For the record, I loved Kylo Ren as a character. I had reservations going in, but both the excellent writing and Driver's incredible performance sold the character as a believable, damaged villain. Walking the line between whiny brat and tortured soul is extremely difficult to do, both for the actor and the scribe.
Absolutely no offense meant, but anyone that casually dismisses Kylo as a character may not have a firm grasp of pathos, writing, or development. To have this fearsome villain who at first one might assume is a generic baddie, and slowly see the cracks in his mask and psyche adds an incredible amount of depth and refreshing heart to a character that has his face obscured for most of his screen time. At his very core, he is being torn apart by two very distinct legacies of the dark and the light, which is something many people can relate to. His tantrums were superb. That he is feared both for his power and instability is great as it lends itself well to both humorous and serious moments.
He is different and, perhaps, different than what some may have wanted or expected. However, the lineage is clearly there. Well balanced in the subtlest of ways, if you stop and think about it.
I understand these comparisons to Vader are inevitable, if unnecessary. Were he just a complete clone of Vader, people would complain it's more of the same. Frankly, it would also be a bit boring and would not work as well in an energetic, emotion and character driven plot. Some would've been happy with a near silent and flat but visually arresting spectacle like Darth Maul, but that's not what this movie or Star Wars as a whole needs now.
Darth Vader is Darth Vader, and deserves more than to have his character retread cheaply. Now we have a new villain for a new trilogy, who has Vader in his blood and wants to be like him. More importantly, wants to be seen as being like him. This, too, is something a lot of people should be able to relate to. The irony being that he's more like his grandfather than he realizes - just Anakin, not Vader. He is everything Anakin should've been had Lucas been a better writer and director.
Driver did his legacy proud in TFA and I for one can't wait to see how the character develops in VIII and IX.
