Kylo Ren and Visual Storytelling (Or, Why Having a Repaired Helmet Makes Sense and isn't Character Regression)

TL;DR at the bottom.TFA uses a lot of visual storytelling in clever ways. One example being the repeated focus on the power of the bowcaster so the audience viscerally understands the impact of it hitting Kylo.Another way is the use of Kylo's helmet. Whenever Kylo drops his helmet, either into the ashes on the pedastool or onto the walkway, the sound is incredibly loud. This communicates the physical weight of the helmet, but metaphorically it tells the audience the emotional weight of this persona he's created around himself. How heavily it weighs on him.The reveal that his face is perfectly fine underneath the helmet is another storytelling tool. Vader had to wear a mask. Kylo doesn't. His mask is just that, a mask. This, again, communicates that "Kylo Ren" is a persona Ben created to hide behind.After killing his father, a permanent action that, as Snoke said, "split him in two", he is scarred by Rey. The slash across his face not only mirroring the "splitting" of his soul, but also a visual metaphor for the permanent step he took towards the Dark Side by making him look more like his grandfather. No matter what he does, he will have that scar as a reminder of his actions.These motifs carry to TLJ, where Snoke tells him to remove the mask. TLJ is a movie that strips characters down to their cores, and it sets that up with Kylo. He enters the room carrying himself as he normally does, but when ordered to remove the mask, we see Ben looking absolutely miserable. (Contrasting how well-kept and put together he looked the very first time he removed the mask in TFA)Snoke calls him exactly what he is, "a child in a mask." Ben, in his anger, destroys the mask. He does this for many reasons, but mainly he's trying to prove that he doesn't need the mask, anymore. After killing Han, Kylo Ren is just who he is. Ben is really dead, this time.But, Ben is far from dead. And, he realizes that when he starts talking to Rey. A genuine connection is formed with her and, for the first time in probably a long time, he's told that he's not alone. That somebody understands his anger and pain.When Rey rejects his offer to join him, he retreats back to the safety of the Kylo Ren persona. Taking control of the First Order and, as we'll see, repairing his mask.But, the mask is cracked and broken. This is, again, visual storytelling. It tells us that while he's trying to hide behind the Kylo persona again, the persona is damaged. His connection with Rey has permanently scarred Kylo's visage and it is barely holding on, literally bursting at the seems, as shown by the red streaks holding it together. I expect we'll see a Kylo filled with anger and a great deal of it will come from a place of regret and self-hatred.TL;DR - The cracked mask is symbolically telling us that the persona of Kylo Ren has been permanently damaged and is barely holding on. It's not walking back any character development and actually makes perfect sense as Ben is desperate to retreat back to the familiar. via /r/StarWars https://ift.tt/31RHA9c