Many pairings and relationships in Star Wars have emerged over the years thanks to the franchise’s wide array of characters, each different from the last. Enduring friendships and alliances have blossoms, as well as iconic romances like Han and Leia and awkward courtships like Anakin and Pé. As the sequel trilogy picks up steam, fans have been trying to pinpoint the core romance of this new set of movies. Some point to Finn and Poe, hoping for a queer couple of color, while others have latched onto Rey and Kylo, arguably the two core characters in the sequels.
No matter your opinion on the nature of Kylo and Rey’s relationship, you’ve got to it that it's fraught with complicated twists and turns that keep it from falling flat. One moment they’re at each other’s throats, and in the next, they’re reaching out in the hopes of converting the other person to their side. Plus, their enigmatic backgrounds add a lot of uncertainties and wild cards into the mix, keeping audiences hooked.
Despite the relative lack of information about Rey and Kylo’s pasts, we’ve scavenged some juicy details about their relationship that might’ve gone unnoticed under your radar. As always, the list below contains spoilers from the sequel trilogy, and draws particularly heavily from The Last Jedi and its tie-ins, where Rey and Kylo’s relationship is explored even further. There are also some mentions of details from other books, so if you’re absolutely against spoilers, it’s time to binge-read before scrolling down.
Here are 20 Weird Revelations About Kylo Ren And Rey’s Relationship.
Their Force-Bond is stronger than Luke and Leia's
One of the most crucial elements of The Last Jedi is Rey and Kylo Ren’ Force-bond. It’s one of many decisions that have prompted arguments, with fans of the decision praising director Rian Johnson for the creative addition, and others decrying that it’s not how the Force works.
The Force-bond is a newly uncovered way to use the Force, allowing two people to communicate over a long distance.
Luke and Leia are seen communicating telepathically a bit towards the end of Empire Strikes Back, but the Force-bond is a lot more powerful. The bond is so strong that Rey and Kylo see each other and talk as if they were in person side by side.
Rey Probed Kylo's Mind, But Didn't Know Han Was His Dad
In The Force Awakens, Rey tries to distract the stormtroopers on Takodana so that BB-8 can escape, and Kylo soon begins to hunt her down as well. He ends up probing her mind against her will and realizes that she has seen the map to Luke. The second time he invades her privacy is on Starkiller Base as she’s strapped to an interrogation table. He forces his way into her memories, but luckily, Rey’s able to reverse the process and see into Kylo’s mind as well.
Oddly enough, she sees his deep dark secret-- that he’s afraid he’ll never be as strong as Darth Vader-- but doesn’t see that Vader is Kylo’s grandpa and that Han is his dad.
Kylo Immediately Takes Off His Mask After Rey's insult
When Rey wakes up on Starkiller Base after having been attacked by Kylo, she’s justifiably upset. Kylo even notes that she wants to end his life, and Rey explains as a natural reaction to being hunted down by a “creature in a mask.” In response, Kylo promptly takes off his helmet. It’s a peculiar thing to do, given the lengths to which Kylo tries to hide his past life as Ben Solo and to maintain an air of mystery to ramp up his authority among the ranks of the First Order.
The mask primarily serves a symbolic purpose.
Kylo doesn’t need it to survive, but he wears it as a tribute to his Grandpa Vader. Taking it off is a pretty big deal.
They Can Access Each Other's Memories Through Their Force-Bond
Neither Rey nor Kylo really know how their unexpected Force-bond works at the beginning, but they soon begin to understand its powers and limitations. In one of the most pivotal scenes in The Last Jedi, it’s revealed that they can access each other’s memories through their Force-bond.
Rey hears about Ben Solo’s downfall from Luke, and pretty much believes every single word. However, Kylo uses their enigmatic bond to show Rey the event at the Jedi Temple from his perspective in a Rashomon-esque sequences. In fact, the memories are so vivid that Rey experiences them as if she were there in person when Ben woke up thinking his uncle was about to end his life.
