Rey and Kylo - Beauty and the Beast, Scavenger and the Monstah, Their Bond, His Love, Her Confused Feelings

@reylo1992

Strange Magic is a good movie, and Borg reflects kylo in many ways

@nite0wl29
It's beautiful, thanks.

https://reylo-zine.tumblr.com/post/170893849243/issue-1-is-here-rwsit-is-a-bi-monthly-fan

First issue of Reylo fanzine! You can download it on the site.

Source: Skysilencer

beautiful pictures, now that I look at them, I have always wondered ... what would have thought the two stormtrupers in seeing their boss in particular attitudes with a girl

It’s pretty clear that the sequel trilogy shares many similarities with Beauty and the Beast. If I were to continue this pattern, episode 9 will probably show more similarities to this tale as old as time.

We know that Rey is like Belle and Kylo Ren is like the beast, but who is the villain going to be in episode 9? The death of Snoke has certainly been a game changer when it comes to the future of villains in Star Wars.

I’ve had a feeling after watching The Last Jedi that Poe Dameron could take on a antagonistic role moving forward. Surprisingly he shares a lot of characteristics with the villain in Beauty and the Beast, Gaston.

POE

Handsome
Best pilot in The Resistance
Has perfect shots
A short round side kick (BB-
Presumably has taken an interest in the heroine
Hot headed
Most everyone in the resistance thinks highly of him
Starts perfect but starts to take a bad turn

Gaston

Handsome
Best hunter in the whole world
Has perfect shots
A short round side kick (LeFou)
Has interest in the heroine
Hot headed
Most everyone in town thinks the highly of him
Starts perfect(to the towns folk) but takes a bad turn

Even though Poe could continue to share Gaston's characteristics, Hux will remain a bad guy, and the Knights of Ren could return. I actually believe the villain in episode 9 will be faceless. I believe the true villain lies within the anger, hate, pride and misunderstanding of humanity. This will be mainly characterized between the First Order and the Resistance. Both sides, as opposite as they seem, are actually more similar then they appear. I know the average viewer sees the First Order as evil people, mainly because of Snoke, Hux, Phasma, and possibly still Kylo Ren. These are only a few of the First Orders’ members. We forget that the majority of them were children, like Finn, who were taken from their families and were raised inside the First Order not knowing any different and are trapped by their situation. Being on the inside of the war for so long has blinded them to the answer right in front of them.

The Resistance is seen for the most part as the good people. However, in The Last Jedi, I think there were many hints pointing out that the resistance is incorrect as well. This first is shown by Poe Dameron not following instructions from Leia and destroys the Dreadknot but at a terrible cost. Poe’s actions cost the majority of the best leaders, pilots, bombers The Resistance had. What’s even worse is that Poe didn’t seem too phased by all this loss of life. Later, Holdo is overthrown momentarily by Poe. While Finn and Rose are separated from The Resistance, Finn is presented with the Idea from DJ that Good Guys and Bad Guys are made up words, and the Idea that people got rich not because they only sold weapons to the First Order but to the Resistance as well. After they get caught and Finn calls DJ a bastard, DJ says “Take it easy big F, It’s just business, they’ll blow you up today, and you’ll blow them up tomorrow.” His words seem to be leading in the right direction since The First Order nearly wipes out The Resistance at the end (meaning today), and we could probably assume The Resistance will try to wipe out the First Order in Episode 9. Poe states: “We are the spark, that will light the fire, that will burn The First Order down!”(Meaning tomorrow).

Both sides are so blinded by their fear, anger, and hate that they’ve become lost in their search for peace. It’s true what Yoda says “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.”

One of my favorite moments in Harry Potter is in The Order of the Phoenix when Harry is worried he’s becoming more like Voldemort. Sirius Black responds with very truthful/comforting words. “The world isn’t split into good people and death eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

So going off of what Sirius Black said, I think It’s a bit judgmental to say that there’s no light inside the First Order and there’s no darkness within The Resistance. We already have Finn who’s a good person, but originally was associated with The First Order, and the light in Kylo Ren is obviously still there. Something different the sequel trilogy has done is showing the human side of the storm troopers.  There’s been signs of darkness with The Resistance/ light side, with Poe, Rey, and even Jedi master, Luke Skywalker. But this is just a way of showing that nobody is perfect. These characters are human.

