Ten Things Wrong with the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

After having a lot of time to digest the final film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, I have realized the trilogy is not perfect.  In fact, it's far from it.  I've come to realize it is actually a fairly big disappointment.  It had so much potential.  It had the potential for people to argue for eons on which trilogy is better: the original or the sequel.  Nobody will ever legitimately think the prequel trilogy is better than the original trilogy, and now nobody will ever think the sequel trilogy is better.  I have ten reasons why this is the case; ten ways Disney, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Kathleen Kennedy screwed up.  These are in no particular order:

1. Rey is too much of a Mary Sue
You knew I was going to mention this.  She executes flying maneuvers you'd expect only out of a very experienced pilot.  She fixes the Millennium Falcon with ease.  She uses a Jedi Mind trick without practice.  She wields a lightsaber with competency against someone who's trained their entire life (although he was wounded).  Kylo should have easily been able to handle her in TFA.  It's hard to relate to a character that is so good at everything she does.  More on Rey later.

2. The back and forth between JJ and Rian
The sequel trilogy suffered from the inconsistency of directors.  Rian undid some of what JJ did, and then JJ undid some of what Rian did.  It left the trilogy feeling more like three separate barely connected films.  There's very little connecting the three films other than the characters.  One example is JJ hyping up Luke's lightsaber, only for Rian to have Luke toss it over his shoulder.  

3. No good romance story
Something prevalent in the first two trilogies is a romance sub-plot.  In the prequels, we had Anakin and Padme.  In the original trilogy, we had Han and Leia.  In the sequels, we have nothing even close.  We had a kiss between Finn and Rose in The Last Jedi, but that romance was forgotten about in the next film.  We then had a kiss between Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey, but there was very little to zero romantic build up.  He had just barely turned to her side.  The kiss felt forced and out of place.  If they had started building up the romance in The Last Jedi (or TFA) then it would have made a bit more sense.

4. Force Powers introduced that add plot holes, ruin integrity of Star Wars
I'd say one of the things that bothers me most about the sequel trilogy are some of the force powers introduced in it.  I'm ok with the mind extraction power Kylo used on Poe (although why didn't Vader learn this power?).  But what I don't like are the dyad, force heal, and new force ghost powers.  The dyad allows matter to be transported thousands if not millions of miles.  This means people could be transported, right?  They basically introduced teleportation in Star Wars, which belongs more in Star Trek.  Force Heal means no one has to die, and makes us wonder why no Jedi ever learned it before.  I like how JK Rowling said that once a character dies in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, they're dead.  That is no longer the case in Star Wars.  And the last thing that really bothered me was Force Ghosts and their new "powers".  Apparently now they can cause lightning strikes, use the force to lift objects, and even hold solid objects (Luke holding the lightsaber).  Why don't they help out the living world more often, then?  What rules are there?

5. Missed opportunity at the end of The Rise of Skywalker
When Rey is laying down and the Jedi are speaking to her, we hear Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Anakin, Mace Windu, and even Kanan Jarrus I think.  It would have been a million times more awesome to see them as Force Ghosts.  To see all of those characters rally behind Rey and help her would have redeemed TROS and even the entire trilogy, more or less.  It would have been a way to tie all the films (as well as a couple TV shows) together and probably would have instantly become a Top 5 Star Wars moment.  But instead, all we get is their voices and it has nowhere near the impact it could have.  

6. The handling of the original trilogy characters
I feel like Luke, Leia, Han, and Lando all could have been handled better.  Even R2D2 and C3PO were mere afterthoughts, although I understand wanting to focus on BB-8 (and sell merch).  But there were so many things I wish we had seen with the four human characters.  I wanted to see a Han and Luke reunion, a Han and Lando reunion, and maybe even a Lando and Leia reunion.  The only "reunions" we got were Han and Leia who were "separated" (don't agree with that), and Luke projecting himself to Leia.  Meh.  And the way they all were killed off... did they even have to be killed off?  Why can't they just live out their last days in peace?  At least perhaps Lando does.  Han dies so violently at the hands of his son?  That's an awful fate for a fan favorite.  Luke dying from overprojecting?  Ok...

