Does Kylo Ren Turn to the Light Side In 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'

Star Wars fans have been wondering since The Force Awakens if Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) might still turn to away from the Dark Side and come to the Light. Now that The Last Jedi is in theaters, fans have their answer about which side of the Force the former Ben Solo has chosen.

Warner: MAJOR spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead.

After Kylo kills his father, Han Solo (Harrison Ford,) in The Force Awakens, the former Ben Solo still seems conflicted and torn between the Dark and Light sides of the Force. That conflict carries into The Last Jedi and fans see early on in the film Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) dressing Kylo down for his failure to defeat Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the forest of Starkiller Base. Kylo doesn't take this criticism well, but even when given the opportunity to prove himself by blasting the Resistance ship himself, he hesitates because doing so would kill his mother, Leia (Carrie Fisher.)

It's this conflict between who he once was and who he is trying to become that Rey picks up on when the pair realize they have been mentally connected through the Force. With Kylo on Snoke's ship and Rey on Ahch-To, the two use this connection to try and turn each other to their sides, but when Rey and Kylo touch hands briefly, it changes things. Rey believes that the Force has shown her a future where Kylo has turned back to the Light which prompts her to go to him so that she can help facilitate his turn. And even though Kylo promptly takes Rey to Snoke upon her arrival, it still looks like there might be Light still in him. When Snoke orders Kylo to kill Rey, he kills Snoke instead then teams up with Rey to take down Snoke's Elite Praetorian Guard.

But then, standing in the carnage of the battle it's revealed that Kylo doesn't want to turn to the Light and doesn't want to go down a Resistance path. He begs Rey to "let the past die," doing away with the Jedi, the Sith, and even the Resistance and the First Order to create something else with him. While the moment feels more like Kylo wanting to turn away from both the Light and the Dark, it's not something Rey can get on board with. She rejects him and escapes and, in that moment, Kylo's fate is sealed.

Kylo turns to the Dark side, declaring himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order and attacks the Resistance's last hold out on Crait with the determination to kill everyone -- including his mother. The depth of Kylo's darkness is further revealed when Luke (Mark Hamill) shows up to challenge his former apprentice -- with Luke feeling personally responsible for Kylo's original descent into the Dark -- leading Kylo to focus ever weapon he has on the Jedi Master and showing that, despite having an opportunity to turn to the Light side or even just walk away from it all, Kylo Ren is chooses the Dark Side of the Force setting up for a battle of balance in the final installment of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IX.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters now.