I also feel that this is part of what Luke’s first lesson was teaching to Rey. Life and death. Warmth and cold. Peace and violence. In between it all exists a balance. There is light and dark in everything. We can’t really understand how powerful the feeling of joy is without feeling sadness and pain. I don’t think it means to choose darkness. We should always strive toward the light side. However, without darkness there would be no learning process. The force knows this, and this is why Ben and Rey are the two chosen ones. Both have to have the other.

Both sides are made up of human beings who feel all the same emotions. Both share the belief that what they're doing is correct in terms of ending the war and ultimately their suffering. They believe that fighting and destroying what they hate will win the war.  Going by what Rose tells Finn at the end of The Last Jedi that can’t be the right way at all. Rose says “That’s how we’ll win this war, not by fighting what we hate, saving what we love.” How right she is. Of course being a Reylo fan, I believe this war will be won through the love and understanding of the two chosen ones who are meant to restore balance in the force (Ben Solo and Rey). Many stories follow a very similar premise with two opposing sides that hate one other that need to find understanding and peace with each other to end the war. In the end, the two sides come back together through the love and understanding of two people who discovered it before their own people.

These are some examples:

Romeo and Juliet - the Montague’s and the Capulets

The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride - the Pride Landers and the Out Landers

Pocahontas - the English settlers and the Native Americans

The Dark Crystal - the Skeksis and the Mystics

Elemental Gelade - the humans and the eldel raids


I believe the same will be true in Star Wars with The First Order and The Resistance. I believe balance in the force also means that the two will come back together and be one happy people once again. Like in the stories listed above this will be accomplished by two. Kylo from the Dark side/ First Order and Rey from the Light side/ Resistance.

Of course there will always be those who simply can’t accept it. Namely General Hux and possibly Poe Dameron.

Other ways Poe is like Gaston are as follows:
1) Near the end of TLJ, Poe states,  “We are the spark, that will light the fire, that will burn the First Order down!”  This sounds similar to Gaston's statement, “I say we kill the beast!”

2) Later when the Resistance is looking for a way out of the mine, Poe begins to take charge and comes up with a plan, saying “Follow me.” Leia then says. “What are you looking at me for? Follow him.” Which also sounds similar to the mob song when Gaston says “So It’s time to take some action boys, it’s time to follow me!”

3) Even though Rey is disappointed in Ben I believe she still cares for him and still holds strong hope and belief in Ben that he will make the right choices. I think Poe, who will most likely be the leader of The Resistance in Episode 9, will not like this hope that Rey has for Ben given what happened at the end of TLJ. I suspect that Poe holding a position of power that high will go to his head and use it in some destructive ways. I also think that Poe might discover the bond Rey has with Ben and the longer Poe hears this hope that Rey has for him the more it will anger him. When Belle looks into the mirror at the beast and says “I know he looks vicious, but he’s really kind and gentle. He’s my friend” I think Poe will react in a similar manor when Gaston responds with  "If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have feelings for this monster!” And of course Belle responds with the realization of “He’s no monster Gaston! YOU ARE!”

