After a swarm of blue crystal butterflies were featured alongside a young Ben Solo, his father, and Chewbacca in two episodes of the animated short series, Star Wars Roll Out, fans came up with an interesting theory concerning Ben's fate. Some of the more commonly known symbolisms of butterflies include "life", "resurrection", and "rebirth". The connection that was made between the butterflies and Ben is not only the choice that he made to convert from his old ways as Kylo Ren to his true identity as Ben Solo (much like the transformation that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly), but a hopeful sign that he could be brought back to life. The most logical way that this could be explained is if The World Between Worlds was part of the picture. According to The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, we know there was mention of The World Between Worlds in Rey's Jedi text books, the ones she stole from the tree on Ahch-To in The Last Jedi. Could a blue butterfly lead Rey to save Ben the same way that Morai led Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels to save Ahsoka Tano?
I think it's curious that we didn't see Ben Solo's Force Ghost at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. We know according to this this article that it wasn't filmed, but why? Is he really stuck in The World Between Worlds? Why wouldn't he have been there with Luke and Leia when they appeared to Rey on Tatooine? Was it left open to interpretation on purpose? Do they have more plans for his character? If the answer is "no", that seems like a poor move to not conclude his story on a positive note by including him in the final scene alongside his mother and Uncle, especially because I believe the Sequel Trilogy was as equally his story as much as it was Rey's. Imagine finally seeing Ben and his mother together, and most of the people that Rey cared about being there in the end, smiling at her.
Although I have accepted that Ben Solo died, I would have preferred to see him live. In fact, I'd happily accept more Ben and Reylo content if it makes sense for the story. I personally felt robbed of the limited amount of time we got to experience with Ben (not Kylo) and Rey together. But do I actually think it will happen? I don't think it's likely, but it's fun to speculate the possibilities.
With all that being said, I was intrigued by this fan theory so much that I wanted to interpret it in my own way.
I found a pair of amazing, and extremely full, blue butterfly wings on Amazon. It has a collar strap that is attachable with black velcro which I hid by wearing a black turtleneck so that I could fold the neckflap over it. I also wore faux leather half gloves that helped to cover up the finger loops on the wings. For the blue glittery lips, I used an NYX glitter primer with two different NYX face and body glitters. The lightsaber hilt is from Galaxy's Edge. You can find links to everything I purchased!
What I Wore
Butterfly Wings: Amazon
NYX Glitter Primer: Amazon
NYX Glitter (Color: Ice): Amazon
NYX Glitter (Color: Blue): Amazon
Turtleneck: Target (Similar)
Faux Leather Half Gloves: Etsy (Similar)
Lightsaber: Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities
Tell me, what do you think of this look? What is your opinion on the death of Ben Solo? Do you think he could return? Let me know in a comment below or get in touch with me on Instagram or Twitter.
I'd also like to point out that although I have a couple of negative feelings about the situation with Ben Solo, I actually absolutely love The Rise of Skywalker. In fact, I recently wrote about some of my favorite scenes from the film which you can read here if you're interested.
A huge thank you to my friend Ryan for providing the lightsaber effect on my photos of Ben Solo. He's your guy if you want your lightsabers to look even cooler!
Disclaimer: Affiliate links were used in this post meaning if you purchase something from Amazon, I will receive a commission.
Love this post! And those glamor shots are great! I really enjoy how you incorporated the blue butterfly fan theory into your outfit. Very creative! I also agree with you 100% regarding your feelings towards Ben Solo in The Rise of Skywalker. Although I love the film, it would have made it 10/10 for me if we got to see him as a Force ghost with Luke and Leia at the end. As much as I'd like to believe that he may be in the WBW, I think that will likely remain in the realm of fan fiction and fan art. I also would have liked to see Ben live and spend the rest of his life with Rey since they are a dyad, but sadly, that isn't the case. I understand that JJ and Chris Terrio had their own vision of how the Skywalker Saga should officially come to an end, even though I would have done things differently. I respect them for taking on such a monumental task though, since regardless of what they ended up doing, somebody would have been (or currently is) unhappy with the result. You can't please everyone; you can only do the best that you can, and hope others enjoy it as much as you do. Thank you, again, for writing this! I really enjoyed reading it. :) Have a wonderful rest of your week and a Happy Fourth of July!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments on the photos, it was a fun look to put together!
DeleteI agree with your positive outlook, finishing off the Skywalker Saga was indeed a HUGE task and there was no way they were going to be able to please every fan out there. Thanks for reading!