Therapist Reacts to KYLO REN 

Hey everybody. I just had an idea... We really REALLY love John Oliver. Like... REALLY. So how's about you all tweet at him to convince him to come on our show? He could film from his blank void. We could film in our movie cave. It would be awkward, but... sexy? Anyways. Let's do that. Let's get John Oliver on Cinema Therapy!

"Ben is lonely, he feels lonely" well, he is a Solo after all

I felt so bad for Chewy in the sequel movies, everyone he loves dies. His entire found family wiped out.

"He is my favorite villain that also acts like my 5 year old son." Nailed it.

A friend of mine said this about Kylo Ren after seeing The Force Awakens: "He's a good guy who is trying so damn hard to be the bad guy that he isn't." And there is so much truth in that in EVERYTHING Kylo does. He hides behind a mask, wears outfits similar to his grandfather, uses his anger like a raging wildfire where Vader's was tempered and focused like a blowtorch, and his lightsaber hilt is PAINTED black over the silver, the darkness hiding the true light within. The symbolism is there and it's not subtle. Star Wars is NOT subtle. Never has been. There are subtleties TO it, but overall it is not subtle. And none of them are perfect. Not even the Original Trilogy. The Sequel Trilogy has weak writing and weak story, but what carries it are the themes, the music, and most of all, the performances.

Do we notice that Luke uses Han's words? "Se ya around, kid."

It's hard for me to focus because I can't stop thinking about how you guys switched seats haha

I agree with all of this, except the one thing at the end, about Kylo Ren's "Redemption = Death" trope being justified. It's almost always cliche. It worked better for Vader, but this one just felt contrived. Dying is easy. Living is hard. Him living makes for a better story.

I also think part of Kylo's reaction to realizing Luke isn't there is the realization that his uncle didn't even come to face him in person. Not just that he was outsmarted with different tactics, but the fact that his uncle didn't think he was important or worthy enough to actually show up in person when he has been constantly abandoned his entire life by people he loved and respected was a lot. Like I have done all of this, come this far, pushed as far as I could away from the people who hurt me and you still don't respect me or take me seriously. And it turned out you didn't need to because you still won.

Alan and Jonathan in their planning meeting... "Do we wanna blow up the comment section?" "I'm listening.." "Let's switch seats."

Fun Fact: Kylo Ren's force sound design all comes from a cat that's purring and meowing has been modulated deeper

Also - I think Rey’s comment that she “did want to take Ben’s hand” also had a big impact on Kylo - he hears she wanted Ben, not Kylo, who he viewed as the stronger of the two. IMO

I do have to disagree about how scary Kylo Ren is - Kylo's like fire. Unstable, destructive, but always needs something to burn - fuel, if you will. Vader, on the other hand, is like ice - kills all life and cannot be stopped (and, on another note, one could say Vader is 'frozen in grief'). Both are terrifying, but the fact Vader is so calm, yet so dangerous, is *much* more scary... p.s. Alan, the fact you are so emotionally invested in films is genuinely so heart-warming.

The moment when Han touches Ben's cheek after already being impaled... To me, that moment said this: "No. Nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you."

One of my favorite viewpoints on Kylo is that he started out wanting to finish what Vader started, but never did so until he healed Rey. In doing so he was able to save her from dying, the very thing that caused Anakin to turn to the dark side. He did so not out of selfish desire, but from a place of selflessness and love, the epitome of the light side of the force.

Something that was maybe overlooked: when Luke defeats Kylo and Kylo puts the blade of his saber in Luke, Luke says "See ya around kid." That's something Han would say, so not only is Kylo bested in his knowledge of the Force, but that moment is capped by his father's own words...just a thought...

Massive, massive MASSIVE praise to Harrison Ford played Han's death and ups and downs of the sequel trilogy aside, Adam Driver captured exactly what he needed to for this kind of villain

Kylo Ren on paper seems like a villain that one should really hate, especially after what happened to Han. But Adam Driver makes so many interesting choices with the character and brings out a lot of multifaceted emotions with what he's going through, that he ends up being my favorite character to watch in the new trilogy.

The new Star Wars trilogy: meh Kylo Ren as a character: chef's kiss

It is wonderful how the saga actually came full circle: Anakin turned to the Dark to keep Padme, while Ben turned to the Light to save Rey. That way he actually surpassed his grandfather in strength.

