Tag: lol

mollymatterrs:

“kylo ren is an antagonist because he puts obstacles in the way of the protagonists"

here follows a comprehensive list of the main obstacles encountered by the protagonists in tfa:

– starkiller base (very much shown to be hux’s baby: “on this MACHINE WHICH YOU HAVE BUILT, on which WE STAND”)

– shooting down finn during his escape attempt (overseen by hux, kylo does absolutely nothing else except stare off into the distance murmuring “fn-2187” then leaving again)

– the pursuit of bb-8 (hux: “well then, if it’s on jakku we’ll soon have it…” / kylo: “i leave that to you”)

– the destruction of hosnian prime (ordered by snoke, carried out by hux, with kylo watching from the finalizer)

– the imminent destruction of d’qar, the resistance base (ordered by snoke, carried out by general hux)

this is followed by a comprehensive list of internal conflicts faced by the characters in tfa:

– rey’s abandonment issues (caused by someone of unknown origin)

– finn’s wish to flee (caused by trauma from his time in FO)

– han’s fear of going back (caused by not feeling he deserves leia anymore/leia now hates him, and his own grief over kylo’s turning)

and following that list, here follows a comprehensive list of actions taken by kylo ren in tfa:

– acts as enforcer, killing lor san tekka and the tuanul villagers and interrogating poe on behalf of tfa but leaves the actual obstacle of searching for bb-8 to hux

– is told by his master, snoke, of his father’s involvement and does nothing by insisting his father means nothing to him

– doesn’t turn up again for a good portion of time until we see him talking to his dead grandfather’s helmet worrying over the fact he can feel the light (“supreme leader senses it”)

– turns up at takodana 15 minutes late with starbucks and goes after one girl

– looks into girl’s mind

– “the map. you’ve seen it.”

– “we have what we need.”

– carries rey bridal style to his ship in the middle of an ongoing battle

– interrogates her without the violence of his interrogation with poe

– tells his captive the following:

• “you’re my guest”

• “don’t be afraid, i feel it too”

• “it’s in there. and now you’ll give it to me”

– roundly gets his ass kicked mentally by said captive

• “you… you’re afraid. that you’ll never be as strong as darth vader!”

– gets the scolding of his life by a gigantic hologram for his fuck-up

– insists he can get the map from the girl when hux reveals they know where the resistance base is hiding

– destroys the very rig his captive was sitting in when he discovers she’s gone

– has tantrums like this so often that the stormtroopers just slink away instead of coming to his aid

– strolls around starkiller then abandons his search when he senses han on board

– doesn’t see han standing right there

– weeps in front of his dad and says very clearly “i’m feeling torn apart”

– “i know what i have to do but i don’t know if i have the strength to do it”

– kills han solo

– immediately feels weakened afterwards (confirmed in novelizations)

– gets shot by chewbacca

– runs after the traitor, finn, and that scavenger girl

– says the one cool thing he’s ever said in his life: “we’re not done yet” and probably mentally high-fives himself

– defeats finn, but not before getting injured by said ex-stormtrooper who has never wielded a lightsaber before that moment

– tries to retrieve his grandfather’s lightsaber like his uncle did before him in esb

– has to fucking launch himself back like he’s a goddamn contortionist because said lightsaber goes ‘LOL NOPE’ and goes straight to rey

– looks like he’s going to have a boner for a hundred more years at the mere sight of rey holding the lightsaber

– backs her up to a cliff as a planet crumbles around him, never once actually attacking her despite the fact she turns her back on him numerous times

– then, instead of killing her at her weakest point or pushing her off the cliff, he yells at her to be his student

– most intense open day ever

– LITERALLY… JUST… KEEPS STANDING THERE WHILE SHE SUMMONS THE FORCE

– THEN IS REALLY SURPRISED WHEN SHE FUCKING NUKES HIS ASS AND SLICES HIS FACE OPEN

– THEN STARES AT HER LONGINGLY OVER A CLIFF

– WHILE THE PLANET CONTINUES TO COLLAPSE AROUND HIM

like, i’m not saying kylo’s innocent. what i’m saying is that from the beginning, kylo’s on a separate path, which starts with the guise of a an antagonist (killing of randoms, turning to the dark side) but tangles with the paths of both protagonists, finn and rey, instead of outright conflicting with the narratives (which is the duty of an antagonist), and revealing himself to be carrying his own inner conflict – which is something that never happened with darth vader in the OT until the third movie. (he learns of luke in esb, but has no thought of redemption or going back to the light – in fact, he chops off his son’s damn hand, making luke’s character arc, of staying in the light and not giving up on the fallen, all the more satisfying.) 

i guess the irony is that people who want to call kylo ren an antagonist when he can’t even succeed very well at actually being one, don’t realise that that’s precisely what his character arc is.