#the skywalkers are a gd tragedy

[thewayofthetrashcompactor]

Showing young Ben as thinking "maybe the Empire was right" is just such a fundamental misunderstanding of his storyline and what happened to him. He had the literal star wars personification of evil inside his head from a young age (originally shown in the comics, confirmed on screen in tRoS), telling him that maybe he was evil too, that the people around him knew it. And unintentionally, they play into that, even when they're trying to do their best for him: Leia sends him to train with Luke, hoping her brother who's spent years studying the Force, one of the only people she can trust, will be able to help her son who is struggling with elements she has no experience with, and Palpatine is there to whisper in Ben's mind that this is rejection, they're sending him away because they know he's evil and hate him for it. Luke tries to treat him as equal, and Palpatine is there giving the same explanation of rejection. All this building up to Luke standing over him with his saber, because he's seen the people he loves dying because of this kid, and it's the final confirmation for Ben that everything Palpatine has ever told him is true, that the people who should love him want him dead.

And it's a tragedy, because Leia and Luke (and Han) had no idea what they were fighting against, had no way to understand what was really happening to Ben, and Palpatine has been haunting the Skywalkers since the beginning, taking everything that should've been good in them and twisting it for himself. Ben is an echo of Anakin, where Palpatine was able to speak into the ear of the chosen one and corrupt all his potential because he always has a plan far beyond what the heroes can see. And to heal the wound from Palpatine, Ben should've been able to live free of his influence, but Palpatine succeeded in killing every single one of his family in the end and that's the tragedy we're met with.

But yeah. Positioning Ben as this contrary kid who's taking an edgy political stance to be contrary has nothing to do with his actual character or arc. He never shows any interest in the politics of the First Order throughout the movies or additional material. Maybe you're thinking of Hux.

[sailor-hufflepuff]

Honestly, the whole thing makes me even more in awe of the Lars/Organa/Kenobi conspiracy.

Like… the ONLY THING that saved Luke and Leia was that Palpatine didn’t know they existed. (Well, he knew Leia existed, but you know what I mean).

Darth Vader is what happened when Palpatine had somewhat limited access to a Skywalker from the age of nine.

Kylo Ren is what happened when he had access to a Skywalker from the womb.

And both characters manage to retain a kernel of light, of goodness, a scrap of love from their families, that they were able to come back in the end, to fling off the chains when it mattered most.

That Anakin died right after is a Tragedy - he never lived a single day without calling someone “Master”, and he never got the opportunity to try and heal some of what he had helped destroy. But he was old (for a slave) and at least his name is redeemed, his suffering is over, and his children are safe and ready to build a new galaxy.

That Ben died is a terrible storytelling. His family is gone, the woman he loves is left alone, the Galaxy is in shambles, and there’s no sign that anything will ever get better.

Showing young Ben as thinking "maybe the Empire was right" is just such a fundamental misunderstanding of his storyline and what happened to him. He had the literal star wars personification of evil inside his head from a young age (originally shown in the comics, confirmed on screen in tRoS), telling him that maybe he was evil too, that the people around him knew it. And unintentionally, they play into that, even when they're trying to do their best for him: Leia sends him to train with Luke, hoping her brother who's spent years studying the Force, one of the only people she can trust, will be able to help her son who is struggling with elements she has no experience with, and Palpatine is there to whisper in Ben's mind that this is rejection, they're sending him away because they know he's evil and hate him for it. Luke tries to treat him as equal, and Palpatine is there giving the same explanation of rejection. All this building up to Luke standing over him with his saber, because he's seen the people he loves dying because of this kid, and it's the final confirmation for Ben that everything Palpatine has ever told him is true, that the people who should love him want him dead.

And it's a tragedy, because Leia and Luke (and Han) had no idea what they were fighting against, had no way to understand what was really happening to Ben, and Palpatine has been haunting the Skywalkers since the beginning, taking everything that should've been good in them and twisting it for himself. Ben is an echo of Anakin, where Palpatine was able to speak into the ear of the chosen one and corrupt all his potential because he always has a plan far beyond what the heroes can see. And to heal the wound from Palpatine, Ben should've been able to live free of his influence, but Palpatine succeeded in killing every single one of his family in the end and that's the tragedy we're met with.

But yeah. Positioning Ben as this contrary kid who's taking an edgy political stance to be contrary has nothing to do with his actual character or arc. He never shows any interest in the politics of the First Order throughout the movies or additional material. Maybe you're thinking of Hux.