Star Wars: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Kylo Ren (According To Reddit)

On the strength of a volatile personality and an emotional performance by Adam Driver, Kylo Ren has emerged from the Sequel Trilogy a favorite among Star Wars fans. Seen as a nuanced villain for a new age of the Star Wars franchise, the tall, dark, and irascible warrior is often said to have carried the trilogy on his shoulders.

Like the Sequel Trilogy itself, Kylo Ren has become divisive in the Star Wars community, with the Supreme Leader of the First Order having just as many detractors as diehard fans. While some think he’ll never compare to Darth Vader, others maintain that he’s the greatest villain the Skywalker saga has ever seen, indicating a wide variety of unpopular opinions.

10 He Didn’t Carry The Trilogy

It’s not a secret that the Sequel Trilogy was incredibly divisive among Star Wars fans, but one aspect almost universally agreed on is the strength of Kylo Ren’s character arc. Most fans regard it as nuanced, with the warrior’s story constantly evolving as he’s torn between his devotion to the First Order and his family in the Resistance. The fact that he’s a villain who shows more emotion than Darth Vader isn’t seen as a weakness but as a strength, offering a more three-dimensional antagonist.

One Redditor was almost diametrically opposed to the notion that Kylo Ren contributed anything of value to the three movies, going so far as to assert that he most certainly didn’t “carry the trilogy” as others have indicated and if anything, his constant paroxysms and looking like “a little 12 year old always having hissy fits” only made him seem less effectual as a villain.

9 He’s The Best Star Wars Antagonist

Star Wars has produced some of the most popular antagonists in science-fiction, including Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and others. Vader consistently ranks among the top five movie villains of all time across multiple lists that often include Hannibal Lecter, Thanos, Michael Myers, and The Terminator.

Some fans like Redditor DunkingKobain feel that Kylo Ren is actually the best antagonist in Star Wars because he’s “a well-balanced character”, viewing villains like Vader and the Emperor as one-dimensional. Ren’s doubts, anxieties, and internal conflict might make him more interesting and layered, but most fans feel the traits take away from him being intimidating.

8 His Shirtless Scene Was The Only Reason Reylo Happened

The romance between Kylo Ren and Rey brought an interesting, unexpected dynamic to the franchise, less maudlin than Anakin and Padme’s but more heated than Han and Leia’s. He was a Sith potential and she was a Jedi in training, so the feelings of intimacy that blossomed between the major villain and hero were certainly subversive.

One Redditor claims that had Kylo Ren never appeared to Rey shirtless, she would have never been interested in him in the first place because there were “no hints at the attraction, no chemistry, [and] no scenes together.” Debates have flowered all over social media about whether or not there was a legitimate foundation for “Reylo” to develop, but most fans point to the “bridal carry” scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the beginning.

7 He’s A Better Written Character Than Vader

In the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader embodied the very essence of villainy in a space opera founded on a conflict of Good versus Evil. The Prequel Trilogy gave the soulless killer a rich backstory that painted him as an altruistic young boy whose attachment to his mother and his wife drew him to the dark side.

Redditor belowthemask42 explains that even with the Prequel Trilogy, Anakin Skywalker’s descent into darkness seemed forced and mechanical over the course of three movies, only really manifesting towards the end, whereas Kylo Ren “struggled with the dark side for 3 movies and had to lose both his parents before seeing the light.” Fans would argue that just because he didn’t “become evil automatically”, his struggle wasn’t any less multi-faceted and layered.

6 Adam Driver’s Performance Was Awful

Seen as one of the finest actors of his generation in the wake of the Sequel Trilogy, Adam Driver is known for his complex, visceral, and highly emotional performances. Most Star Wars fans point to his screen presence as adding a dynamic element to the movies, especially embodying a villain torn between his desire to do evil despite a compulsion to do good.

Redditor DarthFarris decided that Adam Driver’s presence in the movies was one of “the most underwhelming and disappointing aspects of the new trilogy, with not just his looks, but [also] his performance.” His constantly pained facial expressions, emotionless delivery, and ill-fitting body language all contributed to an unbelievable character.

5 His Theme Is More Intimidating Than Darth Vader’s

The musical score John Williams wrote for the Skywalker saga is considered iconic by Star Wars fans. In particular, the theme song he created for Darth Vader -known as The Imperial March- is one of the most popular pieces of music in the entire franchise outside of the Main Theme. Melodious, commanding, and emotional, the military march perfectly captures both the raw power of the dark side and the might of the Empire.

One Redditor has decided that Kylo Ren’s theme song, with its eerie brass notes, “is gritty and darker sounding”, specifically because it’s not as up-tempo and represents his character alone (and not the Empire). For a Sith hopeful, it’s appropriately written in a minor key, without the major chords and positive flourishes of the Imperial March.

4 He Should Have Gotten Luke & Leia’s Lightsabers

At the conclusion of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabers in the sands near the Lars homestead where Luke grew up, signifying an end to that chapter of the Jedi and galactic history. Most fans feel she had a right to the lightsabers because Kylo Ren aligned himself with the evil Emperor by choice, whereas Rey worked to actively alter the destiny of her birth.

LIXLAX12 maintains that because Kylo Ren actually had Skywalker blood in him, he was “much closer to the Skywalkers than Rey ever was” and he should have been awarded Luke and Leia’s lightsabers, not a Palpatine who changed her name to Skywalker. Having a Palpatine change her name to Skywalker, while subverting her destiny, robbed a real Skywalker of his redemption arc.

3 His Lightsaber Technique Is Great

There are a variety of fighting styles for dark side users in the Star Wars Universe, from the dignified, epee-inspired technique of Count Dooku’s, to the more acrobatic style of Darth Maul, but Kylo Ren’s fighting form is generally thought to be the worst because of its erratic, frenzied, and clumsy execution. After all, he was able to be bested by a former stormtrooper who had never wielded a lightsaber before.

One Redditor has decided Kylo Ren’s lightsaber technique is actually the best due to its brutality and Adam Driver really delivering “the intensity, anger and spitefulness in Kylo’s strikes.” To them, it seems more realistic for a conflicted dark side user to carry their emotional turbulence into their fighting, while most fans see it as a liability.

2 He’s A Better Character Than Anakin

Much of the Skywalker saga hinges on the choices made by Anakin Skywalker, whose fall from grace received an entire Prequel Trilogy in its own right. The dark side provided a way for him to save the people he loved, making his conflict both relatable and tragic.

Fans like this Redditor believe that Kylo Ren’s redemption arc is actually better than Anakin’s, with more “character development [and] better acting”. It’s worth noting that fans only received glimpses of Kylo Ren as Ben Solo before his fall from grace, whereas the Prequel Trilogy chronicled much of Anakin’s early life, making the sudden fall to the dark side more lamentable.

1 He Gets Unnecessary Hate For Being Powerful

The Skywalker saga focuses on two main familial legacies in the galaxy; the Skywalkers and the Palpatines. The progeny for both lines is more powerful than any other Force users in the galaxy, something generally accepted by Star Wars fans given their natural abilities to connect with the Force. Their inherent ability to tap into its energy flow supersedes the amount of training that might normally be required.

One Redditor believes that despite coming from a powerful line of Force users, Kylo Ren gets too much criticism for his abilities. Like Rey or Anakin Skywalker he didn’t get his “power for plot devices” but from his heritage, making it more an aspect of character development, while the majority of fans feel his abilities are unearned (perhaps because so little of his backstory is shown in flashbacks on screen).

About The Author

Kayleena Pierce-Bohen
(1344 Articles Published)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she’s particularly proud of. When she isn’t writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she’s working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

More From Kayleena Pierce-Bohen