7. Rey's lineage is a massive head-shaker
My absolute preferred lineage for Rey would have been to have her somehow descended from Obi-Wan, perhaps a (great) niece.  What Rian Johnson did in TLJ was have her parents be nobody, which I definitely would have preferred over her being a Palpatine.  At least as a nobody, that teaches kids (mostly girls) that even if your parents are nobodies and not that successful, that doesn't mean you can't be.  Instead, it shows that there has to be some lineage in your family tree in order to make a name for yourself.  And knowing the main "hero" of the ST be descended from ultimate evil is just an unsettling feeling.

8. There is no clear villain throughout the trilogy
In the prequel trilogy, the main villain was Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious.  In the original trilogy, it was Darth Vader and then the Emperor.  In the sequel trilogy, there is no consistency.  It goes from Kylo/Snoke to Snoke dying leaving just Kylo to Palpatine and then Kylo turns.  There is no clear number one villain in the trilogy.  It's not Snoke, he was only in a film and a half.  It's not Palpatine, he was only in one film.  And it's not Kylo, because he turns and betrays his own "master".  There's no one clear villain for the audience to root against.  

9. Side characters that are discarded or boring
The sequel trilogy introduced a lot of side characters: Captain Phasma, Rose, Finn, Poe, General Hux, and Zorii Bliss.  Captain Phasma was built up with a bunch of hype but dies in a lame fashion in TLJ.  Rose was basically forgotten about in TROS.  Finn was possibly force-sensitive but we get no resolution on it.  Poe was an ace pilot and former smuggler... but what else?  His character had no substance.  General Hux was a villain who turned for a petty reason.  Zorii Bliss was someone from Poe's past who no one cared for.  There was very little to no depth for the secondary characters in the ST.  

10. Missing an epic lightsaber fight scene
There was no epic lightsaber fight scene in the ST.  The closest we got was in TLJ when Rey and Kylo teamed up to take out Snoke's guards, but that fight had flaws and wasn't exactly a fair fight.  There was no fight scene with the magnitude of any of the OT fight scenes.  There was no fight scene that left us thinking how awesome it was after it finished.  This is just my opinion, but I think it's an opinion generally agreed upon by the Star Wars fanbase.  


The sequel trilogy was not entirely awful.  I only pointed out its flaws.  It had its strengths, too.  Kylo Ren had more depth than Anakin did in the PT, and Adam Driver killed it in the role.  The visual effects and music were all top-notch, with the visual effects the best Star Wars has seen so far.  They blended practical and visual effects better than the PT ever did.  The acting, even outside of Driver, was pretty good for the most part.  But it just pains me as a huge Star Wars fan to know that the ST could have been so much more.  I think someday we will get a Star Wars trilogy or movie series that people will universally regard as magnificent, but the sequel trilogy is unfortunately not that trilogy.  

Star Wars the Last Jedi Hopes and Predictions

Later tonight I am going to see Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and I am super stoked as you would expect.  I did a blog post right before seeing The Force Awakens so I thought I should do the same for The Last Jedi (Which shall henceforth be abbreviated as TLJ).  I'm going to make 10 predictions and summarize with what I hope will happen. 

1. Someone's origin will be revealed - But perhaps not Rey's
I do believe Rey to be related to Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I don't necessarily think that  will be revealed in TLJ.  Instead, maybe the origin of either Finn or Snoke will be revealed.  I do think Finn could be the son of Lando Calrissian, because Maz Kanata recognized his eyes and she's probably met Lando as she was good friends with Han. 

2. Deaths: General Hux, Leia
For TLJ I think General Hux will die.  I think it will be him being in a ship and it explodes.  As we know, Carrie Fisher passed away after filming TLJ (RIP), so they'll have to write her out somehow.  I think it would be better to give her a non-violent death, somehow.  But please, don't let it be of a broken heart/loss of will to live.

3. Snoke will not be a lightsaber wielder
So we finally will get to see Snoke in something other than a projection (as revealed in the trailer).  I think it will be revealed that he doesn't believe in lightsabers and that he is powerful enough in the force to succeed without one.  Perhaps he will own a weapon of some kind that can stand up to a lightsaber.

