The Star Wars saga blasted off into a new era with Episode VII, and the brand-new villain was none other than Kylo Ren, the hooded Sith Lord who once went by Ben Solo. He was the tormented and lost son of Han Solo the rogue and Princess/General Leia, and he played an instrumental role in this phase of the Skywalker saga, along with Rey, the newest Jedi Knight.
Kylo Ren appeared almost cartoonishly evil at first, with his Darth Vader-inspired outfit and his temper tantrums. But in truth, the light and dark sides were clashing and twisting in Kylo Ren, and he held the future of the Force in his hands. With all these conflicting interests and goals, Kylo Ren made more than a few rash decisions, some better than others.
10 KYLO WAS RIGHT: That The Past Must Die
In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren began making overtures to Rey, since she was strong in the Force and could prove a valuable ally. Rey was stuck in the past, though, longing for the parents who would never return to her. Kylo Ren tried to snap her out of it.
Kylo correctly told Rey "Let the past die. Kill it if you must." Rey indeed needed to let go, especially if she intended to become a proper Jedi and abandon all attachments that could lead to the Dark Side. Having too many attachments is how Anakin Skywalker fell, after all.
9 KYLO WAS WRONG: Scorning The New Republic
Although it was General Hux who made that passionate "Today, the New Republic falls!" speech on Starkiller Base, Kylo Ren's actions made it clear that he, too, wanted the New Republic to fall. By the time The Rise of Skywalker was taking place, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren had effectively wiped the New Republic out.
Kylo and Hux were spreading the First Order's shadow across the entire galaxy, which spelled tragedy for trillions of people. The New Republic was an attempt to restore democracy and fairness to the galaxy, and Kylo Ren tried to kill that hope.
8 KYLO WAS RIGHT: Turning On Supreme Leader Snoke
Supreme Leader Snoke was a twisted Sith Lord draped in glitzy gold robes, commanding the entire First Order from his enormous flagship. He had been Kylo Ren's master for years, but by the time Kylo Ren and Rey faced him together, it was time for the past to die once again.
Kylo Ren sincerely wanted to strike Snoke down, and Snoke sensed it (but was too late to protect himself). Snoke's death freed Kylo Ren from his grip, and for the time being, Darth Sidious's as well. This act didn't redeem Kylo, but it brought him one step closer to seeing the light.
7 KYLO WAS WRONG: Encouraging Rey To Join The First Order
Kylo Ren and Rey turned on the bodyguards and wiped them out, and seconds later, while Snoke's body was still warm, Kylo Ren told Rey the truth about her parents, and he urged her to move on and join him. She had nowhere else to go.
Or at least, that's the impression that Kylo tried to give her. Kylo Ren was getting ready to proclaim himself the new Supreme Leader, and he wanted to restore peace by recruiting Rey and giving the First Order its ultimate victory. That's not the fate that Rey or the galaxy needed.
6 KYLO WAS RIGHT: Trying To Spare Leia's Life
At some point, the Resistance fleet was fleeing the First Order's ships, and Kylo Ren caught up in his TIE Silencer, a deadly spacecraft indeed. Kylo Ren fired some precise shots to weaken the Resistance's meager fleet, but when he sensed his own mother on the Resistance flagship's bridge, he hesitated.
Kylo could have destroyed Leia once and for all with some well-aimed torpedoes, but he couldn't bring himself to fire. Not even he could just turn on his last living parent, and Leia was vital for the Resistance and Rey's training. Other TIE fighters did take the shot, but fortunately, Leia survived the ordeal.
5 KYLO WAS WRONG: Massacring The Jakku Villagers
Kylo Ren made a strong first impression when he arrived at that Jakku village, questioned and killed Lor San Tekka, then ordered the slaughter of the captured villagers. They had done nothing to warrant this wholesale slaughter.
Instead, this cold "kill them all" order merely deepened Kylo's position in the Dark Side, and made it that much more difficult for him to return to the Light Side. Not even Darth Vader, Kylo's venerated grandfather, committed such acts so casually (the Tusken Raider slaughter was provoked; this was not).
4 KYLO WAS RIGHT: That The Jedi Are Faulty
The Jedi Order had long since been criticized for some of its practices, such as the routine capture of infants to train new Jedi who had no attachments to their old lives, along with some corruption issues. By the time Luke Skywalker led the entire order, he was almost ready to kill Ben Solo.
Luke had sensed the Dark Side growing in young Ben, and he had his green lightsaber activated and ready to strike by the time he hesitated. Indeed, Luke would tell Rey that the Jedi Order merely perpetrated the destructive Light/Dark feud, and Kylo had similar attitudes about all this. The Jedi aren't so magical after all.
3 KYLO WAS WRONG: Wanting To Kill Luke Skywalker
Kylo Ren assaulted that Jakku village because he wanted to obtain the map fragment that Lor San Tekka had, and Kylo Ren spent several days trying to hunt down the droid BB-8 and the map data that it had inside.
If Kylo Ren had gotten his way, he would have taken his shuttle right to Ahch-To, where Luke had gone into hiding, and confronted his uncle in mortal combat. Luke needed to live to maintain the Force's balance, and Kylo had no business trying to kill him.
2 KYLO WAS RIGHT: Turning On Darth Sidious
In the months following Luke Skywalker's death, Kylo Ren used some Sith artifacts to find Darth Sidious himself, and accepted the Sith Lord's promise to give him "everything." On Sidious's behalf, Kylo hunted down Rey once again, and eventually, Rey found her own way to Exegol.
Rey's defiance, and her loyalty to the Light Side, had inspired Kylo Ren to turn on Sidious and fight for justice at long last. Kylo overcame Sidious's guards and helped Rey destroy Darth Sidious once and for all, and though he lost his life in the process, Kylo Ren had no regrets.
1 KYLO WAS WRONG: That Killing Han Would Bring Him Peace
Kylo Ren was trapped in a complicated situation involving himself, the Light and Dark sides of the Force, his parents, and his longing to find his true destiny. On Starkiller Base, Kylo Ren was convinced that he'd achieve some clarity if he killed his father and the temptation to return to the light.
But it was not to be. Kylo Ren was more confused and tormented than ever, and it wouldn't be until a year later, when he saw his father's vision on the ruins of the second Death Star, that Kylo Ren would begin to find clarity. The past must die, but not like this.