Star Wars Reveals Palpatine’s Greatest Mistake With Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren never became a true Sith Lord in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, instead defeating Emperor Palpatine as part of a Force dyad with Rey, and that’s in part Palpatine’s own fault. Unlike Darth Vader, whose redemption was only seen in Return of the Jedi after two movies as an all-out villain, Kylo Ren was always struggling between the light side and the dark. He had hoped that killing his father, Han Solo, would end the conflict, but that only seemed to make things worse. Ultimately, while he did some truly evil things, Kylo Ren was redeemed and returned to being Ben Solo.

This was a great failing of Emperor Palpatine himself. While the Star Wars movies didn’t show much of Kylo Ren’s backstory, various tie-ins – in particular the comic book run The Rise of Kylo Ren, by Charles Soule – have revealed some key details. Palpatine showed a keen interest in the child who’d become Kylo Ren even before he was born, operating as a malevolent presence and, as he reveals in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, being every voice inside his head. However, while Palpatine pulled the strings of Kylo all along, there were some outcomes he didn’t foresee.

In The Rise of Skywalker, it’s revealed that Rey and Kylo Ren are a Force dyad, meaning two individuals who become as one, with incredible and unique Force powers. While the dyad is the work of the Force itself, certain events did help create and cultivate the bond between Rey and Kylo Ren. Some of this was done themselves, such as Kylo probing Rey’s mind in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it was open to outside influences too, including Palpatine. Key moments in the dyad’s creation were Kylo Ren’s turn to (or rather, entrapment in) the dark side, with the light (Rey) rising to meet it, and Supreme Leader Snoke further bridging their minds in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (something he wasn’t responsible for as claimed, but clearly helped strengthen). In both cases, Palpatine was involved, and unwittingly was preventing Kylo Ren from becoming a true Sith.

The Force dyad can not be created out of the dark side alone, which is why many Sith, including Palpatine and Darth Plagueis, failed to create one. Instead, the dyad requires a balance between the dark side and the light, which can clearly be seen with Rey and Kylo Ren: a light side user who feels the temptation of the darkness; a dark side user who cannot escape the glow of the light. Palpatine was as responsible as anyone for this bond – he orchestrated Kylo’s turn, and Snoke was his puppet – which means that he cultivated the link that stopped Kylo from committing to the dark side. Because the dyad requires light and dark, then Kylo Ren being part of one meant he was always going to be conflicted.

Given the dyad is the will of the Force, then it’s arguable this may have happened without Palpatine’s involvement – but, had he not started Ben Solo’s dark side turn in the first place, then the Force may not have needed to seek balance. Either way, this shows Palpatine’s key failings. For all he is one of the most powerful Force users in Star Wars, he has little understanding of how the light side works. His underestimation of its powers was why he didn’t see and couldn’t prevent Darth Vader’s redemption, and it’s why he not only couldn’t make Kylo Ren his true Sith replacement, but that he created the thing that would defeat him once and for all.

About The Author