Leia Organa’s Jedi training in the Kylo Ren, the powerful dark side-using leader of the Knights of Ren, is tempted by the light side throughout the sequels, which seemingly contradicts the way that the Force is depicted in the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies. By establishing Leia as having completed her Jedi training, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker implies a fitting explanation for Kylo Ren’s repeated temptation to reject the dark side.
The Force is depicted in the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies doesn’t have a light side, but is occasionally nicknamed the “good side” when compared to the Force’s corruption, the dark side. Using the Force requires training and discipline, with a dedication to the ways of groups like the Jedi being required to master it. The dark side, on the other hand, is seductive, promising unlimited power and the deepest desires to its s, making it far quicker and easier for one to master, but coming at the cost of their humanity.
When speaking to the charred helmet of Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren says “I feel it again. The pull to the light,” which contradicts the nature of the Force. Although the Star Wars sequels don’t directly confirm what caused Kylo Ren’s seeming temptation to re the “light side,” a flashback in The Rise of Skywalker shows Leia completing her training under Luke Skywalker. Leia abandons the Jedi path due to a vision of her son dying, but she still uses her training when necessary. To bring her son back from the dark side, Leia most likely reaches out to him through the Force constantly, trying to redeem him, but causing Kylo Ren to mistake her for the light side itself.
A key component of Kylo Ren’s character is his constant internal struggle. The former Ben Solo idolizes his late grandfather, wishing to emulate the Sith Lord. This, of course, is a flawed goal, as not only does Kylo Ren lead the Knights of Ren—a dark side religion with significantly different philosophies from the Sith Order—but he also wants to be like Darth Vader, a broken man who resigned himself to Sith Lordship after losing everything and everyone he loved. Naturally, Kylo Ren’s commitment to the dark side was inconsistent, making his mother’s attempts to redeem him even stronger.
Kylo Ren’s dark side master, Snoke, as well as the secretly resurrected Sith Lord Palpatine, manipulate and entice him to remain on the dark side path while Leia, whose power and training make her a Jedi Knight in all but name, uses the Force and her connection to her son to do everything possible to redeem him. As shown in The Rise of Skywalker, this, along with the memory of Han Solo and a connection to Rey, eventually succeeds. Leia’s Jedi training recontextualizes Kylo Ren’s turmoil in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as it was Leia, not the light side calling to him.
