Summary
- Han Solo's death prevented Kylo Ren from fully embracing the dark side, leading to his eventual redemption and return to the light.
- Supreme Leader Snoke's belief that Han's death would commit Kylo Ren to the dark side backfired, as it instead caused him to question his path and lose faith in his master.
- Han's sacrificial love and willingness to die to save his son broke the power of the dark side, forever preventing Kylo Ren from fully committing to it.
No matter how much Kylo Ren resisted the pull to the light in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, he never truly fell to the dark side, and it was all because of Han Solo. Star Wars: The Force Awakens ended with Kylo Ren murdering his father in cold blood, apparently confirming his embracing the dark side. However, his story throughout the sequels reveals that this was not the case and that Han knew what he was doing when he faced his son for the last time.
Each movie in the sequel trilogy centered on Kylo Ren's inner conflict, ending with his decision to abandon the dark side and return to the light. While many Sith Lords like Darth Vader turned to the dark side but found their way back, Han prevented his son from turning to begin with. This adds new emotional depth to Han's death on Starkiller Base and makes his final scene with Kylo Ren a more satisfying conclusion to his story.
Your browser does not support the video tag. Supreme Leader Snoke Believed Han's Death Would Commit Kylo Ren To The Dark Side 
Supreme Leader Snoke intended Han's death to be Kylo Ren's final test to commit him to the dark side, but this proved a fatal mistake. According to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo, this was similar to a Sith ritual, where someone kills the thing they love to pledge themselves to the dark side. Emperor Palpatine had Anakin Skywalker do this in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith when he commanded Anakin to destroy the Jedi, including his best friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. From Snoke's point of view, Han's death was sure to do the same for Kylo Ren.
