There is a theory floating around that Kylo Ren is actually a double agent working towards assassinating Snoke. It assumes Kylo has never actually been close enough to Snoke, perhaps not even in the same room, and is working his way towards gaining enough trust to accomplish this. Some say the massacre of Luke's students was either entirely faked by Luke and Kylo or Kylo has been acting alone and really did murder his fellow students as the most extreme (but perhaps what he perceived to be the only way) to get Snoke's attention. His desperation to avoid the light side could be he's worried Snoke will sense it in him and give him away.

His line to Rey, "You need a teacher" has been interpreted by some as an attempt to build his list of allies before going up against Snoke. His final words with Han are supposed to be a father's understanding according to this theory, that Han had an implicit understanding (but was still worried his son was getting in too deep). Whether or not this means the Knights of Ren are a trojan horse (for Kylo or for Snoke), I don't know.

There are several holes in this theory, not the least of which is scale (in Rey's vision that is a lot of *presumably* Jedi bodies littering the ground) and just the fact that too many small things would be left to chance that could upend the entire plan.

I never subscribed to the idea that Luke sent Kylo to infiltrate Snoke's ranks. He has every reason to take Snoke out- he's leading the First Order (to a degree) and he's a dark force user, but I feel like that's too zealous and aggressive for Luke. I also doubt he would ever put his nephew in harm's way like that. I think it's more reasonable that Kylo had wanderlust while training, and since Luke was kept in tight rein on the homestead on Tatooine he didn't want Kylo to feel the same desire to leave that he had. I don't think he ever expected another Sith-like entity to sweep him up like that, as he had already eliminated what he thought were the last in the galaxy.

I've been assuming that the Knights of Ren are most of Luke's previous students. Since the movie seems to reflect ANH so much, I thought it would be a nice touch if Kylo 'killed' most of Luke's students in the same way that Vader 'killed' Luke's father.

In terms of Kylo trying to pressure Rey into learning from him, I assumed it was him trying to follow in Vader's footsteps of recruiting a powerful apprentice to help overthrow his master; not to redeem himself, but to rule the dark side. Add to that the fact that Rey may be a Skywalker and you've got a nice allusion soup going there. There is also a layer of added irony in that, in trying to convince Rey to give in to his will, he teaches her more about how to be a Jedi than anyone else. She learns how to force persuade people from Kylo's attempts to invade her mind. In Kylo's furious attack in the end, she finally sees Maz Kanata's wisdom in opening herself up tot he force. And if not for her desperation to save Finn in the end she may not have learned how to use Force Pull so soon.

While I'm on the topic, we know that Luke struggled to learn to use the force in between Empire and ANH from the new canon materials that take place between them. It makes comparatively little sense for Rey to do all of the things she does instinctively, in that case. From this perspective, I believe that Rey was at least one of Luke's former students, who either underwent enough psychological trauma or the good ol' Revan treatment to suppress her memories. Luke, wanting to save at least one of his students, sent her to a remote world under the watch of someone he trusts (Max von Sydow's character) until she was ready. In this case he also believed that Rey would eventually be drawn to him, which is also why he placed the map fragment that would lead to his location on Jakku- for Rey to find or be given. This would also be a call back to ANH, since the Jedi Masters know their apprentice is out there, but will not take action until their future padawan is called to action by the force.

The best part about that is that Rey doesn't necessarily need to be a Skywalker for it all to work out, though it does add a layer of depth.

Mind wipes! They solve everything!

I agree, that it's all an elaborate scheme by Kylo Ren and/or Luke doesn't sit right. Too many inconsistencies and weaknesses.

It's interesting to me to think that "(Luke) (n)ever expected another Sith-like entity to sweep him up like that, as (Luke) had already eliminated what he thought were the last in the galaxy" because the very nature of the dark side/light side conflict is cyclical and eternal. All evidence points to the fact that one will never truly disappear and there will always be some factor that equalizes both sides, if not by bringing them to equal strength and true balance, then by at least giving light and dark turns being on top (the Republic versus the Empire).

This is what I was hoping (but realistically not expecting) to see when I read the title "The Force Awakens". In the Knights of the Old Republic II, it posits that the Force is not only intelligent but it is manipulative and on no side but its own, indifferent to those who use it. There is still a chance for Episode VIII to give a more nihilistic view on the Force. One of my favourite force-users all is Kreia because of how fresh her philosophy was, that the Force was something to be shunned and despised for imposing its will on living things (hence her fascination with The Exile, a rarity as a Jedi who effectively severed her connection to the Force). That story had a very strong and interesting theme of free will and perhaps an even stronger one of destiny because of it than the original SW trilogy.

Perhaps Luke will have become more of a nihilist with these repeated tragedies coupled with his isolation, believing that the cycle must repeat and his time of short peace was earned but now over?

I don't buy the double-agent thing at all. Kylo, all alone, speaks to his dead grandfather's deteriorated and burned helmet asking for help because he's being lured by the light side and wants to stay dark. That's no show for anyone because no one is watching. Also don't believe Han knew he was going to die. It's a lot less powerful that way.