I've had a heap of problems with the new trilogy, but hearing your perspective on Kylo Ren's character and seeing the trilogy as a frame for HIS character progressions rather than anything else, makes me appreciate it more than I have done. That's what I'll remember it as as things go forward.

I disagree with Disney's choice to make Ben sacrifice himself and die. It would have been a far better lesson to show he survived and had to live with his actions. How he coped with them and what he did to atone for his sins. Other than that, I loved his character.

"We treat people with respect not because of who they are, but because of who we are." 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I may have become a tiny bit obsessed with Adam Driver after seeing him in Star Wars. What a huge actor (literally) and what a man!

For me, I don’t think Han’s death wasn’t the most emotional seen in Star Wars, but it is top-tier. Anakin burning on mustifar and hearing Obi-Wan say he was his brother was, in my opinion, the single most emotional scene. The close second would be Anakin‘s redemption from Darth Vader in episode six, and this scene, maybe tied with each other.

Now I want a "Therapist Reacts to Severus Snape" :D

Gotta love it when we are given a morally ambiguous character and they die before the end of the conflict. Like: “Sorry, we just have not fricking idea how this guy would be properly punished or reintegrated into society. So he needs to die.” Happens so often with enemies turned allies.

I realize that this video is a year old, but I have to say how I took the moments leading up to Han’s death. I’ve seen these movies so many times and have changed my perspectives on a lot of the scenes except this one: When Kylo/Ben says “he was weak, just like his father” and then asks Han to help him get rid of his pain and tries to hand him his lightsaber….Han didn’t actually TAKE the lightsaber from Kylo/Ben’s hands and instead just holds onto it still in Kylo’s hands. Ben offered it with open hands and didn’t start to grip back onto it until Han hesitated and took too long to take it from him. I have always felt that it was that key moment that pushed Kylo to do what he did. He essentially asked Han to finally be the father Ben wanted and make the tough decisions for him and actually take the light saber away from him. Like when a parent takes something away from their kid because they shouldn’t be playing with it - that very simple act of parenting is what Ben was asking his father to do for him. But Han couldn’t do it. That, to me, solidified Han in Kylo’s mind as still being weak as he had mentioned right before he kills him. That’s why Kylo says thank you, almost like a “thank you for proving that my perception of you is correct because you couldn’t even do this last thing I wanted from you.” I believe he would’ve dropped the Kylo Ren persona and went back home if Han would’ve snatched that lightsaber from him (but then that’d be the end of the movie basically and where’s the fun in that?lol). Han touching Ben’s face was him saying sorry that he couldn’t be the father he needed, but he accepted his death as his last act of parenting…showing unconditional love. He showed Ben that no matter what horrible thing he did that he’d still love him and that’s the best thing a parent can do. So, then in the scene in the Last Skywalker where he has the same conversation with Han…he’s not asking Han to take the lightsaber away from him anymore. Ben has finally grown up enough as a person to not need his dad to make the tough decisions anymore or need him to physically take away the thing that he shouldn’t be playing with and instead is able to throw it away on his own. The Star Wars movies were all about the importance of family and it’s dynamic, whether it be by blood or the family you make.

It was insane how much people hated Ben because he killed Han. Ben had been groomed by Snoke SINCE BIRTH. His patents were afraid of him, Luke was afraid of him, and he still resisted Snoke until his parents sent him away and the only adult left in his life tried to murder him in his sleep. He was like 17 when he turned, he was a child.

Ok, since we’re admiring Adam Driver’s performance, I’m very surprised that his “please” wasn’t addressed. That is such an incredible moment.

25:13 I hate that I didn't realize until just now that this exchange: "Dad..." "I know" was meant to mirror Han's schtick with Leia: "I love you" "I know". Even though Ben is choking on the words, the feeling of "Dad, I love you" is still there.

"People go bad because they're hurting." Luke does that too. He doesn't fall to the Dark Side and become Darth Dingus or anything, but Luke is clearly overwhelmed by his responsibility when he tries to bring back the Jedi Order and he breaks down in a (in my opinion, very fittingly in character) momentary impulse of fear at the worst possible moment. Then, after he sees the result of his failure, he runs away and hides for a decade or whatever.

