A Love Letter to Ben Solo
WARNING: Significant spoilers ahead from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. All biographical info sourced from Star Wars canon materials.
Dear Ben Chewbacca Organa Solo,
Hi. I find myself torn between writing you a love letter, or a eulogy. If we’re being vulnerable, I’ll admit that I’m still mourning the fact that there’s a need for the latter. Maybe you exist out there in the World Between Worlds and maybe someday Rey will figure out how to bring you back, but until then…I love you, Ben Solo. And farewell.
Taken from us too soon, you were. You were a very misunderstood and maligned character (read: NOT! A! NAZI!), as much of your history was only revealed in ancillary material like comics and novels, and one has to pay extra for those. In that material Lucasfilm repeatedly emphasizes that your childhood was marked by feelings of abandonment and a darkness you didn’t believe you could escape, which we now know was Palpatine trying to seduce you to the dark side.
If Anakin fell to the Dark out of fear for his loved ones, you fell to the Dark from being feared BY your loved ones because you “had too much Vader in you”. (Conversely, your family gave Rey the benefit of the doubt, despite apparently knowing she was a Palpatine the whole time…cool). You were groomed, manipulated, abused, and intentionally isolated from your family, and their answer was to ship you off to your Uncle. We all know how well that ended.
Ben Solo never did anything wrong in his entire life
But there’s no need to continue dredging up old hurts, or mention all the bad shit you did as Kylo Ren, or why your death devastated so many in the Star Wars fandom. Let’s focus instead on the smoking hot magnificence that was Redeemed Ben Solo, a Very Good Boy™.
We only got you for a few minutes, but damn son, you made the most of them. Using your dad’s shoot-the-stormtrooper-without-looking move? Iconic. That tattered black sweater from space Gap? Chris Evans WISHES he wore a sweater that well. Pulling the legacy lightsaber from behind your back and doing that adorable shrug before annihilating the Knights of Ren? I don’t even want to admit what that did to my lady parts. Okay I’ll fess up, IT MELTED THEM. And it started a viral Twitter challenge.
And then remember that one time you were thrown into a pit, climbed out with a broken leg and maybe a broken back, then used your own life force to bring the woman you love back from the mother-effing dead??!? LEGEN…wait for it…DARY. In your face, Anakin.
To what could have been…
Oh, Ben…you would have been so great, if only JJ had allowed you to live. With your enormous..er…force powers, you could have devoted your life to court ordered community service helping heal the hurts you inflicted on the galaxy as Kylo Ren. There’s no telling (except in comics…TV shows…novels…and numerous other mediums that could have made a) your fans happy and b) Disney boatloads of cash) what you and your dyad-slash-soulmate Rey could have accomplished together for good.
Furthermore, THINK OF THE CHILDREN. Your children, with Rey, specifically. Adorable little tots, with that mighty Skywalker-Palpatine (blech) blood, your glossy black hair and her mechanical aptitude. Think of the play dates with Baby Yoda. THINK OF THEM. I will never not be angry that Wrinkleballs McSithLord Palpatine got to procreate and you did not.
So if I came here to say one thing, it’s that your death was such a waste. The galaxy needed you. Rey needed you. Hell…I needed you. I’m working on that with my therapist.
Rest in Peace Ben, knowing that in our hearts (and the immortal annals of fanfic), you lived happily ever after.
