[SPOILER] Something that's been under-appreciated...

With 2017 coming to a close and the hell fire this sub-Reddit has been in the wake of The Last Jedi having died down, I want to reflect on something that hasn't been appreciated enough.In October of 2012, when it was announced we were getting a sequel trilogy, I was, like most you, excitedly optimistic and began discussing the possibilities with anyone who would listen.But the part that I thought would be most difficult in crafting this new trilogy, was the villain. How do you follow up Darth Vader, the most iconic villain in film history? The prequels introducing a new villain every movie and never developing them certainly didn't cut it.They knew that the new villain, no matter who he/she was, would ultimately get compared, and be found inferior, to Vader.So they made fealing inferior to Vader the core of his character.In doing that, they have created a worthy successor to Vader, and dare I say it, a better character.Kylo Ren is a main character of the sequel trilogy who receives just as much character development as the main heroes. I would even argue that he is the main character of TLJ. In an age of Marvel villains where they just look evil, talk evil, and do evil things, Ben is a breath of fresh air.Ben is what was great about Vader's character in 6, born anew, and given 3 films to blossom over.That fact that a major movie house would allow their writers to take a risk in having such a conflicted villain, in Star Wars no less, is something that isn't given the praise that it should.After TFA, I saw where they were going with the character but I was worried that the "emo" criticism would give them cold feet in continuing down that path. I was delighted to find that they just doubled down on Kylo in TLJ, and that many of the Kylo haters from TFA had been converted into supporters.He was a kid whose parents abandoned him, whose master failed him, who was manipulated by dark forces and burdened with a legacy he could never full fill.We see that conflict bleeding through him in nearly every scene as Adam Driver knocks it out of the park.Snoke was just a supporting character for Ben, a stepping stone on his development.Both Ben and Rey had pieces missing from them. They could have helped each other, fought off their demons together. I wanted Rey to take Ben's hand so much that it hurt. The "please" that he gives her told so much. He knows that somethings wrong in him and he needs her.He's a piece of shit person who you can't help but want the best for. I couldn't have asked for a better character to be the villain of the new Star Wars trilogy. via /r/StarWars http://ift.tt/2BNkBiS