Star Wars: Reylo Fans Have Mixed Reactions to Rey and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is drawing mixed reactions from “Reylo” fans, the dedicated [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo - December 20, 2019 06:05 pm EST

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is drawing mixed reactions from "Reylo" fans, the dedicated portion of the fanbase pushing for a romantic development between Jedi-in-training Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Dark Side user Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). In Rise of Skywalker — spoilers — Kylo renounces the Dark Side after the death of mother Leia (Carrie Fisher) triggers a memory of father Han Solo (Harrison Ford), killed at the end of Kylo's red-bladed lightsaber a year earlier in The Force Awakens. Returned to the Light Side as Ben Solo, Ben races to Exogol, site of the returned Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) Sith temple, where he helps Rey stand against her granddfather, the living embodiment of thousands of years of Sith souls.

When Rey calls on a thousand generations of Jedi for the strength to overcome Palpatine, the struggle causes a wave of destruction that obliterates Palpatine and the Sith — seemingly for good — at the cost of Rey's life. She's revived when Ben, using the same Force-healing ability Rey used to spare him after a lightsaber clash on the ocean moon Kef Bir, draws on his own lifeforce to heal Rey.

The act drains Ben, who shares a kiss with Rey before falling over dead and becoming one with the Force. "Reylo" fans are now criticizing The Rise of Skywalker for fulfilling the romance seconds before Ben dies, ending the Skywalker bloodline, while other Star Wars fans call out the relationship for being "problematic":

Slide 3

So Kylo killed his own father infront of Rey, tortured her, tried to kill his mother, killed Luke’s students, killed ships full of Reys pals, and they end up making out? They end up transferring life into eachother? Who the fuck was this written for? Star Wars twilight? pic.twitter.com/yDOt4ZxvYc
— Stone_Loki (@StoneLoki1) December 18, 2019

Word is @Disney is going to tell children and young adults all over the world that abusive relationships are a good thing. Disney is promoting Reylo in #TheRiseOfSkywalker , a relationship where the man abuses and tortures the woman over and over again, and then they kiss.
— Jedi Oracle (@JediOracle) December 18, 2019

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Slide 1

people keep saying ‘we won, but at what cost?’ guys we won nothing, they literally put that scene there and gave us hope for a sec and then took it away from us. I would rather have Ben Solo being alive than reylo and that scene proved nothing since we knew they loved each other
— 𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 🌈🌸 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 (@reyishungry) December 19, 2019

Y'all think you're real cute bating us with #reylo for month and then just give us 🖕Come at me Micky Mouse I fucking dare you! #TheRiseOfSkywalker pic.twitter.com/ycOewu02tz
— Maria Bech (@themariabech) December 17, 2019

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tros:
- ignored rose and finn's relationship
- didn't explain how palps is alive
- gave hux a shitty arc
- ignored rose as a whole
- created major plot holes in general
- gave rey a shitty fate
- GAVE BEN A BEAUTIFUL REDEMPTION AND A REYLO KISS BUT KILLS HIM OFF IN THE END
— kavya ; tros spoilers fuckah (@missamericxna) December 19, 2019

NO I AM NOT FINE. BEN SOLO DESERVED BETTER. REYLO DESERVED BETTER FK DISNEY I AM ABOUT TO KILL SOMEONE
— 눈눈 (@shakeerahrejab) December 19, 2019

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🚨TROS SPOILERS

do y’all know how harmful it is to see reylo become canon? how harmful it is to see a strong female character go to her abuser? as someone in an abusive home, it’s so fucking harmful to see that and see people support it. it’s fucking horrible. y’all are gross.
— ferna ‎| lennon lives on (@80SLENNON) December 18, 2019

*ROS SPOILERS*#jjabramsisoverparty honestly kylo ren deserved to d*e for killing innocent people but I'm more upset at the fact that reylo, an abusive relationship became canon.
"kylo d*ing was insulting to survivors of abuse" and reylo happening wasn't??
— rae 💫 (@caspianbarnes) December 17, 2019

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Me on my death bed: Tell JJ Abrams...tell him it should have been him instead of Ben Solo.
— Lass | Ex-Star Wars Fan (@clyde__logan) December 19, 2019

what it feels like to be a reylo rn pic.twitter.com/WqC9MdFGXy
— BlackDiamond TROS SPOILERS (@_BlackDiam0nd) December 18, 2019

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Slide 8

Reylo is confirmed and it’s gross. 3/10 sorry excuse for a star wars film and an even worse excuse for a proper conclusion to the skywalker saga. I advise you to save your money, but may the force be with you should you decide to see this abomination in theatres. #RiseOfSkwalker
— Emil carter (@EmilCarter7) December 19, 2019

This, folks, is why Reylo is a bad idea. Because this is damn near textbook abusive behavior. Break the person down and build them up with the perception that you’re the only one who cares and will ever care about them.

BAD.
— JT Phillips (@JamesKryack) December 19, 2019

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Slide 5

Seeing a reylo kiss but know Ben dies right afterwards. pic.twitter.com/m2Eeaqz5Tf
— katy // TROS SPOILERS (@CLEVVERGlRL) December 18, 2019

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Slide 7

I saw a few folks saying that Reylos are raging because they didn’t get a romantic happy ending.

No.

It’s because Ben Solo—whose whole life was tragic—died for no reason.

I think I speak for 99% of Reylos when I say that we would have rather had Ben live than Reylo happening.
— Lux (hates the ending of TROS) (@quixoticlux) December 18, 2019

"I have always hated that in movies, when you go along and one of the main characters gets killed. This is a fairytale. You want everybody to live happily ever after and nothing bad happens to anybody." G. Lucas @jjabrams You are a sadist. #BenDeservesBeter #TheRiseOfSkwalker pic.twitter.com/wVB3Nf61on
— REYLO_ARG (@reylo_arg) December 19, 2019

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Slide 9

And this is why I find the idea of 'redeeming' Kylo through a romance with Rey so toxic and problematic.

The message of: a good girl just needs to reach out to them and give them love and they'll magically be better is not a message that needs to be promoted in 2019.
— In the Depth of Space (@thedepthofspace) December 5, 2019

If you look at the wheel of Domestic Violence, a lot of Kylo’s behavior is on there. (If you know of that diagram, that is. It basically shows all the different behaviors abusers do to control their victims)
— Space Platypus ⭕️🏳️‍🌈 (possible spoilers) (@LilMissHolmes) December 19, 2019

john really said "in a movie where the fixation is on rey and kylo's really problematic connection" 😭😭😭 i love him so much he is so brave https://t.co/iBqUluA1mo
— iol.e (@mandameron) December 19, 2019

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now in theaters.

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