Theres another side to Chewie shooting Kylp you overlook but really drives home your point particularly with him punching where Chewie shot him. Set aside how Chewie thinks about the shot and instead about Ben. He'd have grown up with Chewie as a big furry uncle, some of his first memories not of his parents are probably of Chewie acting like a giant living teddy bear. The hurt and betrayal of being shot by him thatd be a whole other pain to draw on for his ragw.

The “Dad...” “I know” gets me every time!

It's also hinted at in the films and confirmed in books and comics that Han essentially wasn't there in person for Ben as he and Leia sent him off to Luke pretty young to be trained. Then he's never told the truth of his lineage by his family. He learns about Anakin being Vader from a public smear campaign that was being made again Leia by a political rival, also how the rest of the galaxy learned the truth.

YOU LITERALLY FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE ONLY MOMENT BEN/KYLO SMILED WAS DURING HIS FINAL MOMENTS WITH REY BC HE’S AT PEACE NOW 😭😭😭

Talking about self-harm in regards to Kylo, i read that scene a bit differently from my experiences. My partner has a long history dealing with self-harm and the way he’s described it to me wasn’t necessarily to replace emotional pain for physical pain but as self punishment for something he’s done/felt (though i guess that could also be interpreted as the same thing just rephrased). Obviously, everyone is different, but i read that scene as his intense guilt shining through that he felt he needed to punish himself for.

What i find funny and interesting is how more grey each of their outfits become, the more influence they have over one another and actually understand and talk to one another. Showing they both are not completely in the light or in the dark

Alan: "I'm crying over a comic strip that isn't even part of this movie. What is wrong with me?" John: "I think the question is, what is right with you?" 11:24

I enjoy that Kylo responds to pain differently after he turns to the light side. Before he's intentionally hurting himself in a gruesome way, but then changes and he actually allows himself to feel and express pain (his little "owe" comment after falling down that hole). Just something little that stood out to me.

Also the light behind both of them was wonderful. Han has a blue light behind him until the end, Ben stays in darkness until he starts to get emotional and we see a small amount of blue light coming from behind him. It shows the light side is peeking behind him until the sun goes out.

This is gonna be really hard for me to watch. I know people like to interpret Kylo Ren very literally, but I saw a lot of my experience as a PTSD survivor reflected in that character, and identified a little too hard with the story. I was really gutted by how it ended, and I internalized some really insidious messaging about how our society views redemption, suffering, and the value of life. I trust this channel to approach any story with sensitivity, but I still might need to sit this one out. 🖤 Edit: I watched it bc I’m weak. Thank you guys for being compassionate. Now I need to go blast some Linkin Park and have a good cry 🙃

Marriage Story would be fantastic to react to. Adam Driver stars in this film alongside Scarlett Johansson and its incredibly moving.

As someone with bpd, I get urges to self harm when I’m angry. I take so much longer to calm down from being angry than I do from sadness, and it releases the emotions, pretty much the opposite of what it does for Kylo

