#Anakin see traumatized or due to be traumatized younger person in front of him

[aspenstarflare]

Anakin coming back home after his first mission with Ahsoka:

Anakin peaking his head into his and Padme’s apartment: Padméééé-

Padmé: Yes Ani?

Anakin: How do you raise a kid?

Padmé: Anakin! What. Did. You. Do!?

[Anakin walks fully into the apartment with Ahsoka]

Anakin: Suprise?

Padme: [Let’s out a exhausted sigh in my-husband-is-a-moron-and-adopted-a-child-in-the-middle-of-a-KRIFFIN-war-and-also-probably-adopted-his-whole-legion but also proceeds to silently adopt Ahsoka too in like a hour later when she figures out the whole thing]

[nerdydelusiontragedy]

What would Ben Solo’s death mean for the SW sequel trilogy?

I’ve been talking about it a lot with my fiancé (also a huge SW fan and many of our friends and members of our family who follow the franchise since the beginning or - in case of younger ones - since PT). We came to the conclusion that Ben Solo’s death (which many fan-boys and antis insist on) makes no point for the whole concept of sequel trilogy. Why?

1. He isn’t a straightforward villain like Palpatine or Snoke. He is conflicted, torn apart - he is not a tormentor, he is a victim of someone much more powerful (Snoke) who wanted to use his powers and potential in order to destroy the abuser’s enemies (Skywalkers).

2. His backstory is tragic - a baby being targeted by the parasite since his conception, a child trying to get his parents’ attention - loved, but neglected due to his parents’ own agendas, a teenage boy who is desperately trying to find a father figure, a young man full of conflict within him (a conflict triggered by the aforementioned child predator) - finally “betrayed” by his own uncle who was supposed to understand his powers and help him (since his parents couldn’t).

3. Disappointed by the light, he turns to the Dark Side under the false belief that Snoke is the person who really wants to teach him something and who cares about him pretending to be the father figure young Solo is so desperate to find (after giving everything he has ever had to Snoke and to the Dark Side Ben Solo realizes that his father was right and that his master ruthlessly manipulates him in order to get what he wants, preying on his deepest fears and weaknesses). Sounds familiar? The same happened to Anakin because of Darth Sidious.

4. We meet him in his "darkest mode” - a person who wants to leave his past behind, hiding himself under the mask and cloak, isolating himself from others, trying to believe he is a monster indeed - unworthy of love and trust, he has nothing left to lose but to follow his master’s footsteps...

5. ...until he meets Rey - a girl who had been abandoned as a small girl, traumatized and broken, looking for love and acceptance everywhere, the one who mirrors him in every possible way. His pull to the light is stronger than ever. Despite all the terrible things he has been doing as Kylo Ren (brainwashed and already turned by Snoke), we see a human (through Rey’s eyes) who is still capable of feeling compassion and falling in love (if someone says he isn’t in love with Rey, then we have seen a completely different movie).

6. Ben’s family is well aware they significantly contributed to his fall. Han knows very well he wasn’t the father he should have been (he practically was never there when his son needed him most). Knowing that there’s a fifty percent chance of getting out of their encounter alive - Han takes this risk. Leia knows that she shouldn’t have sent Ben and that she should have supported him instead of getting away from him. Luke is aware that he failed his nephew thinking that his choice had already been made following his dark vision of the future - contributing to making it true due to his own moment of weakness. What would be the point of Han’s death and Luke’s sacrifice if the final outcome was their only descendant’s ultimate falling to the Dark Side or death? What would it tell us about this family? That they somehow destroyed a good boy? What would it tell us about Rey? That she was naive and that there is no point in believing in someone? Finally, what would be the point of the whole sequel trilogy that introduced our OT heroes as a completely broken and miserable people touched by another huge tragedy that ripped their family apart if Ben Solo ended up as an irredeemable asshole?

Young Solo has always been in the darkness. He has never lived “fully” - comparing to Anakin he has never experienced such things as romantic love, marriage, having his own place in the world, being a father, being surrounded with many devoted friends and people who could guide him whenever he needed such guidance... That is why the life and all that is good in it is still in front of him on condition he wants to taste it rejecting the path of the Dark Side that has brought him nothing more but pain and suffering.

This story is constructed the way it is on purpose. And I believe it’s not about Skywalkers’ ultimate fall, but about their ultimate victory over the Dark Side and evil forces that have been tormenting them for so long. That is why I believe Ben Solo will get redeemed, he will live and he will find peace and happiness by the end of it. This is what his family wanted for him. Han forgave his son the moment he was dying and was hoping one day Ben will be able to forgive him, too. Luke came to confront his nephew choosing the force projection technique on purpose knowing it would cost him life. But Luke became one with the Force on his own terms, making it impossible for Ben to kill him physically (and this was what Snoke had always wanted). Luke’s passing away had “peace and purpose” (both Rey and Leia felt it). Would Luke die peacefully if he knew his nephew would share the fate of his own father or become Snoke 2.0? Very unlikely.

Ben Solo is on his own now. There’s no Snoke, no Han and no Luke (all the father figures who severely disappointed him at some point). He has to reconcile with his family, come to terms with the past and accept who he really is. Perhaps Leia will somehow help him achieve that. Perhaps Rey will do so (after all, although romantic love pushed Anakin Skywalker into the arms of the darkness, it might be the resurfacing factor for Ben Solo).