Throughout the Star Wars sequel trilogy, we see just how much Ben Solo, now Kylo Ren, hates Luke Skywalker. On the surface, the films give us a clear reason: Ben believed that Luke once stood over him in his sleep, ready to kill him. From Kylo’s point of view, that moment became the ultimate betrayal and the reason he turned so violently against his uncle.
But that was only part of the story. Luke never truly carried out any attempt to murder Ben, and the deeper source of Kylo’s hatred goes beyond that single night. The real wound came from a truth that had been hidden from him for years, one that Ben eventually discovered for himself. And when he did, his anger was not directed at Luke alone. He also came to resent Leia, because both of them had kept that truth from him.
Ben Discovered the Truth About His Connection to Anakin Skywalker
As I mentioned above, it was not just because of that one night, when Ben believed Luke intended to kill him, that he came to hate his uncle and eventually fell to the dark side. That moment was only the final straw. It was also the excuse Ben needed to abandon the Jedi path and begin shaping a different path for himself.
Even before that, Ben had already shown that he was naturally gifted with the Force when he was only 10 years old, and Luke was genuinely proud of his nephew. But Ben was not only gifted in the Force. While training for the day he might become an exceptional Jedi, he was also being tempted by a voice from the dark side, and that voice was Snoke. Even so, no matter how much that influence tried to pull him away, Ben still looked toward his uncle Luke Skywalker.
But as Ben grew older and more powerful, he also became more curious about everything around him, and eventually the truth came out. Ben discovered the secret behind his family. He learned that his mother and his uncle were the children of a very famous Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. But Ben did not admire Anakin himself. What he admired in his grandfather was Darth Vader.
According to the book Skywalker: A Family at War, Ben Solo truly felt betrayed by both his mother and his uncle when he discovered Darth Vader’s true identity not from his own family, but through the holonet. He was even more angry because Luke had hidden that truth from him for years without ever telling him.
Ben Envied His Own Uncle
Discovering that Vader was his grandfather was not the only thing weighing on Ben. There was also the fact that he grew up in a time when Luke Skywalker was already legendary.
Everyone knew Luke Skywalker as one of the great heroes of the Rebellion, the man who destroyed the Empire’s first Death Star. His reputation went even beyond that, because across the galaxy Luke was also known as the one who defeated the Emperor and his right hand, Darth Vader, on the same day.
Because of that fame, Ben came to believe that people only truly recognized Luke. In his eyes, Ben Solo was nothing more and nothing less than a small pupil of Luke Skywalker.
