To be clear, I was not a day one Reylo shipper. I'm not really a fan of a lot of the fandom content around Reylo either. By that I mean the bajillion AUs etc lol--I like my fics firmly rooted in canon. Also (NSFW)I'm not a fan of the smut fics that are hardcore pushing Kylo/Ben as some brooding dominant force and Rey as a victim/submissive. It really bothers me as a #1 Rey fan to see her character reduced to that.
I've felt compelled to start writing my own Reylo fics just so that I can explore the relationship and characters myself. Which has got me thinking about it in general.
Canonically, Reylo is pretty tragic.
They start off as enemies in TFA. They form an emotional bond in TLJ but Kylo refuses to join Rey in the light. It's only until Leia reaches out toward him in TROS and Rey admits that she wanted to be with him as Ben that he realizes he has people who care for him.
By then it's pretty much too late. He helps Rey defeat Palpatine and saves her life, sacrificing himself in the process. They only really connect as equals during the duel against Palps and in the direct aftermath. They get one kiss, one smile, one moment, and then Ben dies.
Pretty brutal considering they are literally soulmates. I feel so bad for Rey, too. She spent over a year wrestling with this connection and once Ben finally joins her side, he's gone again.
I didn't dislike Bendemption nor his death. I know a lot of people wanted him to survive and live in exile or something but I don't think that would've happened tbh. If he survived he would've had to go on trial and either die anyway or spend his life in space super-max prison. The galaxy wouldn't give him a free pass because he switched sides at the very end. I don't think Rey would harbor a fugitive and stay on the run for the rest of her life with him either. There's no escaping the consequences of his actions, and in the end his death was the easiest solution both in-universe and from a storytelling standpoint.
So what does that imply for Rey post-TROS? I really hope future movies/material explores this because it carries huge implications.
I've seen many Reylos lament that Rey will be carrying this wound forever, that she will be missing her other half in the Force. Is that necessarily true? What do you guys think? The idea of my favorite character being depressed the rest of her life is something I don't like to entertain lol.
My personal theory is that maybe because of the dyad, Rey and Ben can interact easier even in the afterlife. If their connection was super strong while alive, who's to say it can't also be strong even after death? I think their Force bond persisting after death is a lovely symbolic message too.
IMO Rey either never falls in love with someone else and simply communicates to Ben through the Force (the implication here being that it's strong enough to fulfill her emotional needs!) or she does have future romantic partners but preserves a friendship with Ben, and his presence is still a big part of her life.