Ben Solo Deserved Better
By: Valerie Gutierrez
Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises to ever exist and ever since Disney bought the rights to Lucasfilm back in 2012, it seems as though the galaxy keeps expanding. J.J Abrams brought back some of the beloved characters into the new saga of the films such as Han Solo, Princess Leia, C3PO, Chewbacca and more. Not only did Abrams revive beloved characters but created new ones for old and new fans to love.
One of the most popular characters from the new saga is Kylo Ren, also known as Ben Solo, son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. He was seduced by the dark side and became supreme leader Kylo Ren.
Spoilers ahead; proceed with caution
Some fans hate him because he killed Han Solo and because he ultimately starts off as the villain. Some fans think he was not that evil. He showed this many times through his actions. One major action that showed he had good in him was when he refused to kill his mother.
Ben dies in an unconventional way as far as Sith Lords go. Ben did not deserve to die. He deserved better and he is not the evil person people make him out to be.
Ben was in fact a good person, despite all his attempts to bury whatever good he had in him. The movie shows us the redeemable side of Ben several times. The first time is when Han and Leia talk about him. Leia tells Han that it isn't Ben's fault and that he was tricked into turning to the dark side by Snoke. She goes on to say that they can both save him and that she knows there is still light in him.
Leia was not the first or the last person to sense good in Ben. Snoke told Ben that he had too much of his father in him. Snoke noticed that the death of Han was affecting Ben. Villains generally show no remorse for people they have killed.
The Star Wars universe is essentially about good versus evil and family. The very first films show that by having Luke trying to save Darth Vader. Abrams could have taken a different route with Ben's arc but he does not.
Ben never stood a chance to receive help from his family. If it were not for Rey he would have stayed in the dark side. In addition to not receiving help from his family he was mentally and physically abused by Snoke in the films and comics.
Many fans were upset when the last film, "The Rise of Skywalker" came out. They were upset to see what had happened to Ben Solo amongst other things. Abrams killed off Ben after having him turn back to the light side. Abrams also gives the Skywalker name to someone else. This did not make any sense seeing as though Ben by blood is a Skywalker. His grandfather was literally Anakin Skywalker: he should have been the one to carry on the family's legacy.
Ben really deserved better after all that he went through. He was not the best and made a few mistakes of his own but he deserved to live and try to make his wrongs right. He truly did not deserve the ending he got and he should have been the last Skywalker standing.