STAR WARS: A CHARACTER STUDY OF KYLO REN (PART 2) (WITH NEW FOOTAGE)

It will be five days until the long awaited conclusion of a 42 year-old franchise, and the internet is a buzz more than ever. Disney is at the forefront of this buzz by releasing consistent trailers, clips, and TV Spots. However, it is the latest trailer that is the most telling. Kylo Renventures into the belly of the beast, a dark planet where Palatine hides for thirty years. What he finds is bone chilling. He finds the truth. He learns once and for all the length that the Dark Side goes to manipulate his destiny.

Throughout Episodes VII and VIII, Kylo struggles with his faith in both the Dark Side and himself. The light pulls him, but he pushes back. He is unstable. He rages. However, his doubt may run deeper. A closer look at his story in "The Last Jedi" reveals Kylo's crisis of faith, which nearly destroys his belief in the Force and sends him into a more senseless meltdown than ever before in the battle of Crait.

Does he lose faith in the process? Does it cost him a chance at redemption?

Snoke takes credit for a connection forged by the Force. Otherwise, they would cease to connect after the death of Snoke, which is exactly what Kylo fears. He cannot bring himself to lose her. Hence, his desperate proposal. At the end as he kneels in defeat, he realizes that Snoke is a liar. Their connection remains, because the Force wills it. Not Snoke. Snoke, whether intentionally or unintentionally, nearly destroys Kylo's faith in the Force. The one thing on which Kylo is always able to rely when every one else in his life lets him down.

However, love prevails. The three most important people in his life are able to bring him back from the depths of doubt. Snoke's efforts to rob Ben of his soul fail.

The threat he faces in Episode IX makes Snoke pale by comparison. Palpatine seeks to test resolve of Ben just as he tests Anakin before him. All of those who face Palpatine must be strong, confident and resolved. Otherwise, either Kylo or Rey could be lost to the Dark Side, and any hope of redemption is lost.

What keeps Kylo's faith in tact? Love.

For whom? Rey.

Just as she brings him back from the darkness in TLJ, she will keep him grounded in TROS.

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