There was an emotional love story happening between Rey and Ben. People don't have to view it as romantic, but there was an emotional connection that was their own. That fight in TROS was them being disappointed and angry with one another for their choices and POV that one rejected the other. In the end, Ben came back for her and chose her, not the light. I love that you guys hit on that he saw Rey as an equal--he did. He saw himself in her (and she saw the same in him). That hut scene was so important to support that after all the conversations they were having. He never lied to her and, in a sense, he was her teacher (not Luke along with Leia). She tapped into the Force when their bond activated and learned his fighting skills (that Luke recognized) and she was the person he could relate to emotionally because they were the same in some ways. Also, the books go into Leia's regret that she neglected him as well as feared his rising power due to her denial about her own legacy (Vader's daughter). Ben found out family lies from her enemies. Ben couldn't kill another parent because killing Han was destroying him. Killing Leia definitely would have gutted him. And she is what sustained him until he died. It's beautiful in a way. (and the comics went into how he struggled to let go of his parents or kill them in a vision. Ben was projecting with Rey when he was saying she was still holding on--so was he! It's part of why that scene was sooo good!) I like to think that she was waiting for him because, regardless of what fans or even Disney-Lucas Films try to say, Leia loved her son and never wished another person was the child she never had--Ben was always the child she wanted and loved him always. The fight with Luke was a family fight... the dialogue was clear. I wish they had Luke keep his promise to be in Ben's ear because I felt they needed to concentrate more on the Skywalker aspect (Ben) and not Rey's backstory. This is the failure of TROS to me. (But I also loved that Luke's redemption and last act was that of love for his family: Leia and Ben and his arc came full circle with him looking into the sunset and knowing the next part of his journey was beginning as this one ended and he was at peace) I felt Ben living as an outlaw, actively seeking redemption through acts (and crossing paths with Rey) was the better continuation. But they wanted to kill all the blood Skywalkers and pass it on to Rey. I don't agree with that and I feel the limited themselves. But I do agree Ben giving his life was an act of love for Rey--he saved the galaxy by saving her and ending himself. And it was on his terms. Ben was seeking validation and acceptance he never had, but also control. You saw that in TLJ and how he was struggling to be in control of his own destiny and made a choice. Someone also had the theory that Ben possibly had a mental illness exacerbated by the Force. And that could be true, but also his emotional instability from his parents neglect and Luke's mistake amplified his instability and Snoke fed it. He was seeking it from Vader, but that was being used against him (and it's criminal they didn't delve into that in TROS with a reaction when that reveal happened). He's been manipulated or neglected most of his life and all his choices with Rey were things he wanted for himself. I love this character because he wasn't a standard villain and his motivations were MUCH more complex. To actually SEE the struggle in a Force user between the light and the dark, and it being the Skywalker heir, made so much sense and gave the movies more emotional grounding. In the end, these movies were also about a family's tragedy set amongst a war. Their legacy affected everything around them and had a few things been different, who knows where they would have been (and how messed up that family enemy won, in the end, and destroyed them in a sense). I also like that they reiterated how the Jedi were hypocrites and just as flawed as the Sith, and that sometimes failure is the greatest teacher. I could go on, but Kylo/Ben was my favorite character. Adam Driver made this character complex and I appreciate it.

My favorite scene is when Kylo Ren is having another temper tantrum(besides the first scene they show here, and two guards who are supposed to tell him something see his tirade and decide, "Nope, not now" and they turn in the other direction 🤣🤣🤣

A side note on self harm that is worthwhile touching on: pain releases endorphins, which helps the body to manage physical pain, stress, and emotional duress. Some bodies release more of these endorphins than others, and some bodies are more receptive to those endorphins. It's a complicated response to often complicated stimuli (abuses, stresses, habits, and more).

Something that I want to point out is that kylo didn't know ray had the force when he started showing her respect by removing his mask, he let her see his face which at that point he hadn't done for anyone else

5:35 the sound design in this sequence is incredible too. You can actually hear when control shifts from Ben to Rey, and she starts peering into his mind

It’s so refreshing hearing people talk substantially about the new films / characters instead of blatantly talking them down. I’m not the biggest fan of the either, but the cast is so amazingly talented and the chemistry between them is so good. Lovely seeing people appreciating Driver’s work here and look deeply into kylo ren

_"If you were smart you'd see things the way I see them."_ I can't tell you how many times I've had someone use almost this exact wording with me, especially online, when I'm disagreeing with them, and I always clarify "No, I understand, I just don't agree." This is legit how too many people think, and frankly it's why it's so hard to have discussions with people these days. Everything has to be a victory where you've successfully pulled someone to your side by convincing them they're wrong. Yeah, if I feel strongly about it I may _want_ you to end up agreeing with me, but sometimes it's worth it just to settle for exchanging perspectives. Coming away better informed about where a person's coming from and using that to add layers to your own perspective can be its own kind of victory.

I highly recommend the comic The Rise of Kylo Ren, it gives more context to his past and makes him more sympathetic and tragic although considering his treatment in TRoS and the arguments in the fandom over why a Star Wars villain abuse survivors and people with mental health problems identify with deserved death it might be a little triggering.

When you were talking about Ben's relationship with his parents, that struck a chord with me. I don't get along with my own dad, wanting attention I don't think he knows how to give. My mom showed me unconditional love, but would lash out when angry, and she's who I saw the most, and still see the most. I know I have anger issues, my dad bottled his emotions up inside, and barely let them out, which made him sick, and my mom bottled up hers until she exploded. I don't know how to handle, or express emotions in a healthy way since I grew up with emotional extremes. I'm trapped somewhere between them. Not talking about my emotions, bottling them up until I either explode, or it makes me sick.

