Summary

Kylo Ren’s obsession with Darth Vader is what drives him to continue following the dark side, but he commits acts that even Vader wouldn’t do. In a 2016 interview, director JJ Abrams revealed that the ashes Kylo places his helmet in belong to his victims, showing the horrific things he had done. Keeping the burnt remains of his victims is far darker and more twisted than anything Vader did, hinting at Kylo’s willingness to go the extra mile to prove his villainy.

Kylo Ren was a dark side pretender for much of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but a secret detail demonstrates he was even crueler than Darth Vader. Confused by the pull to the light and hurt by his uncle’s perceived betrayal, Kylo carries himself like Vader as best he can, believing his grandfather is someone to be idolized. His obsession with Vader is what pushes him to continue following a dark path, but he commits acts that even the Sith Lord wouldn’t do.

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In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, director JJ Abrams revealed that the ashes Kylo places his helmet in belong to his victims.

“The backstory is, that that table has the ashes of the enemies he’s killed. That moment was actually shot for, and meant to be used in, the scene where he was talking to the Vader mask. He originally had his mask off the first time we shot that scene. Then we reshot it with his mask on, but we had that shot which I loved and thought was so cool of the mask being slammed down into that ash. So that shot was stolen from the scene that we had changed and put into the scene with Rey. He used to place his mask gingerly onto a piece of the set, which was incredibly unimpressive. So this moment made it a much cooler beat.”

While removing his mask to speak to Vader’s helmet would speak to when Kylo was willing to be vulnerable, keeping it on is a more fitting tribute to his grandfather. He’s comfortable with revealing himself to Rey, but the added twist that his victim’s ashes laid beneath his helmet shows the kinds of horrific things he’d done to people previously in her position.

The Ashes Of Kylo’s Victims Is Far More Twisted Than Anything Vader Did

Keeping the burnt remains of those he’d tortured is something far darker and more twisted than anything Darth Vader had done. What separates Kylo and Vader is that the latter was the real deal; while Ren was powerful, he struggled to give in, whereas Vader could only see a dark path for himself. Canonically, there’s nothing to indicate that the ashes are indeed those of Ren’s victims, but nothing refutes it, either. Kylo originally did destroy Luke Skywalker’s temple and was called the “Jedi Killer” in whispers among the First Order, though his backstory was later retconned to a degree.

Perhaps the only beings to do something as grotesque are the Inquisitors, who stored the remains of Jedi in amber in their base. Also pretenders like Kylo (but not nearly as powerful), the Inquisitors back up the idea that the most broken individuals will go the extra mile to prove to themselves that they’re evil. Vader didn’t bother to keep trophies, as he found no joy in what he did. Nor did he relish in the pain of others, with the exception of exacting revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kylo doubted his own commitment to the dark side in The Force Awakens, which is why he goes to the lengths of keeping his victims’ remains and killing his own father.

Source: Entertainment Weekly