybrid edit of both would be much more coherent, though I appreciate the idea in theory.