4. Finn and Rose Tico will eventually be a couple
Now this may not exactly happen in TLJ, but I've seen a few different stills of them in scenes together, leading me to believe there could be something between the two.  I don't like the idea of Rey and Finn, I feel they have more of a brother/sister bond.  But I could see Finn and Rose together, and we may only get hints of it in TLJ with them hooking up in Ep. 9.

5. There will be a new Dark Side Force Power revealed
So we've gotten new planets, creatures, even types of lightsabers in this new trilogy.  But we haven't really gotten any new force powers yet.  I think either Snoke or Kylo Ren will debut a new force power, something like Force Drain (seen in KOTOR), Force Destroy, Force Pain, or Force Fire.  Obviously if it's something extremely powerful like Force Destroy (which in my mind destroys anything you concentrate hard enough on), it would be only Snoke who can do it.

6. Poe will get to fight outside of an X-Wing
This doesn't seem like a surprise, as it has to happen at some point, right?  The beginning of TFA doesn't really count as he took one shot and was immobilized.  I hope to see some Han Solo type fighting out of him in TLJ. 

7. Luke does not get to reunite with Leia
It's unfortunate, but I think the writers/producers were planning on Luke and Leia reuniting in Ep 9., but because of Carrie Fisher's passing, unless it happens in TLJ, it won't happen at all.  If they have Leia pass away in this one hopefully Luke hears and can grieve.

8. The Porg does something adorable to make everyone go "Awwww!"
Ok, this might be the most predictable item on this list, but can you blame me?  BB-8 had its moments in TFA (The thumbs up to Finn, for one), and the Porg will do something in TLJ to make mostly women swoon and wish they were real creatures.  Perhaps someday a toy manufacturer will make a lifelike and realistic version that is similar to a Furby.

9. Benicio Del Toro's Character DJ will be like Boba Fett and Cad Bane
Hard to say how each of the new characters will fit in and what they'll be like.  But with DJ, I think he will be one of those rogue types that looks out for only himself, and perhaps assists the bad guys (much like Boba Fett and Cad Bane).  He won't be inherently dark sided, however, and may end up redeeming himself in Ep. 9.

10. Cliffhanger?  You betcha
TESB finished with a cliffhanger.  Technically AotC did too.  So to keep the tradition alive of 2nd movie in a trilogy having a cliffhanger, this one will too.  This time, someone's fate will be in the balance: Probably either Rey or Luke. 

So really all I hope is for another solid Star Wars film.  I really hope it doesn't follow the plot of any other Star Wars movie, like many thought TFA did with A New Hope.  I think it will undoubtedly fulfill most of our expectations.  And as you might guess, I'm going to see it multiple times in theaters.  I can't wait! 


Well, I just saw TLJ and while most of my predictions were wrong, some were close and I nailed one in particular.  Let's see how many I got right.  Obviously, spoilers ahead

1. Someone's origin WAS revealed, and it was Rey's.  So I'll give myself a partially correct on this one.
2. Wow, totally wrong.  Leia will more than likely die between 8 and 9, but she did not die on screen.  Hux didn't, either, but he's almost a lock to die in Ep. 9.  Instead we saw Phasma, Snoke, and Luke as the notable deaths.  One wrong.
3. Well, he died before we could see if he did use or own a lightsaber.  I don't recall seeing one on his person.  I have to give myself my first correct answer on this one.  Not a lightsaber user that we know of.
4. Well, I was pretty spot on with this one!  Might see them as a legit couple in Ep. 9, as time will undoubtedly pass in their story between 8 and 9.  Another correct prediction
5. I feel like I saw a hint of a new power when Snoke did an almost lightning bomb at Kylo, I believe it was.  I'll have to watch TLJ again to see but to me it looked like something we hadn't seen before.  However, I'll give myself just a partial on this one.
6. Well he wasn't in any legit battles outside of his X-Wing (or the speeders on Crait), but he did defend the bridge on the rebel ship, as well as get slapped haha.  I'll give myself just a partial.
7. Ok, this is a tricky one.  Luke sort of did, but he wasn't actually there.  So does this count?  Hard to say.  He didn't reunite with her in person.  Again, just partially correct.
8. Well for one I thought there would only be one Porg in the whole movie.  And the most adorable thing was the sad faces on the group of them as Chewie was about to eat one of them.  So again, just partial.
9. Well this wasn't necessarily hard to predict, but he did end up turning on Rose and Finn for a monetary gain.  That's exactly something Boba or Cad would do.  Another one right.
10. There wasn't much of a cliffhanger, certainly not like in TFA.  So I did not get this one right.

