The Most Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Website

9 Reasons Reylo Isn't Going to Happen


After The Force Awakens came out, fans speculated on what would happen next in the series. They wondered about the identity of Supreme Leader Snoke, the mystery of Rey’s parentage and the next step of Kylo Ren’s training. And of course, they speculated on who might become romantically involved in the next movie. The guesses ranged from Rey and Finn to Finn and Poe to all three characters coming together in a polyamorous triangle! But one out-there prediction gained popularity. People started to believe that our heroine, Rey, would get together with none other than Kylo Ren, the villain who killed our beloved Han Solo. Not only did they believe that, but fans started drawing fan art, writing fanfiction and creating cutesy headcanons about the pairing. “Reylo” as it’s called is incredibly popular. If you looked at the fan output without the context of the movies, you would think the pairing is in the bag. But we’re here to tell you, it’s not going to happen. Here are Nine Reasons Reylo Is Never Going to Happen.  

  1. They're Probably Related

    This is the biggest barrier to Reylo ever, ever happening. All the signs point to Rey being Luke’s daughter making her Kylo Ren’s cousin. The Force Awakens sets up that Rey’s father is Luke by creating parallels between the two characters. They’re both brilliant pilots and Force-users from the desert who long for a better life, but are stuck due to obligations to their family. Rey also literally inherits Luke and Anakin’s lightsaber. A family heirloom calling to someone pretty clearly indicates that said person is probably family. The lightsaber was passed from father-to-son and now it passes from father-to-daughter. So, Rey and Kylo Ren getting together is incesutous and gross. They are cousins. Search your feelings; you know this to be true. Hopefully, the shippers will abandon Reylo as quickly as the LukeLeia shippers did when they found out their ship was incestous when it is invitably revealed that Rey is Luke’s daughter. If they don’t abandon ship, they’re either in deep denial or into some really weird stuff. 

  2. All Their Interactions Have Been Violent-- Not Romantic

    Rey and Kylo Ren have never had a kind, romantic interaction. When they first meet, Ren held Rey frozen with the Force before knocking her out and kidnapping her. And yes, he kidnapped her. He took her somewhere against her will. That is the literal definition of kidnapping. He then proceeds to invade her mind which she violently pushes back against and invades his mind! The next time they meet face-to-face they have a lightsaber duel in the snow. Where she proceeds to kick his sorry butt. This is not a good setup for a romantic relationship! Everything indicates that they will be each other’s archnemesis, not lovers. If they were going to be lovers, they would have moments where they acted tenderly towards each other. But that never happens! Some shippers say that Ren was gentle with Rey when he kidnapped her and invaded her mind, but that doesn’t change the fact that he kidnapped her and invaded her mind! Rey and Kylo Ren have a fundamentally antagonistic relationship and that is not likely to change.

  3. Rey Likes Finn

    However, Rey has had gentle interactions with someone and that someone is Finn. Rey and Finn have plenty of sweet moments with each other over the course of the film. She offers her hand to him as they’re being chased by The First Order. When they finally tell each other their names, it’s sweet and kind. And when Finn tells Rey that they came back for her, she gives him one of the greatest hugs in cinematic history. There’s no violence between them, only love. Besides the romantic tension is so tight, you could cut a knife through it. These are much healthier interactions than kidnapping and mind invasion. Besides, the relationship between Finn and Rey is one of the best relationships in the film. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have great chemistry and it would be a great waste if their characters did not get together. The filmmakers know what they are doing. They wouldn’t have set up such a beautiful loving relationship if they weren’t going to follow through.

  4. Kylo Ren Doesn’t Love Rey

    Nothing that Kylo Ren does indicates that he loves Rey. In fact, his actions indicate that he’s a creepy, manipulative abusive personality. As we went over before, he kidnapped her and invaded her mind. During their duel, he doesn’t go easy on her or show her any mercy. Sure, he offers to teach her, but that’s because she is stronger in The Force than him and he wants to be in a position of power over her as her teacher. He acts with cruelty and without compassion. These are not signs of love! These are signs of someone who wants to control and abuse another person. Kylo Ren is not a good person, and does not treat Rey in a way that shows they should be together.

