Star Wars Redemption

The reason I have always had a problem with Kylo Ren’s redemption is that it seemed to come out of the blue. Lucasfilm had an opportunity to kick start his redemption in “The Last Jedi”, but Rian Johnson ruined that opportunity in the movie’s last half hour. J.J. Abrams didn’t bother to set his redemption in motion during the first half of “Rise of Skywalker”.

I think of this in compared to Anakin, whose redemption began with his revelation to Luke in “The Empire Strikes Back”, along with the latter’s reaction. It continued when he didn’t bother to punish any of his officers after the Falcon’s escape from Bespin. And he spent most of “Return of the Jedi” in a funk. One indication was that Anakin was able to sense Luke’s arrival on the moon of Endor … and the Emperor wasn’t.

Din Djarin’s redemption began the moment he saved Grogu from being killed by the IG-11 droid at the end of Episode 1 of “The Mandalorian”. He also managed to develop some kind of bond with Grogu throughout most of the second episode. By the time Din saved the Force sensitive infant in Episode 3, his redemption was earned … not through a last-minute decision, but through a narrative build up or development.

As for Reva, her redemption was developed from the very first episode of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” until the last. The path to her redemption began with her experiences during Order 66. It continued with her reaction to spotting the Jedi symbol in Episode 3, Obi-Wan’s discovery of her Jedi past and her desire for revenge against Anakin and her failure to achieve vengeance.

Anakin Skywalker, Din Djarin and Reva were all given redemption arcs. Meaning … their redemptions and the acts that led to their redemptions did not come out of the blue. These arcs had been built up during a period of more than one movie or television episode. I cannot say the same for Kylo Ren.

Ren or Ben Solo’s redemption arc could have begun during the second half of “The Last Jedi”. Or it could have begun during the first half of “Rise of Skywalker”. But Rian Johnson and J.J. Abrams had never allowed this to happen. Because of their failure to begin a redemption arc for Kylo Ren, I believe his redemption had seemed to come out of the blue.