In total, I got 3 right, 5 partially correct, and 2 wrong.  Not bad.  This movie definitely surprised me in spots, especially in Snoke's death and Luke not actually being on Crait.

I will probably end up reviewing TLJ in another post (definitely gotta see it again), so stay tuned!

My Insane Theory for the New Star Wars Trilogy

With Star Wars Episode VII still a year and a half away, it's never too early to theorize or speculate about characters, their motives, or possible twists.  I do believe there will be a twist, perhaps revealed at the end of Episode VII much like how the twist of the original trilogy was revealed in the middle movie of the trilogy.  Ready for it?  Here it is:

Kylo Ren is not evil.  He is a spy sent by Luke to infiltrate the dark side and take down Snoke.

I'll give you a minute to put your mind back together after it's been blown. 

Basically, Kylo was in training with Luke when Luke learns of this dark lord that has been in the shadows (Supreme Leader Snoke), and comes up with the idea to use Kylo/Ben as a weapon and spy to try to learn something about Snoke, take out Snoke, or both. 

If you've ever read Harry Potter, this would directly parallel the events of the popular book series.  In this case, Luke would be Dumbledore using Kylo (Snape) to take down a dark leader: Snoke (Voldemort).  Funny thing is Kylo with his long hair and long face looks like Snape.  In the Harry Potter series, Snape reported to Dumbledore about Voldemort.  Is Kylo somehow in secret communication with Luke?  Also in this analogy, Rey would be Harry Potter and Finn would be a combination of Ron/Hermione.  Or maybe Poe is Hermione, haha. 

I know there's a lot against this theory--such as why does it seem like Kylo Ren in TFA is so desperate to find his uncle?  It could be an act.  But to back up my theory, Luke went in hiding--not out of shame--but because contact with anyone would risk him revealing his plan.  Perhaps Luke found out something about Snoke so bad that he gave up his relationships with Han and Leia so that he could secretly get Kylo Ren to spy for him.  Perhaps Luke learned how to expertly flirt between dark and light so well without going too far either way that he felt confident in letting his nephew pretend to be dark.  Luke being disgraced about his nephew turning dark is a cover for his solitude--it's so he can meditate, and also communicate with his nephew secretly.

You're probably thinking: Why did Kylo Ren kill Han, then?  Well perhaps Han is a bit like Dumbledore in that he might have been dead soon, anyway.  Maybe there was someone so hot on Han's trail that they were about to catch up and kill him.  I doubt Luke would want Han dead, but if Luke knew Han didn't have long in the galaxy anyway, and it would convince Snoke of Kylo's evilness, Luke would probably say it would be worth it for the greater good.  Perhaps Han knew he was going to die.  He did say to Rey that he was looking into taking on a second mate, but perhaps that was code for someone to take over the Millennium Falcon... period.

One other thing to back up my theory: Kylo did not appear to be trying to kill Rey.  On Starkiller Base at the end of TFA when Kylo fights Finn and Rey, he did not seem to be trying to kill Rey.  If anything, he was trying to get her to come with him so he could perhaps fill her in on the secret.  I believe if Kylo wanted to kill her he could've, seeing how inexperienced she was.  The fact that (while injured) Kylo had trouble with two untrained young adults leads me to believe he wasn't trying to kill them, because he isn't evil. 

I know my theory is a bit of a long shot, but I'd love to see it come true.  I do believe in some way by the end of the trilogy Kylo Ren will have come back to the light (if he even left it).  I mean, what's more badass than being bad, but not actually being evil?  You get all the coolness of the dark side but none of the hate.  Severus Snape is revered in the Harry Potter series--I think Disney wants the same for Kylo Ren. 

Bonus: Take a look at Kylo Ren's lightsaber.  Looks like a cross, doesn't it?  Like the cross Jesus died on?  Perhaps that is a subtle hint that Kylo will sacrifice himself for the greater good.  I can definitely see that happening, most likely in Episode IX.