4) Poe will likely call Rey a traitor at this point. Just as he did to Holdo simply because he could not see or understand the reasoning behind it. This will either result in Poe being angry enough to try and banish Rey or she will leave on her own. This is similar to the sequence in Beauty and the Beast when Gaston is leading the villagers to attack the castle.  Belle says, "I can't let you do this", and Gason's replies, "If you're not with us, you're against us."  Later Belle escapes to help the Beast.  Rey will go after Ben realizing that The Resistance is also incorrect just like The First Order. At the same time I feel that Ben will run away from The First Order since I believe Hux and other members (possibly the Knights of Ren) will want to get rid of Kylo. I don’t think Kylo Ren will be as motivated to destroy The Resistance in Episode 9. With how things were left at the end of 8, especially after Ben gives Rey that puppy dog stare, I just don’t see him as the big bad guy at all. In a way I feel like Rey was telling Ben “ You should learn to control your temper!” When she closed the door on him similar to Belle and the Beast's argument after rescuing her from the wolves. Even though Belle was upset with the Beast's temper she could not forget that he saved her life and thanked him for it. I don’t think Rey can easily forget that Ben saved her from Snoke. It’s possible that Rey will thank Ben for this at some point in the future like Belle did. “By the way, thank you, for saving my life.”

5) Since Gaston died from his own pride, anger, and lack of understanding I’m wondering If Poe Dameron will meet his end in the same way? I mentioned in my list of similarities that both Gaston and Poe are highly thought of by the people who surround them. Gaston is considered by the towns folk to be the epitome of a perfect man and hero. His own song is very clear on this. Poe in TFA is seen as the perfect hero and man. I honestly can’t think of any flaws that Poe had in TFA. To me this made him an uninteresting character. However, in TLJ we got to see Poe as a more developed character as he made a lot of bad decisions and made mistakes. It’s interesting that the Beast starts out as a very mean angry unmerciful monster yet over time he undergoes this amazing transformation and in the end becomes human. Gaston is just the opposite. He’s the perfect hero who is human that takes a wrong turn and gradually becomes the real beast/monster in the end. I can’t help but wonder since Kylo Ren starts off as a monster in TFA but starts to become more human in TLJ and Poe who starts off as a perfect hero in TFA, yet he starts to show some warning signs of not being such a good guy in TLJ that this is just like the Beast and Gaston's character development.

Kylo Ren’s Redemption

As a Reylo fan I have a pretty good feeling that Kylo Ren will be redeemed and become Ben Solo once again. I also believe Ben will be alive at the end of episode 9.

A lot of fans feel that the only way for Ben solo to receive redemption would be if he died in the end, and paid for everything he had done with his life.

I actually think there is a strong possibility that he could die but live again. This could be another Beauty and the Beast influence in episode 9. The Beast has already gone through his change and loves Belle and makes the choice to set her free. The Beast had a chance to kill Gaston, his attacker, and the one who threatens to take Belle from him. However, the Beast takes compassion on him instead and let’s him go. The Beast is then stabbed by Gaston and dies. When Belle whispers ‘I love you’ the spell is broken and he turns back into a handsome prince. The spell said nothing about bringing people back to life, only to return him and his servants back to their true form. But for some reason the magic from the enchantress brought him back to life. To me it symbolizes the death of who he once was and rises with new life of who he now is. Kylo Ren is certainly going through a transformation. I think if Ben dies in an act of sacrifice for love and Rey returns his affection, and both are in complete understanding of one other this could be how The Force is then balanced by Ben and Rey. The enchantress’s spell being broken is similar to The Force being balanced. I believe that if the force is balanced by Ben and Rey that the force will bring Ben back to life.

There is another similarity in the movie The Dark Crystal. Kira sacrifices herself to save Jen and their world. When the the Skeksis and the Mystics become one again, the balance is restored to their world and the god-like species who are one, thank Jen and Kira for their courage and sacrifice for making them whole again, and because of this they use their power to bring Kira back to life. I love how they tell Jen that Kira is a part of him since in interviews from both Rian Johnson and Adam Driver say that Kylo and Rey represent the other's half.

These beings tell Jen and Kira “Now we leave you the crystal of truth. Make your world in its light.”

