What Kylo Ren really learned from his grandfather

In the Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is presented as a young and volatile Sith apprentice who is both inspired and haunted by his grandfather's past and power. During his interrogation of Rey, his insecurities about meeting or exceeding the power and impact of Darth Vader leave an opening for Rey to turn the tables and escape. His emotional tantrums, his pathetic defeat to Rey on Starkiller, and his further humiliation in his audience with Snoke all suggested that his fears of inadequacy were justified.But it was this final insult in Snoke's throne room that finally freed Kylo Ren from his self-imposed shackles. Snoke's decision to mock Kylo Ren for his mask is one of the biggest miscalculations in Star Wars history. Kylo's attachment to the mask also reflected his attachment to Vader's legacy...a legacy that was seeped in the tradition of the Sith. When Kylo Ren smashed his helmet, it wasn't in frustration of not meeting his grandfather's power; it was to emancipate himself from the very system that produced Vader's loyalty and subservience to his master.Snoke's downfall revealed that Kylo Ren had learned much from his grandfather's history. For two decades Vader could never overthrow Palpatine (he all but begged his son to help him on Endor). When you think about it, the Emperor's personal security as well as Palpatine's own force powers were trained on Vader like a sniper's rifle any time Vader was in his proximity. For similar reasons, Kylo Ren could never defeat Snoke on his own.A student of his family's history, Kylo must have realized that Vader's only opportunity to defeat Darth Sidious arrived when the Emperor was occupied dealing with the equally powerful Luke Skywalker. The best chance for a Sith apprentice to usurp his master occurs when a 3rd powerful force user enters the equation and disrupts the balance.Kylo was extremely clever in how he manipulated both Snoke and Rey in the Last Jedi to seize control of the First Order. He knew that an innate belief in redemption was a Jedi weakness he could exploit. He also realized that Rey's raw power would occupy all of Snoke's concentration and leave Snoke vulnerable to attack. All Kylo had to do, was get the two of them together. He used Rey's belief in redemption to lure her to the Supremacy, delivered a coup de grace against a distracted Snoke, and then again used Rey's belief in redemption as a shield against the retribution of the Praetorian Guard. Say what you will, but Anakin Skylwalker was never cunning or clever...just insanely powerful. Kylo Ren may be both. via /r/StarWars http://ift.tt/2DtNNjI