Loved this analysis of Kylo Ren:
https://www.themarysue.com/why-kylo-ren-is-the-perfect-villain-for-the-age-of-the-alt-right/
"ridiculous -- but also monstrous"
"not seduced, but actively courting [the dark side]"
"scared and desperate" -- "genuinely failed by the men...he was supposed to emulate"
"TFO: an ideology that tells him his rage and pain are the valid and just reactions to a sick world that needs to be burned clean"
"Allied himself to an old and established evil, but he thinks he's invented something new and powerful"
"Perhaps the most damning and crucial part of Kylo's characterization is that the good guys really, really want to believe in Kylo..."
(to this last: I don't think they shouldn't. I think Kylo has a choice. But he has chosen to make himself iredeemable. That probably could never have been any other way. But the good guys couldn't have done anything other than to try and believe in him. This is different bit different from the flawed, fawning portrayals of alt-right agitators including the current POTUS in popular media, but it's also uncomfortably similar.)
This last quote is from another author, Laurie Penny, and it's not about the movie but just as well could be: ..."hurting other people deliberately, in order to up-cycle their uncomfortable emotions, reselling the pain they can't bear to look at as a noble political crusade."
Additionally, here's a YT review of Kylo from someone who doesn't share my overall love for the film but *does* explain many of the same things about why Kylo is such a fascinating, effective villain:
Things that I loved in my second viewing:
-"I want to put a fist through this whole lousy, beautiful place." Rose Tico is my inspiration.
-Kylo, after crossing the Rubicon, the final word of his pitch to Rey is a desperate, begging "...please?"
-Finn and Rose pitching their plan to Poe. Finn talks over Rose, saying the same things. She has to fight her way through and he finally relents and lets her speak.
-Escaping on the fathiers, Finn holds onto Rose and not the other way around.
-Finn thinks he's doing the right thing because he just wants to save Rey. I just want Rey to be safe, too. But Rose doesn't care, even if it's the Rey and the Finn: "You're selfish, and a traitor".
-Paige's sacrifice is so heart-rending. It underscores both the spirit of the rebels as well as Poe's stunningly irresponsible leadership at the start of the film. His disaster of a plan is going up in flames and there's a *lot* of blame in his voice as he screams "why aren't your bay doors open?" at someone doing her best to give her life for his defiant plan.
-"Godspeed, rebels."
-Hux was about to murder Kylo before he came to! I love this dynamic. Kylo brings him to heel, but Hux knows him too well to truly respect him.
-Hux, incidentally, is probably the most competent person The First Order ever had, Snoke included. If Kylo had simply delegated the fight on the ground to Hux, the rebels would have been snuffed out. His humiliations aren't just comedic relief. They capture him as a capable guy just trying to navigate his way through a tough professional environment. Ofc, his profession is evil. The machinery of the First Order's empire creates an environment where this is what you become if you try to vault to the top with it. Hux had talents and ambition; if only they'd been directed elsewhere from a young age...
-"Blast that piece of junk, OUT OF THE SKY!"
-"Why did the Resistance send you? Who are you? Where are you from" The standard, self-assured hero: "Because I'm the best they have. I've kicked a$$ all my life in the desert sands of Jakku, because yeah, I lived the hard knocks life. I stole the Falcon from the jerk I was sold to, operated it better than Han frickin' Solo, and beat down Kylo Ren the first time I ever fought with a lightsaber. Because I'm a ******* prodigy in the Force and you are gonna train me." Rey, because of course this is how she's been conditioned to minimize herself: "I'm from nowhere" and "I...something inside of me has always been there?...and now I'm frightened."
-Kylo turns his saber in his hand as he rotates Rey's next to Snoke.
-Kylo getting his s#!tty, fizzing saber stuck inside one of the Praetorian guards, leading him to the precarious situation Rey has to bail him out of. Ha! :lol:
-Holdo's crew knows what she is doing (obviously -- they weren't readying the transports with "are we going to cloak these?" and "do we have a destination" unknown). When Poe barges in and demands answers, he sees them fueling the transports. He doesn't give Holdo a chance to speak before losing all of his s#!t, kicking things on the bridge and screaming that she is a traitor. Poe's lesson is a profound one, and it's for the audience as much as for him: don't assume that women don't know what the hell they're doing. And also, realize that dealing with that is so much a part of the every day for even the most accomplished of women. Holdo: "Yeah, I know your type." She's...as effective and graceful with handling this as could be expected, I think, but it's still something that is taxing.
This part of the movie was inadvertently spoiled for me, so I had to think through this a little on the second viewing. (I saw a tweet that said, "TLJ shows that women are better leaders"). But Holdo was legitimately portrayed as a bit of a villain to our daring, dashing flyboy hero -- who had spawned his own rescue op, the kind that usually succeeds at the last minute. It doesn't, and we have this crushing shot of Poe realizing its failure just before Leia blasts down the door and sets him in his place. Poe is going to be crowned a leader, and it was so important that his journey of learning played out this way. He had flaws -- namely, an inability to take this girly-looking unfamiliar female commander seriously -- but he learned from her and Leia. Who incidentally turn out to be far better masters and mentors than Snoke, or Luke. A completely sympathetic portrayal of Holdo from the start wouldn't have done.
(Luke may be forgiven for having the weight of the galaxy upon him and having to bear that alone. Wonderful read on that:
https://www.zacbertschy.com/blog/2017/12/29/my-hero-luke-skywalker)
Things I want to see in Episode IX:
-Kylo Ren introduced Emperor-style (i.e, that Empire scene) with the Vader theme. He's well and truly achieved everything he wants now. He's still ridiculous, and incompetent, and fragile inside -- but he has all the trappings and the prestige he ever wanted. Does it satisfy him? Not really.
-Rey keeps developing and ascending, while Kylo stays the same. This is his humiliation. He thinks he's making it to the top, but it's so far from the truth.
-I want to see Rey get a green lightsaber. I think it suits her (being in the mold of Yoda or Qui-Gonn, or Luke) and the color change is an effective way to convey her advance. It also puts her in Luke's category, not Anakin's.
-I also wouldn't mind yellow. That'd be pretty cool!
-Poe/Finn. Make this happen, guys, c'mon!
-Don't make Rey's arc culminate in a love story. There are good ways to go about that, though, I guess. I think I'd just be happier if it didn't. A male and female lead exchanging a "hi" or a "hug" creates the expectation of romance, and it'd be great to subvert that with a message of "friendship is just as meaningful".
-A lot more Rose Tico.
I don't feel as strongly about these things (sans Rose Tico) as I did with my wants for Episode VIII. Rian Johnson did a really phenomenal job -- I'm a little sad he's not staying for the last one. But I'm so relieved it's not Colin Treverrow. I like JJ, but I also wish they'd take this opportunity to hand it off to a different voice. There's such a deficit of women, people of color, and their intersection in directorship of major films. One day!
