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The message of Star Wars has always been about hope. In this essay I am exploring the detriment that the death of Ben Solo has brought upon men and women struggling with mental health and the cycle of abuse. The Rise of Skywalker took what was supposed to be a hopeful and satisfying story and turned it into a tragedy, sending the message that children of abuse and people suffering with mental illness are better off dead.
Countless individuals relate to the character of Ben Solo. He is coded as mentally ill and comes from a background of constant physical and psychological abuse. Throughout the years Lucasfilm has introduced the character of Ben Solo in many media outlets, they have supplied the fandom with supplemental content gauging the audience to sympathize with the neglected and abused boy.
If the plan had always been to give Ben Solo redemption through death, then there was no need to give the audience countless pieces of media to sympathize and pull for him to overcome the darkness in his past. What Lucasfilm did was bait and switch the audience, killing off an abused character for shock value.
Ben Solo is the son of heroes. It is in our nature as the audience to relate to him. In The Rise of Skywalker, he becomes the last living Skywalker in the trilogy. With the title of the movie signifying the rise or rebirth, it isn’t without reason that his redemption was anticipated.
Throughout the trilogy, we see Ben Solo in a constant struggle with the pull to the light. It was set up in The Force Awakens when Ben Solo spoke to the mangled mask of his grandfather, pleading for guidance. In The Rise of Skywalker it is revealed that all the voices he heard in his head were in fact Palpatine. Ben Solo was only able to live free of the voices that plagued him for a short few minutes. He never got the chance to atone for the mistakes he made in the past. Moreover, he never got the chance to live a happy life. Ben Solo suffered his entire life and received one single minute of genuine happiness.
For viewers that related to Ben on an emotional level, this was a stab in the heart. We rooted for him and saw the pain and conflict he endured his entire life. Then, the very moment he makes the right decision and finds the strength to carry on and better his life, a life that he deserved; he dies on screen.
Ben Solo’s death was exceptionally tragic simply because his entire family had already passed away and the only person he had left was the woman he loved. Ben and Rey had a forcebond and were a dyad in the Force which meant their relationship was even more intimate than any other in the realm of possibility. Ben died by giving his life Force to Rey, resurrecting her from death because he knew that the galaxy needed her. It was the most selfless act of love. Yet, that doesn’t make his death easier to process for those that related to him.
In The Rise of Skywalker after Ben’s heroic and tragic death, he is simply forgotten. He’s never mentioned and not a single character grieved for him or learned of his sacrifice. The harm that his death signified for many fans that are suffering, could have been padded with a simple acknowledgement of him. We weren’t even given that much.
Both Ben and Rey were described as immensely lonely individuals. In The Last Jedi, both of them reveal to the other that they aren’t alone any longer. For Ben, he grew up with a family that was terrified of what he would become. He was sent away to his uncle who saw darkness in his mind. Luke made a mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life, almost murdering his nephew while he slept peacefully. This moment in The Last Jedi showed vulnerability in our leading anti-hero. Everyone that he loved had given up on him. However, there was one person left that related to his trauma. Rey was sold on Jakku by her parents. In The Rise of Skywalker it’s stated that her parents did this to save her from her grandfather, Emperor Palptine. I can’t express how detrimental it is to children of abuse to see this and be told that Rey’s parents selling her into slavery is an act of love.
For children of abuse, both stories presented in The Rise of Skywalker sends the message that they either will revert back to their upbringing or they will die after conquering their demons. Neither is the message that should be portrayed. It gives everyone a sense of hopelessness which is the opposite of what Star Wars claims to be.
The representation of mental illness in western media is an insult to those suffering from them. The treatment of mentally ill coded characters makes a large impact on those that relate to the characters on an emotional level. The reason so many are mourning the loss of Ben Solo isn’t simply because Lucasfilm killed off their favorite character, it is because they killed off part of their identity.
As someone that suffers from anxiety and depression, the death of Ben Solo was difficult for me cope with. Many people identified with the character and empathized with him. When he died on screen it felt like we were the ones dying.
I never thought I would mourn a fictional character. Many times a favorite celebrity would pass away and I would feel a sense of loss but I wouldn’t shed a tear because I didn’t know them personally. With characters that you relate to, you begin to know them. Ben Solo has been a part of my life and many others for four years. For four long years we have consumed media and materials claiming that he was an abused young boy. Then, in The Rise of Skywalker the rug was pulled out from under us.
Subsequently, the death of Ben caused many to go through the stages of grief. His death caused physical ramifications for those suffering from mental illness, from loss of appetite, insomnia, increased anxiety attacks, an uptake in the feeling of hopelessness, and loss of purpose.
For a Saga built around the concept of hope, they have alienated a large portion of their audience. Lucasfilm gaslit the fandom into believing the ending of a 40 year saga would be satisfying and hopeful. Instead, the message relayed was if you’ve suffered abuse and mental illness, you will either die or end up alone. The message isn’t hopeful, it is tragic.
In closing, I want people that are grieving the loss of Ben Solo to know they aren’t alone. It’s okay to cry, it doesn’t make you weak or less of a person. Talk to friends that understand your mourning, go to therapy if it’s something you are open to, get the help you need to make it through the day because you are worthy. Even if western media makes you feel as if your voice should be silenced. Ben Solo lives in us; we are Ben Solo. We all deserve a happy ending.