The Star Wars sequel trilogy has many flaws, as the studio decided to recycle many of the events and concepts seen in previous movies and thus gave some of the new characters the same fate as some classic Star Wars ones. A big example of this is Ben Solo, with whom Star Wars repeated its Anakin Skywalker mistake – here’s how. The history of the Star Wars universe can be divided into three parts: the original trilogy, the prequels, and the sequels trilogy, with anthology movies, TV shows, and more in-between to add more to the history of one of the biggest and most important universes in the realm of sci-fi.
The original Star Wars trilogy introduced the audience to the characters that would lead the Skywalker saga – Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo –, while the prequels explored the backstory of Anakin Skywalker, from his days as a young slave in Tatooine to his rise as Sith lord Darth Vader. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, the studio began working on a new trilogy, with the purpose of closing the arcs of the original characters, bringing the Skywalker saga to an end, and introducing a new generation of heroes and villains. However, the sequels weren’t what the audience expected, as they mostly reused the original movies’ stories, arcs, and more, and the Star Wars universe repeated one big mistake with its new antagonist-turned-hero, Ben Solo (Adam Driver).
Two of the new main characters in the Star Wars sequels were closely related to the original heroes and the saga’s prime villain: Rey (Daisy Ridley) turned out to be Sheev Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) granddaughter and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was Leia and Han’s only son and Luke’s apprentice. Ben Solo turned to the dark side and became a member of the Knights of Ren, and his main goal was to “finish what his grandfather started” – and he ended up repeating his same mistakes and having a similar end, with both he and Anakin reaching redemption and becoming one with the Force, though it can be debated whether they truly deserved redemption after everything they did or not.
When viewers met Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, he showed kindness towards all living beings and generosity, but he also had a deep fear of loss, which he never overcame and only grew with time. Following the death of his mother, Anakin carried sadness, guilt, and anger that contributed to his fall into the dark side sometime later. Once he committed to the dark side, traits like his arrogance, impatience, and recklessness grew and defined his time as Darth Vader, during which he also became a genocidal megalomaniac. It’s unknown what Ben Solo was like during his childhood, as by the time viewers met him he was already Kylo Ren, and just like his grandfather, he felt superior to others yet was constantly trying to prove himself. Kylo was also a murderous megalomaniac but unlike Anakin, he tried hard to get rid of his attachments, while his grandfather always tried to go back to them – and yet, after all this, they were redeemed in just one act.
Both Anakin and Star Wars sequel trilogy is far from perfect, and among its biggest flaws is repeating past mistakes and making them even bigger with the new characters.