I believe that as surprising as this sounds Ben and Rey will end up as rulers of the Galaxy. Not as evil rulers but as kind, understanding, and benevolent rulers who know the truth of what the galaxy needs. I don’t think it will be Kylo or Rey who will self proclaim themselves as a ruler over anyone else. It will be chosen by The Force as to who will lead the galaxy and its people. They are already, in my eyes, the two chosen ones. If they bring balance to The Force, who is more fit then them to rule? I don’t think it will be a case of no one rules, since that would seem like anarchy and chaos. I know The Resistance wanted to restore The Republic but that system failed in the prequels because of corruption and the deceitfulness of Palpatine. When the republic started being lead away and cheered for Palpatine, Padme speaks her most profound line “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.” A huge theme in TLJ was the lesson of learning from failure. If we think about it, all of the groups in Star Wars failed. The list would be the Sith, the Jedi, Snoke, Skywalker, The Republic and probably soon The First Order and The Resistance.

The force is starting to show signs that it has a mind of its own. It seems to set things up, like people’s fate and destiny and it also seems to have a voice. It was probably the force that whispered to Rey “It’s Ben” on Tokodana. In TLJ Rey hears voices that lead her to the tree with the ancient Jedi texts as if The Force wants Rey to discover something inside of those books. This reminds me of a line from Harry Potter. When Harry first receives his wand Mr. Olivander tells him “The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter.” In the final installment this is brought up again when Harry says to Mr. Olivander “You talk about wands as if they have feelings - can think.” To which Mr. Olivander says as before “The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter.” Kind of like how The Force likely chose Ben and Rey to bring balance. It also seems The Force inside of the lightsabers choose their wielder.

Another interesting Beauty and the Beast similarity is the rose. “The rose would bloom till the beasts’ 21st year if he could learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last pedal fell, then the spell would be broken, if not he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.” In other words the rose is not only a symbol for time but it’s also a reminder that love is what breaks the spell. I believe this could be the reason that Kelly Marie Trans’ character is named Rose because she reminds us near the end of TLJ that saving what we love is how they’ll win the war, not by fighting what they hate. Similar to the enchantress's spell, if they never let go of the hate in their hearts both sides will be doomed to remain at war for all time.

The song in Pocahontas does a great job illustrating how fear of the unknown and misunderstanding can cause intense misguided hatred. Most would think Governor Ratcliffe is the villain in the story(don’t get me wrong he’s a terrible selfish guy) but when you hear the lyrics in the song "Savages" the natives are just as misguided and full of hate as the settlers.

I recommend listening to this song and taking a closer look at the lyrics. It is cringe worthy of just how much hate fills this song. Try to imagine the two sides singing this song are, The First Order and The Resistance.

Here are the links to the song and the lyrics.

Song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3oEWA7UglB4

Lyrics: (Be sure to read both part 1 and 2 of the lyrics)
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Savages#Part%201


In other words the true villain in Pocahontas is the hatred in humans. Hate is what created this potential war.  Pocahontas says herself “Look around you! This is where the path of hatred has brought us!” What prevents the war is the example of love and understanding of Pocahontas and John Smith.

Another example of this is in the Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, the Pride Landers and the Out Landers hate one another. Kiara - Simba’s daughter and Kovu - an Out Lander fall in love and form an understanding that the two sides they come from are the same or as Simba mentions at the start of the film “we are one.” Kiara and Kovu have an important realization in the film when they look at their reflection in the water, to find their faces put together.

Kovu: “Hey look . . . We are one”

Kiara: “What?”

Kovu: “Let’s get out of here. We’ll run away together. . . And start a pride all our own.”

Kiara: “Kovu, we have to go back.”

Kovu: “You’re kidding! But were finally together!”

Kiara: “Our place is with our pride. If we run away, they’ll be divided forever.”


During the middle of the war between the Pride Landers and the Out Landers, Zira and Simba are about to fight but Kovu and Kiara stop them. Kiara says something to her father in this scene that makes Simba see the truth.

Simba:        “Stay out of this.”

Kiara: “A wise king once told me, ‘we are one.’ I didn’t understand him then, Now I do.”

Simba:        “But they—”

Kiara: “Them. Us. Look at them, they are us. What differences do you see?”


