Warning: Spoilers Ahead (Duh)

First, I should mention that I did not grow up as a fan of "Star Wars." I’ve wanted to see the movies for years, but because of one thing or another, it did not happen until a few weeks ago, when my mother (who had only seen Episodes IX, X, XI) and I marathoned all of them in preparation to see the newest installment, "The Force Awakens," in theatres.

Although I would have loved to grow up with the movies, I think that seeing them for the first time as an adult has afforded me a certain evaluative separation. I didn’t have time to fall in love with any of the characters or to become attached to a certain directorial method. I built nothing up in my head and therefore could not be disappointed.

My first impression of Kylo Ren was that he is a whiny little boy just looking for a reason to be unhappy. Leia and Han are his parents. He was trained in the ways of the Jedi by Luke-freaking-Skywalker. Even though he decided to defect to the dark side, his parents still wanted him. What's the problem?

I was also confused. How do you grow up with Luke as your uncle and not hear the story of Anakin Skywalker? And if you’ve heard the story -- that even though he became a Sith lord (I’m not sure Luke knows why), he still struggled with the light and had his moment of redemption because he could not kill his son -- how do you hear that and… take away that you should absolutely become a Sith lord?

Needless to say, I wrote him off pretty fast and moved on to thinking about some of the other characters.

Then I read this theory:

For those who don’t like clicking on links, essentially the theory states that Kylo Ren defected to the dark side in order to defeat Snoke and bring balance back to the force (which is what Anakin, as the chosen one, was supposed to do). In order to become a complete Sith, he had to sacrifice Han. That is why he is conflicted and why he keeps talking to the Darth Vader helmet. He didn’t misunderstand his bedtime stories. He needs to have tantrums to keep his anger strong.

Once I read that, my brain began spinning. Regardless of the accuracy of this theory, Kylo Ren’s whiny behavior does not necessarily mean that he is not going to be a good character. His arc is not finished yet. Take Anakin, for example. Had I known nothing of Darth Vader, I would have hated Anakin in episode II. He has his whiny moments and seems a bit creepy because he has little chemistry with Padme. However, that is just one view of Anakin. If you look at his character arc, it is clear that he is the most dynamic character in the series. Love him or hate him, that makes him interesting.

Therefore, while I enjoy the new memes and comics disparaging Kylo Ren, I have hope that with the new episodes, he will have a character arc that will make sense of his erratic behavior. In short, I have hope that he will become interesting. Because you cannot judge a character before you’ve seen his arc.