It's interesting to me when you say Rey challenged Kylo's world when she showed compassion. It reminded me of a story I read in Humans of New York, where an elderly man said his dad was a torturer for Hitler or Mussolini. This man went on to say his dad was abusive in every possible way at home too, but his grandparents helped raise this man. So this man said one day he went and hugged his father, and his father started shaking. The last sentence in that story has stayed with me this whole time. "He wanted to love, and he wanted to be loved, but he didn't know how."

when you guys mentioned how attractive adam driver is i was so close to commenting 'john oliver agrees wholeheartedly' but y'all beat me to it and i sincerely thank you

a level-headed discussion about star wars and kylo ren by two guys i could listen to?? bless. really enjoying your channel.

12:08 the tanget about self harm is completely correct, as someone who has had a lot of problems with self harm I never during those moments thought of what i was doing was wrong, instead i thought of it as the logical thing to do, to replace all that emotional pain and suffering i had with physical pain was for me a "great" way to handle it all, but after a while it spiraled out of control into a addiction. Imagine that you were in a extreme amount of mental pain and just were feeling like everything was against you and that you had no control over your own life and then you have this thing (self harm) in which you have total control over what is happening and what you are feeling it becomes like a drug off "I have control, i can make everything go away simply because i want it too" it is legitametly a irresistible thing and is so tantalising that it becomes something you just must have. For me now i dont say that "oh i quit doing self harm a year ago" no for me i think of it and say it like "i have been clean from self harm for a year" since it was for me no different from a drug or substance abuse and even though i dont have suicidal thoughts anymore and are in a much much better mental state i still have "withdrawl" moments where i need to fight against the urge of self harm. its something that for me i dont believe will go away

Man, Adam Driver’s acting... he is so unbelievably talented

When it comes to “whose scarier” between Vader and Ren, sure, Ren is scary. He’s out of control, and that can be terrifying. You’re scared cause this guy could kill you the next time he decides to throw a tantrum, but Vader commands respect. Vader’s presence alone is spine chilling. Maybe I just can’t take Kyle Ren seriously, but a child with a Gatling gun is still just a child. The fear is random with him, but Vader is a master marksman with a sniper rifle. He can do more than just kill you, he can truly threaten and control you. Ren is scary in the sense that he could kill cause he had a bad day. The fear is primal, it’s instant panic, but Vader’s brand of scary is looming and silent. For me at least, that’s way more terrifying.

...just, wow. You both said perfectly what many of us found it hard to verbalize. People talk so negatively about the sequels (and say what you want about the change in directors or the output of the writers) Adam pulled of an absolutely phenomenal performance with what he was given. Really flawless, in my opinion. And the Psychology was spot on. I applaud you both!

Gosh seriously thank you for this. Adam Driver is the reason why Kylo Ren works for me and is my favorite character. But your analysis on him gave me a chance to accept his ending, even if I am still bitter about it. I wish he lived a different life in some other way.

Frozen's trolls taught that: "people make bad choices when they're mad, scared or stressed... But throw a little love their way, and you'll bring out their best"

Adam Driver and his character carry the entire sequel triology on his back.

Rewatched VII-IX this May 4th! Seriously, so much respect to Adam Driver for portraying such a deeply torn character. There's so much to say here about the Jungian shadow being repressed so hard and violently in him and how "what you resist persists," and I've never seen resistance and repression demonstrated visually better than I've seen it in Kylo Ren, wow. It's like he's physically holding in a bomb just waiting to explode, he couldn't even let himself finish a sentence to his imaginary father.

When Alan says about Kylo swapping his life for Rey's, "The universe is a better place with her in it than with me".... hit me right in the feels 😢 Great take.

I admit to tearing up when Han said "I know" to Ben's unspoken words because it's how he responds to "I love you" to Leia... Ok, I did more than tear up, I was ugly crying.

"I did want to take your hand.... Ben's hand" OH IT'S SOOO GOOOD

I have a different take on Kylo taking out his day on inanimate objects. Sometimes you are filled with such anger, rage, and frustration that it has to go somewhere. You have to vent it. While this does speak to a general lack of emotional control, it is the least bad of some bad choices. He could have force-choked the officer or chopped him into kibble with his lightsaber, but he chose to wreck a bank of replaceable equipment instead. He chose to vent on an object instead of killing a person. That is... something? It's akin to punching a wall instead of your spouse. Not a great sign, but it could be worse.

