THEORY: Who is Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren?

Hola, freaks and geeks! In light of all the news surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens the team here at Up Your Geek felt it was appropriate to write a theory post about the shadowy antagonist Kylo Ren and the secretive society that is the Knights of Ren!Okay, so I will try my best to write this theory post with whatever evidence we have about this shadowy villain. Based on what we know so far it is very apparent that Kylo Ren is no ordinary bad guy according to director J.J. Abrams. Let me list the facts to make things easier and technically clearer.

• He was born approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor
• He follows the ways of the Dark Side
• He is obsessed with Darth Vader
• He joined the Knights of Ren
• Kylo Ren is a title and not his real name
• He built a lightsaber on his own and it is described to be as “dangerous” and as “rugged” as he is
• He is played by Adam Driver and Adam Driver was spotted on the set of the film wearing a starfighter pilot suit similar to the rebels
• He supports the reinstatement of the Galactic Empire and assists the First Order in an attempt to bring back the Galactic Empire
• His name has different meanings in Chinese and Welsh that could support the possibility of what Abrams described him to be as a person who is “dangerous” and “rugged” and is a person that the audience would sympathize with.

That is all that we know so far about this character and the actor playing him. Now with that being said we can draw at least three points about who is Kylo Ren and why he is who he is. They may be far-fetched but they are the only ones that honestly would make sense to me.

THEORY 1:  Kylo Ren was once a starfighter pilot that fought for the Second Galactic Republic. He was potentially a very successful pilot at the time. However, something happened to him and it turned him over to the Dark Side. That something was that he lost someone very close to him in his life. It may have been a lover or one of his brothers in arms. Afterwards he descended into a deep depression and lost his sense of purpose. It wasn’t until he discovered the Knights of Ren that he felt “reborn.”  This theory can be supported by the fact that he is obsessed with Darth Vader and may have studied Vader’s life closely through several different records written by Luke Skywalker. Not only that but Adam Driver was spotted wearing a starfighter pilot uniform on the set.

Adam Driver on the set of The Force Awakens.

THEORY 2: Kylo Ren was always curious about the ways of the Sith and began to sway more to their ways instead of the ways of the Jedi and the Second Galactic Republic. He would eventually discover the Knights of Ren, a hidden sect of the Sith that were devoted to restoring the traditional Sith Order and eradicating the new Jedi Order for good. They would train him in their ways and push him to his mental limits to the point he becomes mentally cold or detached after being forced to murder an ally of his in a blind fit of rage that he would live to regret for a part of his life. He’s a hardened man and nothing will ever phase him again. You can support this theory by saying that his lightsaber is modeled after how “rugged” and “dangerous” he is.

Cold and detached killer

THEORY 3:  In Welsh, Ren is a name that means “ruler.” In Chinese, Kylo Ren is a transliteration for “outcast.” With that being said this could be another case like Anakin Skywalker. Kylo is potentially a relative of the Solos or another royal bloodline which is why the last part of his title means “ruler.” However, the name also means “outcast” in Chinese. The only outcome is that he was a starfighter pilot and was part of a royal bloodline that wanted him to pursue a destined life in politics but he refused to do so because he had some sort of passion as a pilot. He would pay for this dearly and his whole family would cast him out as if he were dead. Now what does a person like that do with himself? He walks down an alternative path that takes him past the point of no return. The Knights of Ren adopt him into their society and he lusts to bring back the Galactic Empire by any means necessary. He wants to prove to his parents (who he may or may not have killed out of rage) that he can write his own destiny instead of them writing it for him. He wanted to live his life and now he is doing it through the Dark Side. When it is all said and done though he is very much like Darth Vader (he lost everything and became detached after losing Padme) in the sense that he regrets every thing that he did to get where he is at. Don’t we all sometimes feel that way?

So there you have it. Those are my top three theories about Kylo Ren and the secretive society that is the Knights of Ren. Some of this may not seem incoherent or make sense but those are the only legitimate theories that you can piece together with very little amounts of news.