Rey Wanted To End Kylo's Life
Part of what makes Luke Skywalker such a compelling hero is his empathy. Instead of fighting Vader in his anger, the young Jedi finds comion deep in his heart, helping his father redeem himself. Although The Last Jedi has steered the sequel trilogy away from the original movies, it still keeps the theme of empathy alive in Rey. In The Force Awakens, Rey initially wants to take Kylo’s life after witnessing his brutality and all the pain he’s caused to her newfound friends. During The Last Jedi, she begins to realize his complexity as a human being.
He doesn’t see himself as a villain.
Considering there’s no time jump between Episodes VII and VIII, that’s an extraordinary display of empathy from Rey.
Rey Is Ten Years Younger Than Kylo
Not a lot is known about Rey’s past based on the movies, but thanks to the extensive tie-in materials in the Star Wars franchise, we actually know some of her basic information. According to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, Rey was born 15 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).
She was 19 in the first movie, which is set in 34 ABY.
On the other hand, Aftermath: Empire's End says Kylo was born in 5 ABY in Hanna City on the planet Chandrila, making him a solid decade older than the young scavenger, at 29 years old. The age gap makes Rey’s abilities all the more impressive, since she’s holding her own against someone with far more experience.
Rey as Han and Leia's replacement daughter
Leia and Han actually had strong relationships with their son Ben at first. In Aftermath: Empire’s End, Leia could sense baby Ben in her womb, and the novelization of The Last Jedi reveals that Ben would follow Han around and play with his gold dice. However, things clearly did not work out as Ben grew older.
Funnily enough, Rey is able to forge strong relationships to the two icons in a short amount of time. Sure, Han is pretty much grumpy old Han for their entire relationship, but he grows to care about Rey in his own gruff way. Leia doesn’t hesitate to give Rey a giant hug at the end of The Force Awakens. It really goes to show that biological family doesn’t always mean more than chosen family.
Kylo's Offers to train Rey like they are Sith
The creative team behind the sequel trilogy has repeated time and time again that Kylo Ren is not a Sith despite his worship of Darth Vader. Not even Snoke is a Sith Lord. The master-apprentice relationships are reminiscent of the old Sith Order, and even seem to follow a similar trajectory. Darth Sidious was Darth Plagueis’ apprentice, and ultimately betrayed his master. Darth Vader also betrayed his master, Darth Sidious. Similarly, Kylo Ren is Snoke’s apprentice, but ends his master’s life to quench his own thirst for power. He then asks Rey to him in his quest to conquer the galaxy.
Either he’s super confident in his abilities, or he needs to read a history book ASAP.
Maybe Rey rejecting his offer to him is actually a good thing for Kylo.
Rey Might Be Strong With The Force Than Kylo
Rey has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with. Despite lacking formal training, she grows up in the cut-throat world of Jakku and learns to fend for herself and survive. Her upbringing makes her triumph over Kylo at the end of The Force Awakens all the more astonishing.
While some call Rey a Mary Sue, her aptitude might actually be a hint to her raw strength with the Force.
Kylo is ten years older and has had far more training, yet Rey is able to defeat him, suggesting that she’s more Force-sensitive than Kylo is. It’s certainly not a far-fetched possibility. Luke also had relatively little training, yet he still manages to do pretty well against the dark side.
19. Kylo Feels Comion For Rey
It’s been pretty obvious that Kylo is a major antagonist in the sequel trilogy ever since his first appearance in The Force Awakens. He ends the life of Lor San Tekka without so much as a blink of an eye, and ordered the extermination of the entire village of Tuanul on Jakku.
According to Snoke, Kylo isn’t as ruthless as he seems to be.
Snoke seemed to think that, in addition to feeling torn over taking Han Solo’s life, Kylo might habor some comion for Rey as well. Sure, Kylo has done her tremendous harm, literally chasing her around Takodana in an attempt on her life and invading her mind twice, but he hasn’t actually ended her life yet, maybe because his subconscious comion gets in the way.