I hadn’t known about the comic strip that added more to the reason why Chewiee didn’t take a kill shot at Kylo/Ben; even though the comic strip wasn’t part of the movies, it adds more to the overall picture. Star Wars, I feel, has so many puzzle pieces to it and once of the ways to get a bigger picture feeling is to consume other related content.

Something I always found interesting was that in the 1st movie, she calls him out on wearing a mask, and he immidiatly takes it off and gets down on her eyelevel and talks to her there?

There is the interesting bit too that he is trying to emulate his idol, his grandather, Darth Vader but since he didn't know him all he has is his image. That is an issue that happens often with idolization. This is a great reaction, as always, and you made me rethink some things.

I watched a lot of the original Star Wars as a child, in the theater. When Han dies, I cried my eyes out, and wasn't sure if I would be able to make it through the rest of the movie. My eating disorder is my version of not feeling. I've never cut, drunk, or did drugs but it's the same mechanism.

25:12 The classic "I love you" from Leia and the "I know" from Han, but Ben didnt even needed to say that he loved Han, It was implicit just by saying "Dad"

THANK YOU for acknowledging that he was abused and neglected and deeply in pain. as someone who really loves his emotional complexity but also really struggles with what is “right” to feel about this character, I appreciate it.

Ben was the Skywalker who fulfilled what Anakin sought to do before his fall. He became so powerful he could keep the people he loved from dying

The red on all of Hans face as he stands there, fully ready to die, and Kylo's face on partially red, because he's torn. Nice touch

It'd be interesting to see them look at Rey, and how her backstory influences her throughout the movies. I find it really interesting, how she has a *massive* character flaw that's present throughout the trilogy, even pointed out in Ep 9, but it never gets resolved. (Maybe left as material for Ep 10+ to explore?) She's too self-focused. She's CONSTANTLY wandering off on her own, and either getting into danger, or putting her friends in danger through her absence. It's completely understandable given her past, but it also causes her a lot of problems.

So happy to see two commentators on RU-vid being respectful of TLJ, and see how beautiful the film truly was on its own!

Ben Solo's character arc is literally the only reason I would ever rewatch the sequels

Your comments about "kill the messenger" managers is spot on. A few months into a new job, the lower level employees realized that I was "brave enough" to tell the owner about problems that were effecting production. The first time I did so, he started railing against me. I said: "This problem affects the performance and profitability of your business. If you don't want me to tell you, if you want your people to hide this from you, just say so, and I won't report problems to you again." That stopped him cold in his tracks. I think it dawned on him that he was actually encouraging people to hide things from him, because they dreaded his reaction. He said "No, I need to know about problems." After this, he worked to be more open and less intimidating to the lower level production employees.

1:22 Yes! In the theaters I was scared for anyone in the same room as Kylo Ren as I feared he would burst in a violent expulsion like a volcano in a fragment of a second. Vader had none of that. He was calm and collected...and slow.

By "letting the past die" he killed his own future. A tragic character if I ever saw one.

I remember watching Ben force-revive Rey at the cinema, sitting between two strangers. I was quietly screaming “Noooo” when Rey was still dead. And then with silent “Yes!” when she got back. And literally (but still quietly) squealed when they kissed. But finally let out a loud “NOOO!” when Ben died. All these emotions for just one scene!

9:30 I also subscribe to the notion that Han knew the coded language Kylo was trying to communicate to him. I don't think Kylo activated the lightsaber and that Han did. Han killed himself so his son did not have to be tainted by killing his dad. It saves Ben and shows him that his dad was trying to help him. Even in TLJ, Snoke saying to Kylo that the death of Han split Kylo's soul in two. Han's sacrifice allowed more light to enter Ben, not dark

