I think there are two basic paths for Kylo/Ben if he survives. Much of it depends on wether he is Kylo Ren or Ben Solo at that point.
If he is Ben Solo, he somehow pulled himself from the claws of the Dark Side and became the good person he once was.
It is the other path, where he is still an agent of the Dark Side, that is most intriguing to me. First, that means the heroes confronted “the greatest evil”, as JJ Abrams put it, defeated it, yet they were not able, or did not try, to kill Kylo Ren. There are a few possible ways that might happen. Just running away is one, but that is kind of boring. The other is far more fun.
This other path? Kylo, once again, throws everything aside to save Rey, as in Last Jedi. Clearly, he loves her. True, selfless love, is not consistent with Dark Side living, yet it is possible that, like his grandfather’s love for Padme and Luke, Kylo’s love for Rey has as much power over him as the Dark Side.
What if Rey is, as I think we might find out, a descendant of Palpatine. The Knights of Ren might bring Palpatine back from the eternal black. If Palpatine knows Rey comes from his bloodline, he might think she is the greatest threat to him and would focus everything on killing her. While Kylo and the Knights of Ren would be part of this quest, Kylo would be in the same situation he was in Last Jedi: the only person who can save Rey. He destroys Palpatine, like his grandfather did, but is too wounded to fight the good guys, and he takes the remaining Knights of Ren and flees.
However it happens, this all leads to the important part of the answer: What then?
If anything like I described happens, I think he becomes the leader of a new Dark Jedi order, starting with the Knights of Ren, and Rey founds the new Light Jedi order called Skywalker Knights, or something like that. You then have the end of the original Star Wars story and the foundation for a new Star Wars universe and trilogy. That all sounds awesome to me.
The post was based on my reply to a Quora question. Check that out here:
What does Kylo Ren/Ben Solo’s future look like *to you* if he survives Episode IX? Answered Apr 17
