(I wrote this review a long time ago on medium.com. That website sucks these days, so I am reposting it here.)
Over a year ago, I wrote what I thought should happen in the 9th episode of the Skywalker Saga. It was the first time I prognosticated how a Star Wars movie would progress. I typically like to be surprised.
My story had the Resistance hiding on Mandalore under the watch of Queen Sabine Ren. Leia dies early, has a Mandalorian funeral, and Sabine assists the cause. Chewbacca, Rey, Finn, and Poe join Mandalorians to fight the Knights of Ren and the First Order, while Lando, C-3PO, and Rose Tico go to Coruscant to rally the galaxy to the cause.
Turns out I was wrong on quite a bit. I knew that would happen. But I was surprisingly right on a few things.
Overall, I thought Rise of Skywalker was better than The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, but not as good as Rogue One. If Episode 1 and 2 are at the bottom, Rise of Skywalker is with Solo and Return of the Jedi as a middle of the pack Star Wars movie.
(Warning: SPOILERS) (Warning: SPOILERS) (Warning: SPOILERS)
Let’s start with how I was wrong.
Mandalorians
I wrote that General Organa would take the Resistance to Mandalore, where they would regroup and join forces with the Mandalorians in their disdain for the First Order. Seeing Mandalorians and the Dark Saber on the big screen would wow Star Wars fans. I even connected Episode 9 to the Rebels show via an older Sabine Ren.
I wrote my article in late August 2018. In early October 2018, Disney announced The Mandalorian show would premier on Disney+. The Mandalorian has been a huge success for Disney and Star Wars lore.
That Mandalorians were not in Episode 9 makes sense. If they were Episode 9 and in a new show at the same time, it would have been Mandalorian overkill.
I foresaw the importance of Mandalorians, just in the wrong part of the story.
Death of Leia
In my Episode 9, General Leia Organa dies early, unrelated to the rest of the story. She dies on Mandalore and is given a moving funeral scene, with a special appearance by the specter of Luke Skywalker and the arrival of Lando Calrissian.
That of course did not happen as she had a role in almost 2/3 of the movie before projecting herself to distract Kylo Ren, so Rey could stab him, cure him, and then abandon him on an Endor moon, where he would talk to the vision of Han Solo.
Vastly different from how I projected.
The Return of Lando
As I mentioned, in my Episode 9, Lando arrives early in the movie. He has a moment with Chewbacca in which they reflect on the death of Han Solo. He then goes on a political quest to Coruscant with C-3PO and Rose Tico, rounding up support for the Resistance.
I got that part sorta right. Lando has a short moment with Chewbacca in the company of the other characters who magically know who he is. He also rounds up support for the Resistance, although he does this in minutes, rather than through a scene.
I also had Rose Tico joining Lando so she could give an emotional speech about her sister, her life, etc. That would have continued her role for The Last Jedi. It would not have her as a main character, but not completely minimized her.
What I didn’t care for is Lando’s fairy godfather trope to Poe when he questions if he could lead the Resistance. Lando gives a revisionist history pep talk that he, Han, and Leia led the Rebellion when actually it was led by the strategic prowess of Admiral Ackbar and political know-how of Mon Mothma, neither of whom are utilized much in the sequel trilogy.
Death of Chewbacca … or not
In my post, I mentioned that killing off other legacy characters would be a mistake. The audience has already dealt with the death of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia.
JJ Abrams teased viewers with the death of Chewbacca and the memory loss of C-3PO. Then brought them both back. Was the audience supposed to take those scenes seriously? Were we supposed to think Chewbacca was really gone?
The Sith dagger
Nothing about the Sith dagger was relevant. The entire plot point could have been cut. When the ancient dagger was aligned with the outline of a wreck, it told where the other Sith wayfinder was. But what if our heroes were at a different angle? What if a tidal wave altered the landscape of the wreckage? Please don’t write that weak plot point off as “the will of the Force”.
The dagger could have been used by Rey to kill Palpatine or herself, but it was forgotten once it was used on the moon of Endor. A total mcguffin.
Too much running around
One of many complaints I had with The Last Jedi was that it was too local. It didn’t have a galactic feel. I had the opposite feeling in Rise of Skywalker. Planet hopping to and fro to decipher a map on a dagger was very Indiana Jones or Goonies. Rise of Skywalker reminded me of a galactic Shawn of the Dead :
- Leave Ajan Kloss
- Go to Pasaana, meet Lando, pick up the dagger, lose Chewie (oops!)
- Go to Kijimi, erase C-3PO (sorry 3PO!), translate the dagger
- Rescue Chewie (yay!)
- Go to Kef Bir, make friends, find wayfinder, stab Kylo (sorry!), heal Kylo (yay?)
- Go back to Ajan Kloss (everyone but Rey)
- Go to Ach-to (Rey only), talk to Luke, fly Luke’s X-Wing
- Go to Exegol (everyone), fight bad guys
- Go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for the rest of war to blow over
- And as Professor Stephen M. Saideman notes, all of this in 16 hours.
Reliance on old baddies
One of my biggest gripes with The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi was that the First Order was militarily incompetent. Hux was a terrible commander. In my estimation, I wrote that the First Order must “bring in new technology or their own new allies to tip the balance of power”. By bringing in the Emperor, former Imperial Officers, and the Final Order, JJ Abrams gave a challenge to the heroes.
The good guys needed something to fear to make their trials believable. They needed an uphill climb. The Emperor and a massive fleet of planet-destroying Star Destroyers (suspend acquisition logic!) met that qualification.
Poe and Finn
Neither of these characters were well-developed in the new trilogy. Poe should have stayed a side character, a la Wedge. Finn had too much Jar-Jar Binks in him. He was caught in himself or too infatuated with Rey to see the big picture. In pro wrestling terms, they were mid-carders trying to carry the show.
Star Wars military ranks
How the Rebel Alliance and the Resistance promoted volunteers baffles me. In Return of the Jedi, Lando Calrissian immediately became a general. In Rise of Skywalker, Poe is promoted from Captain to General. Poe then gives Finn the rank of general. How? Why?
Further frustrating is the sidelining of Nien Numb, an experienced military leader, for Finn, a former janitor and ground soldier.
Lack of connections to cartoons
The appearance of the Ghost and the voice of Kanan and Ahsoka encouraging Rey are the only connections to the cartoons. Rogue One and Solo had more of a connection. I think that was a missed opportunity by JJ Abrams.
In my post, I suggested Rey go to Coruscant and re-open the Jedi Temple. The young stable boy from The Last Jedi could make an appearance, as could an elder Ahsoka Tano, as well as an array of Force ghosts. Ahsoka assisting the re-opening of the Jedi Temple would give a positive end to her story with the Jedi as well as it give the temple immense credibility.
Closing the Saga
If you made it this far, thank you.
Overall, I really enjoyed Rise of Skywalker. As Rebecca Fleenor of CNET wrote, if you focus on Kyle Ren, the movie is a great story about the redemption of the Jedi and the Skywalker name. The first trilogy was about the downfall of the Jedi, the second trilogy was the return of the Jedi, the last trilogy was the rebirth of the Jedi.
I like that perspective.