When the first of the sequels came out I was baffled by Kylo Ren. I just could not understand how the son of Leia could idolize the version of his grandfather that did so much harm that she had dedicated her life to fighting against and cleaning up. It wasn't until the second movie that it started to make sense. When they really demonstrated how it could be possible for Snoke (and Palps) to have messed with his head, his memories, and perspective, since he was a little kid, to turn him against his parents. So Snoke literally got into his head, not the figurative way when someone manipulates another. And it was pretty epic when Kylo realizes this and is able to use it against Snoke, by doing the same exact thing when he fools him into thinking he was going to kill Rey. It also hints at how powerful he could have been (uh, pun?) had Snoke never messed with him. But knowing you've had your memories altered, and perspective skewed isn't the same thing as accepting what that really means. So his rage afterward also makes sense. Because he's wresting with finding out that he's just been a pawn, and a tool, being used against his own family. But also that his family, these three powerhouses that were capable of taking down an Empire were unable to protect him and that has also got to make him feel both so small but in a way completely betrayed. (As illogical as that might actually be.) And I think Luke realizes this when he shows up and tells Leia that he's there to face Kylo. Face the anger Luke probably thinks he very well deserves. And when he says he can't save him, I don't think he means he can't be saved. Just that he, nor Leia will be the ones to do it. It has to be someone that isn't entwined with his pain. Just the same as Luke wasn't part of Anakin's but was an outside force (again with the puns) to show Darth Vader kindness and offer him a second chance. And that is what Rey is to Kylo. She never set out to hurt him, but she's the only one that shows him kindness. Too bad the third movie is such a trash fire of panicked plot twisting to appease the vitriolic fans. They buried the arc established in the first two movies under new girlfriends for Poe and Finn to nuke that shipdom, nostalgia-driven cameos, a checklist of callbacks to the originals that have no real connection to the story, while sidelining characters like Rose and downgrading Finn, and a mathematically improbably granddaughter. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

I love that Alan cries at all the really moving scenes. It's so wholesome 🤍 (and makes me feel less weird for crying over fictional characters and movies too).

"Well how could he? Leia's his mom."

I was surprised in the Han ghost scene you didn't mention that it is a call back to Empire Strikes Back. That's Ben saying 'Dad, I love you' as he gets past all his anger and resentment from growing up and forgives his father. Han - 'I know'.

Adam Driver's skills were a bright spot on an otherwise bleak universe... He deserved a far better script.

2:40 I love how when Ben first hears about Rey, his real voice is heard pretty clearly through his mask. I think it's pretty funny that he's making his voice lower physically and by using voice changer, only dropping the act when he's caught off guard.

Not a huge fan of the Star Wars sequels but this analysis made me appreciate them a bit more. There’s always more than one perspective to view things from.

This is probably one of the best if not THE best analysis of Kylo Ren and his arc. I am so glad I stumbled upon your channel I'm definitely sticking around

The part about Ren hitting himself brought me back to seeing one of my friends who I thought was calm and collected lose his crap one day. He just started full on punching himself in the jaw “Why did you do that?” “I get to an emotional state I can’t mentally handle so I let it out physically to change where the feeling is. I do it to myself because I’m not hurting anyone or anything else around me, at least not physically. I’ll heal. If I hurt someone else, that relationship doesn’t heal. If I hurt something else, it can’t always be repaired or replaced.”

This is like when someone sits in your un-assigned assigned seat in class. Go back to your seats please we can't handle change.

Who else thinks it would be interesting to see Cinema Therapy react to grief and trauma in Wandavision?

Thank you Thank you so much for this video! I loved the sequel series, but my friends and siblings didn’t like them at all. It was so refreshing to see someone react to these movies in a positive light like I do. Kylo Ren is one of my favorite characters ever.

Between fear and “love” there needs to be a balance. They need to love and respect you so that everyone can work well…, but fear you enough to not dare to step out of line.

Kylo hitting himself in his wound really, REALLY stuck with me on my first time seeing TFA. My immediate thought was how he was using that to condition himself, train himself, like pain is often used to do, and it was so sad to me. It made me wonder what else he might have went through as far as pain or fear conditioning upon coming to Snoke/the first order. I think it's something that many people didn't notice or think about, but it hit me hard, especially seeing the blood on the snow.

When Kyl0 stabbed his father and Han touched his face in forgiveness and love, it stopped Kyl0 from the complete fall into darkness that Anak in had. After Han fell you saw Ben rise up in horror for just a moment, and he never completely left. It's why Kyl0 eyes never turned. Hans touch saved Ben from being lost forever. It pulled him from the far depths. And that touch was what Ben was reliving when he threw away the saber.

I can't watch any of these clips without chuckling thinking about SNL"s "Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base." Kylo is undercover as Matt the Radar tech. Perfection in Parody!