There’s a lot of Star Wars to go around lately, what with The Mandalorian on its way along with the Obi-Wan Kenobi series in the near future as well. For now, the biggest release undoubtedly is Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

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There was a huge backlash two years ago when Episode VIII- The Last Jedi had been released, as viewers pointed out a large assortment of issues with the story, characters, and overall presentation. While there was certainly a lot of pointless whining, there were also points that were definitely true. We’ve put together 10 of the most important mistakes The Rise of Skywalker will need to avoid if it wants to please the fans.

Not Having The Original Leads Together

Star Wars Luke Han Leia

This was a mistake starting from The Force Awakens, as fans were, and still are, riled up that we haven’t seen the main trio together in the sequel trilogy. With Han and Luke being dead and all, you’d think there’s not much of a chance at seeing the three together - but you’d be forgetting the magic of flashbacks.

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Fans wouldn’t mind if we see Han, Luke, and Leia using older, as-of-yet unreleased footage; even a few seconds worth would do. The Last Jedi suffered for not having a scene with these three, and The Rise of Skywalker should add in some way for fans to feel fulfilled that the original heroes were seen again.

Separating Finn And Rey

The chemistry between these two leads was what made The Force Awakens such a fresh take on Star Wars, only for The Last Jedi to completely separate the two. This was so striking that the characters only reunited in the very final seconds of the movie.

The last film will undermine the foundation of the sequel trilogy if we once again have Rey and Finn in different settings, since there won’t be that one friendship - like Han and Luke had - that shapes out the theme of a Star Wars trilogy.

Pointless Love Angles

A lot of time was wasted in The Last Jedi setting up needless love angles between Rey and Kylo Ren, and Finn and Rose. There were also hints at Finn having feelings for Rey, meaning we’ve spent quite a long time mulling over love stories that have no business being there. 

The overall theme of Star Wars has been about camaraderie in places you don’t think they can be found, and having love triangles isn’t the way to go since these only interfere with the main order of business and take away screen time from the actual conflict.

Too Much Conflict In Kylo Ren

We get that Kylo Ren’s “pull toward the light” has formed part of his main characterization, but this was overdone too much in The Last Jedi, where it seemed like Kylo was too much of a drama queen who couldn’t very well make up his mind.

The romantic angle between Rey and Kylo Ren was based around this conflict in his mind, but this was splashed mud upon when he suddenly went dark side and took command of the bad guys. If he is indeed supposed to be the main antagonist, then Kylo Ren needs to be painted that way, not flip flop between good and bad.

No Backstory For Rey

Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

Fans were completely convinced that Rey would be revealed as Luke’s long lost daughter in The Last Jedi and had made this part of their head canons. However, we got a very unsatisfactory answer from Kylo Ren when he revealed Rey’s parents were “nobodies.”

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This kind of answer only served to insult the intelligence of the viewer, as it seemed more like the studio wanted to go for shock value than actually quelling our questions. The Rise of Skywalker hand waving over this part is a serious no-no; if that does happen, then there’s definitely going to be legions of angered viewers.

Ruining Established Characterizations

Luke and Leia reunite on Crait in Star Wars Last Jedi

The biggest complaint - something which fanboys still cry about on the internet - was the U-turn Luke Skywalker took in his characterization in The Last Jedi. Here, Luke seemed to be like a completely untrained Jedi who had no personal experience or maturity. 

He went from someone who had faced Palpatine himself despite knowing it would be certain death, to a person who had given up on the ways of the Jedi. This kind of playing around with characters that had been established back in the 1970s does good for no-one, and The Rise of Skywalker should steer clear of the older generation and focus only on developing the new one.

Internal Conflict Within The Resistance

Another reason why The Last Jedi was all over the place was because the resistance camp wasn’t making up its mind either. Throughout the story, the likes of Poe, Leia, and Holdo were wrapped up in their own arguments to give the story room to breathe.

It took away part of the conflict with the antagonists, as scenes were dominated at times with the resistance antagonizing each other. The times they did come together to fight didn’t have much value due to there being an absence of an established bond between them.

The Swerve With The Villain

We still don’t know what to say about that twist which took everyone by surprise in the theaters upon first viewing. As if building up to face the final boss in a Star Wars game, Snoke had been set up in the first movie, and most of The Last Jedi, as someone even more fearful than Palpatine...until he was killed like a common Stormtrooper would.

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After building up Kylo Ren’s turn toward the light side of the force, he was then placed in the role meant for Snoke, thereby wasting all of our time with everything that happened before. It’s not looking very good for The Rise of Skywalker either, as Palpatine’s supposed “resurrection” has us worried there might be something in store for this film as well.

Sudden Boosts In Powers

Rey couldn’t have been with Luke for more than a couple of days, and yet she suddenly became so powerful that you’d think she’d been under his tutelage for years. This sudden boost came out of nowhere, and it was clear that the plot was interfering with the character development.

More annoying, however, was the sudden use of the force on Leia’s part, a plot thread that wasn’t touched upon again after said incident. The only thing that came out of this bizarre scene was the appearance of more memes than there were before.

A Downer Ending

Broom Boy in the final shot of The Last Jedi

It’s most likely we’ll be seeing a happy ending like the one we had in Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, since this is supposed to be the last film in the “Skywalker Saga.” Ending on a dreary note like The Last Jedi will feel like a total slap in the face. 

We’re still apprehensive, though, because of several more Star Wars related media on the way, and it’s a certainty that there will be another direct trilogy of films somewhere down the line. The studio might feel the need to repeat The Last Jedi’s “hope” ending and pick up with the next series of films. Should that happen, then you can be certain most of the fans will dust their hands off Star Wars for good.

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