I Still Can’t Believe Star Wars Wasted Its Most Incredible Plot Twist, Even 7 Years Later

7 years after the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I still can't believe that Star Wars missed the opportunity to take full advantage of the movie's, and one of the franchise's, biggest plot twists. The Last Jedi is known for deviating greatly from the path Star Wars: The Force Awakens initially set everything on, from Luke Skywalker's refusal to train Rey to Finn's attempt to flee the Resistance - amongst many other things. Not all of these deviations were necessarily negative, but they certainly caused a great uproar that has since made The Last Jedi highly controversial.

Of all these twists, however, one still stands out the most to me, but mostly because of its missed potential. This was a moment I hadn't expected to see in the least, even as it was foreshadowed over the course of the film, and I was genuinely shocked in the movie theater when I saw it happen for the first time. Star Wars, unfortunately, didn't let this moment last; this plot twist in The Last Jedi could have carried the sequel trilogy so far, and I can't help wondering why Star Wars wasted it.

Kylo Ren Killing Snoke Is One Of Star Wars’ Biggest Twists

No One Was Expected That

The moment when Kylo Ren turns on Snoke and kills him using the Skywalker lightsaber is easily one of the franchise's biggest plot twists, even if a potential turn to the light side was in the cards for Ren during the course of the movie. Viewers could have suspected that Kylo might actually begin to help Rey and slowly turn back to the light, but it wasn't expected to begin with him killing his own master. The moment when Ren uses the Force to ignite the lightsaber into Snoke's side was nothing short of shocking, creating some incredible potential.

I'll never forget my first time seeing this happen in the movie theater the night The Last Jedi premiered. There were audible gasps from most of the theater, myself included, and my jaw was dropped for the rest of that entire scene - including the fight against Snoke's guards. My mind was trying to keep up with what my eyes were seeing, but the most prominent thing I remember thinking was this: Is Kylo Ren actually about to turn back to the light as Ben Solo once again and help his mother and her Resistance? Of course, this wasn't the case.

That Twist Would Have Been Elevated If Ben Solo Actually Turned

The Stakes Would Have Been Incredibly High

After the incredible fight that ensues, we find out that Ben Solo will remain Kylo Ren, and that his sole purpose is to take Snoke's power for himself - and to have Rey ruling with him at his side. This would have fit nicely with the Star Wars sequel trilogy's initial intent for Kylo Ren, by having him fall further and further into darkness as the movies progressed, but Ben's turn to the light in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker prevented this from happening. Knowing that Ben would ultimately turn anyway, I wished it had happened here.

While it does already function as a successful plot twist, as Kylo Ren killing Snoke was still very unexpected, this twist would have been elevated so much more by allowing Ren to turn back to the light as Ben Solo here. It would have broken itself off from the original trilogy mold by having this key redemption take place in the second movie rather than the third, and it could have created some truly fascinating and unique storylines for the rest of the sequel trilogy. Instead, however, it unfortunately has become wasted potential.

Ben Solo Could Have Been A Secret Agent Of The Resistance

Working On The Inside

One possible storyline Star Wars could have followed if Ben Solo truly did return in The Last Jedi is having him act as a secret agent of the Resistance. He could have continued to supplant Snoke as "Kylo Ren" while ultimately supplying intel and more to the Resistance, concealing his intentions as Palpatine once did - but this time, for good. This would have risen the stakes across the board going into The Rise of Skywalker, and it also would have functioned as proper penance for Ren killing his own father in The Force Awakens.

While I ultimately do respect the path Star Wars chose with The Last Jedi and Kylo Ren's story, I do often wish that they had taken more advantage of this thrilling plot twist. It clearly made an impact on the audience when it happened, but that excitement felt like it was almost for nothing when Kylo Ren simply took Snoke's place. Now, this is something that will always be nagging in the back of my mind whenever I see The Last Jedi, and I'll always be left wondering what could have been.