  5. Kylo Ren Is Too Old for Rey

    In the Original Star Wars trilogy, there was an age gap between Han Solo and Princess Leia that reflected the actors’ ages. Carrie Fisher was nineteen at the start of filming the Original Trilogy and Harrison Ford was in his thirties. An age gap this big was acceptable in the seventies, but times have changed considerably since then. We now know that it’s not exactly healthy for a nineteen-year-old to be with a thirty-year-old. The older person in the couple is in a significant position of power over the younger; no matter how mature the younger person is. If the filmmakers wanted Rey and Ren to be together, wouldn’t they have cast actors that were closer in age? Like, say how John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are? Rey and Ren have many power imbalances between them and age is just one of them. But it’s certainly one of the bigger ones. No matter how much Rey trains and experiences life, she is never going to catch up with Ren when it comes to age.  

  6. Kylo Ren Killed Rey's Mentor

    Of all the heinous acts Kylo Ren committed, the murder of Han Solo probably affected the audience and Rey the most. It’s not the worst thing he did; he ordered the massacre of innocent villagers and stood by while the First Order blew up the central planets of the Republic. But the murder of Han Solo was cold-blooded, cruel and showed that he was utterly ruthless. This wasn’t typical Star Wars bad guy behavior and it showed just how far to the dark Kylo Ren has fallen. This affected Rey deeply because Han acted like a cool uncle towards her. He offered her a place on the Falcon, a place and home to belong to. Even though they had only known each other for a day, Rey and Han had a deep bond which his death shattered.  Why would she get together with the man who did something that affected her so horribly? It does not make any sense whatsoever. Even if Kylo Ren is redeemed, the atrocity of his actions are too big of a hurdle for the characters to get over and be together.

  7. Kylo Ren Isn't Going to be Redeemed

    For Rey and Kylo Ren to get together, they need to be on the same side. And Kylo Ren will not be redeemed and join her in the light. For one thing, he does not have a Luke Skywalker. He does not have a person who has complete faith that he can be brought back to the light. He could have had that in his mother, but he lost that when he killed his father and her husband. Kylo Ren has surrounded himself with people who want him to stay on the Dark Side. Everyone on the light has no obligation to drag his emo butt back to the light. There’s also the fact that he does not want redemption. He feels the call to the light, but he ignores it in favor of following a darker path. If he does not want redemption, like Vader did, how will anyone be able to reach him? Of course, as we discussed, no one wants him back on Team Light Side. He’s that despicable.  

  8. Rey Is Not Going to Turn to the Dark Side

    On the other side of the coin, Rey is not going to turn to the Dark Side for any reason, let alone to be with Kylo Ren. Granted the idea of Rey turning to the Dark Side is interesting and would probably result in some fabulous outfits (the Dark Side always did have a great sense of style). But that would be like Luke Skywalker turning to the Dark Side; pointless and out of nowhere. Rey has been established as our heroine for the series. Her turning to the Dark would be way too much of a downer and disappointing to all the people who look up to her, especially the little kids. And Star Wars is a franchise for children. And even if she did turn, she’s not going to turn for the living shitstain called Kylo Ren. She’s not going to have a complete turn of character just because some weak boy called her over. We know she’s not, because she already refused Kylo Ren’s offer to teach her in the ways of the Dark Side. And if she did how anti-climactic would that be?   

  9. He’s Not Good Enough for Her

    To quote Saturday Night Live, “Kylo Ren is a punk bitch.” He’s whiny, temperamental and acts like a baby. He has a lot of growing up to do if he wants to match the legacy of Darth Vader. Right now, he’s just a whiny toddler coasting on the name of his granddaddy. Not exactly prime relationship material. We already talked about how he’s probably not going to see the light and redeem himself. Rey on the other hand, is amazing and deserves a better partner that a little baby that destroys things when he gets mad. She’s strong in The Force, kind and sweet and has beautiful hair to boot. Seriously, what shampoo and conditioner does she use to keep her hair that glossy? She built a life for herself from nothing, and she needs a partner that can contribute at least as much as she can to the relationship. Finn could do that with his bravery and resourcefulness. Just saying.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Fandoms and Lists page.