There have been two interesting new pieces of information that have emerged in recent days, and they effectively confirm what The Force Awakens already implied – Kylo Ren was, at least in part, the product of bad parenting.
The first piece of information we have is a summary concerning the making-of documentary to be released as part of the special features of The Force Awakens blu-ray. According to the summary, Kylo’s background and motivations are explained in the following terms:
Adam Driver spoke about Kylo and his motivations. Driver said that the character was mainly motivated by the feelings of abandonment from his family.
Abrams also added some backstory saying that Han couldn’t stay in one place and that Leia couldn’t stop fighting. His nature as a rogue and her nature as a freedom fighter clashed. Against that backdrop, Snoke targeted Kylo because of his powers and potential. The implication was that in the absence of solid parenting, Kylo Ren emerged.
The second titbit we have, which is potentially even more intriguing, concerns an experimental virtual reality game where the person wearing the headset is cast as a young Ben Solo. According to the LA Times:
“Trials on Tatooine” begins with the trademark “Star Wars” crawl, informing viewers – players – that a young Kylo Ren is beginning his training with Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. Its first few minutes are somewhat passive, as the Falcon arrives and Han Solo, never seen, speaks to his son. It becomes more interactive the second R2-D2 delivers Ren a blue lightsaber.
“Sorry, kid,” says Solo, making it clear that this isn’t a lift home.
In essence, these details combine to paint a picture of a child who was failed by his parents. At the very least, Kylo feels as if he was failed by them, and that’s at the root of his psyche, with his sense of rejection and abandonment fuelling much of his behaviour.
“Trials on Tatooine” was written by Pablo Hidalgo, aka. the canon keeper, so is very likely to be informed by the canon events and timeline. It seems to further suggest that Kylo is being very literal when he tells Finn “that lightsaber belongs to me”. He doesn’t just see it as a family heirloom, instead perceiving it as his personal property. And that makes more sense if it was once his to wield, as it had been his uncle’s and grandfather’s before him.
It’s also worth mentioning that one of the trailer shots of the Knights of Ren (included at the top of the post) shows an extended view where you can see that Kylo is holding what appears to be a lightsaber hilt in his spare hand. Based on the evidence we have from pre-TFA spoiler hounds and the information that’s emerging now, it seems most likely that he is holding the Skywalker lightsaber in Rey’s Forceback. We don’t know what that means right now, but it’s certainly food for thought.
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