The light shines through the clouds onto Simba and now he understands the truth.
The Pride Landers and the Out Landers also seem to understand and the fighting stops.

But there always seems to be at least one that can’t let it go, which in this case, is Zira the leader of the Out Landers. She ends up dying at the end due to not letting go of her own hate. I also want to mention that Zira in Swahili means hate. In other words this is symbolic of the idea that hatred will destroy you.

Simba admits to Kovu that he was wrong and that he is one of them. Simba then says “Let’s go home.” But then clarifies this by stating “All of us.” The two sides become one pride once again. And it ends with Kiara and Kovu (the two who brought this balance) on pride rock as the future rulers of the Pride Lands.


Romeo and Juliet is also a great classic example of two sides who hate each other who are brought together in the end by the couple that fell in love and found understanding. Even though their story ends tragically, the moral is the same which is the consequence of hatred and unforgiveness.

In the Romeo and Juliet musical adaptation, West Side Story, Maria has this to say after Tony is killed. “You all killed him, and my brother and Riff! Not with bullets and guns, WITH HATE! Well I can kill too, because now I have hate!”

In the Japanese animated tv show Elemental Gelade, there’s another similar concept and moral. It’s a fantasy adventure about the race of humans and eldel raids. Even though eldel raids look like humans they are actually mystical creatures that have the ability to form special bonds with humans.  This is done by transforming themselves into powerful weapons with the human they bond with during times of war, or in other cases,  to have protection. Over time, though, humans started taking advantage of eldel raids and began treating them like tools rather then people. Some of the humans decided to form a place where they collect eldel raids to be kept safe from the humans who would mistreat them. This organization is known as Arc Ale. Arc Ale is considered to be run by good people but down the road we learn that there is corruption in the upper ranks. (Something similar could happen to The Resistance leadership in Episode 9, since this already happened with The Republic in the prequel trilogy.)

There are many different kinds of eldel raids, but there is one race of eldel raids who are considered to be more powerful than the rest. They are known as the Shichiko - hogi. Sadly they’ve gone nearly extinct, except for one - a girl named Ren (kind of ironic, haha). She is discovered by a human boy named Cou a sky pirate. At first she tells him she hates him for being a human but Ren soon learns that Cou is not like the humans she’s heard about in stories. He’s kind, considerate, and treats her like a fellow human. Touched by his kindness Ren decides to from a bond with Cou.

Throughout the series there are humans who continue to mistreat eldel raids, so we are lead to believe that the race of humans are the evil side while the eldel raids are the race of the good side. However, there is a major plot twist that the evil organization our hero’s have been fighting against are actually a group of vengeful eldel raids. Near the end of the series there is a war fought between the two sides, but like the stories I’ve listed above the chosen couple, Ren and Cou, are the ones who create peace through love with both sides and end the war. Ren also says a line regarding hatred to one of the antagonists, “Please Orfus, let go of the hate in your heart and forgive the humans.” She then goes on to say “I was able to change, I believe you all can change too.” So in the end humans and eldel raids, deep down, are the same.


I like the idea that the answer is no longer one evil bad guy that we need to kill. If killing the bad guy was the answer to all of the galaxy’s problems then killing Emperor Palpatine would’ve brought lasting balance rather than temporary balance. The reason behind this war runs much deeper.  Could the hate in humanity have played a part in how the force became unbalanced in the first place?  How The Force became unbalanced has not been explained in canon - so far.

For a series that has always had one over arching bad guy for 4 decades, it would be quite an original take on the hidden identity of evil. Star Wars is becoming more layered and much deeper. We all know Star Wars is a fairytale teaching us a valuable lesson. The lesson is deep yet simple. Hate never wins. Love does. If the moral to this story sounds familiar, then Star Wars really is a tale as old as time.


Note: If the hate in humanity is revealed to be the real villain of Star Wars it will carry a deeper irony considering that some in the Star Wars fan base have developed a hatred toward the movie, the filmmakers, the cast, and other fans. This would make the story's main lesson even more appropriate. Think of it as art imitating life.