Alternative Character Interpretation in The Force Awakens.
- Regarding Kylo Ren/Ben Solo:
- Does Kylo Ren still have good inside him, which vanished at the worst possible moment, allowing his darker side to take over? It's been demonstrated throughout the movie that he isn't exactly sane, driven by his ambition to surpass Darth Vader and possibly being corrupted by Snoke. And that small reconciling moment before the biggest tragedy at Starkiller Base: was Kylo desperately trying to beg his father to help him escape from this torment, or was it a clever ploy to trick his father into letting his guard down to kill him, Kylo having fallen completely to the dark side? Or perhaps even both, feeling that no matter which way he went, it would end his torment of choosing between rejoining his family or following in the steps of Vader.
- Related to the above, how evil is Kylo really, and is it by his own doing? It's mentioned that he was "seduced" to the Dark Side by Snoke, and in the novelization it is expanded that Snoke was stalking him from birth specifically to groom him for a fall to the Dark Side. So did he choose to become evil, or was it a result of corruption via constant exposure to Snoke? Additionally, given that the First Order seems to have an almost cult-like mentality, and how Kylo's own view of Snoke is borderline reverent, he may have been brainwashed. If he is brainwashed, then how much, and would that absolve him of his crimes?
- How responsible Kylo Ren, if the above is true, would depend on how complicit he has been in the First Order's crimes, and how strong Snoke's influence is.
- Han approaching Kylo Ren could be seen as either a Too Dumb to Live moment on Han's part (given that he should have known it wouldn't be that easy to turn Kylo back, or Kylo could easily trick him), or Han deliberately sacrificing himself in a vain attempt to make Kylo realize what he'd just done, and turn back to the light side. In the same way, it's vague as to what Kylo means when he says 'Please' to Han.
- Can Kylo Ren be redeemed? It could be possible, considering this is Star Wars and Kylo's a modern counterpart to Darth Vader. Kylo also appeared to be guilt-ridden after killing Han Solo. The novelization made it clear that, after killing Solo the pull to the Light was stronger than ever.
- There are a lot of interpretations of Kylo Ren's rape-threat-sounding line to Rey: "You know I can take whatever I want". Did he not notice how it sounds and was just saying he can read her mind anyway, and pragmatically trying to get it over quickly? Is he trying to get her to hand over the information painlessly because he feels attraction/sympathy towards her? Was he aware of how his words sounded like a sexual assault threat and didn't care? Was he intentionally sounding rapey in hopes it would intimidate her into giving away the information? And if so, would he have actually done it or was it just a scare tactic?
- Some reviewers such as this
and this have asked why Chewbacca's bowcaster bolt doesn't kill Kylo, and why Chewie didn't aim for more fatal target such as Kylo's head or chest. Was Chewie unable to aim properly because he's in the middle of grief and rage due to Kylo Ren's horrid crimes? Or was it because Kylo Ren was Ben Solo, his best friend's son, so Chewie couldn't bring himself to kill him even although he had just killed his father? - Kylo Ren has been argued to be a satirical take on the more toxic elements of the Star Wars fandom.
- Luke's disappearance has been a subject of several debates on what he's really up to, both Meta and in-universe. Did he go into exile because he feels responsible for his nephew falling to the Dark Side and becoming the catalyst of a New Jedi Purge, effectively rending all his previous efforts naught? Han Solo also mentioned that he went off to find the First Jedi Temple. What was he hoping to achieve by going there? Some even going so far as to theorize that Luke had gone to the Dark Side after all, and is the mastermind behind everything that had happened so far. It has also been questioned whether he was morally wrong to go into exile in the first place, given that he left just as the galaxy was plunged into yet another civil war. As the last Jedi, many feel he should have shown more responsibility.
- What was Rey going to do before she and Kylo Ren were separated after his defeat? Given the look of pure rage on her face during the fight, it's very likely she was being tempted by the Dark Side, but her motives for sparing him are just ambiguous enough to create speculation. On the one hand, she makes no move towards Kylo once he's finally down, but on the other, she doesn't immediately deactivate her lightsaber. She just spends a good five or so seconds contemplating him. The novelization makes it clear that she was indeed being tempted by the Dark, hearing a voice in her head (maybe Snoke's?) encouraging her to kill Kylo.
- Hux gives a chilling performance during his speech, but straight after we see the Starkiller Base fire its superweapon, there's a shot of his face that can be interpreted as either conflict or awe. If it was meant to show conflict, was the speech more for show while he's actually struggling with his actions inside?
- A similar case with Kylo Ren, who doesn't even attend the ceremony where Starkiller Base is first used. It's left unclear how he feels about the destruction of the Hosnian System. As the weapon fires, we're treated to a long, lingering close-up of his masked face similar to when Snoke first mentions that Han Solo is his father suggesting he might be experiencing some inner conflict. In the novelization he opposes using Starkiller Base, though for pragmatic reasons.
- Is Phasma a Dirty Coward and hypocrite for lowering the shields of Starkiller Base the moment Finn puts a gun to her head? Or was she simply so confident in her troops and the base's defenses that she saw no reason to senselessly throw her life away? Or was she trying to sabotage the First Order? Or was she under the Jedi mind trick? Star Wars: Phasma clarifies that she is indeed a Dirty Coward solely concerned with her own survival.
- Is Finn Force-sensitive? The Force-noise plays when he watches Slip die. He also seems to hear the screams of the people in the Hosnian System while on Takodana. Snoke and Kylo Ren feel an "awakening" long before Rey does anything Force-related. Maz takes a very keen interest in examining him as well as equipping him with the old Skywalker lightsaber rather than a blaster or rifle.
- On a more comical note, some saw the adorable scene where BB-8 gives Finn a "thumb's up" with his lighter as Flipping the Bird.
