I remember this passage in the TFA novel really got my attention:
[Snoke:] “I have never had a student with such promise—before you.”
Ren straightened. “It is your teachings that make me strong, Supreme Leader.”
Snoke demurred. “It is far more than that. It is where you are from. What you are made of. The dark side—and the light. The finest sculptor cannot fashion a masterpiece from poor materials. He must have something pure, something strong, something unbreakable, with which to work. I have—you.”
I’m not sure if Snoke means to say he believes Ren is pure, strong, and unbreakable; hopes Ren is pure, strong and unbreakable; or–I really get the sneaky vibe from this that I got when Snoke talked about keeping a rabid cur–I think he was talking more about Ren in that moment than Hux–like he’s taking a very subtle jab at Ren and gloating to himself because Ren doesn’t know it.
