10 Things That Don't Make Sense In The Sequel Trilogy
Arguably the most divisive of the Star Wars trilogies, the sequel trilogy is one of many highs and lows. While the visuals, acting, and production value are exceedingly high bar, there are some notable holes in the scripts. These are the ten things that make the least sense in the Star Wars sequel galaxy.
The Knights of Ren
Star Wars is no stranger to underutilizing exceptional character design. The prequels put forth several characters who are visually striking with compelling actor performances, only to have them quickly and unceremoniously snuffed out. Jango Fett, General Grievous, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto, are all examples of wasted onscreen potential. Fortunately, these wrongs were righted with The Clone Wars, with most of these characters benefitting from increased screentime and audience recognition. Ever since the Knights of Ren were mentioned in The Force Awakens, there was much speculation as to who they were, where they hailed from, and what their motivations and uses would be going forward. Unfortunately, save for looming menacingly in the background and being the fodder for Ben Solo's fight scene, the Knights of Ren fall into the category of "cool design, wasted potential." Hopefully, additional content can serve to give these characters a more fleshed out backstory, motivations, and actions.
Low Power Mode
One of the key players in the Star Wars universe, the droid of the Skywalker family, R2-D2, has a very minor role to play in the debut of the sequel trilogy. As C-3PO explains to BB-8, Artoo has been in "low power mode since Master Luke went away." This is convenient for the plot of the movie, as Artoo contains the other half of the McGuffin map, but doesn't really make a lot of sense. Why was Artoo in this mode to begin with, and how did he know it was time to power back up and wrap up the movie?
TIE Fighter Crash
As Finn and Poe attempt to return to Jakku in their stolen TIE Fighter, they are shot down and crash in the Goazon Badlands. This is where Finn wakes up, having apparently ejected from the fighter at the last second, with Poe nowhere to be seen. Later, Poe and Finn are reunited at the Resistance base after the battle at Maz's Castle. This raises some questions about Poe's escape, however. If he was so determined to get back to Jakku to retrieve his droid, why would he call for rescue by the Resistance and not stay to look for BB-8?
Namesake
Toward the end of The Force Awakens, it is revealed that Kylo Ren's given name is Ben Solo. While this makes for one of the better moments of the movie between Han and his son, Ben seems like an odd choice of name. After all, neither Han nor Leia really had much of a relationship with old Ben Kenobi, with the later never even meeting him. With what we could tell from old Ben and Han's interactions in A New Hope, they were tolerant of each other at best. Perhaps a little more elaboration on why they named their son Ben could have made the moment of Han yelling his name land better. As is, it's a bit of a head scratcher.
Yo Mama
One of the most questionable aspects of the sequel trilogy is its abundant use of quips and one-liners to deliver comic relief. While Star Wars is no stranger to comedy (see Artoo and Threepio), the effectiveness of the humor in the ST is questionable at best. The best example of this takes place in the opening moments of The Last Jedi, as Poe makes his diversionary approach to Hux's flagship. Poe informs Hux that he has a very important message for him, about his mother. This line doesn't land at all in the way that it was written to and feels wildly out of place in this movie. It certainly would have landed better on the cutting room floor than in the movie.
Return of the Sith
Palpatine has long been known to be an exceptional puppet master, being one step ahead of his enemies at all times. This is true even in Legends as his spirit roams the galaxy in the years after the Battle of Endor before finally being snuffed out by Luke. However, the explanation given for his return in The Rise of Skywalker leaves something to be desired. When confronted with the return of one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time, most of the cast shrugs and throws around words like "somehow." The resurrection of the original trilogy's big bad was a dubious proposition at best, but paired with some subpar writing, wherein the writers throw a bunch of Star Wars words at the audience and hop something sticks, this return is poorly executed.
Rey's Lineage
While plenty of people will complain about Rey's family line because it doesn't line up with their fan theory, it is revealed that Luke and Leia know the whole time who she is, which may be a larger issue. While Luke claims it does not matter to him who Rey's family are, wouldn't that have played into his decision to train her? A plot element that Luke sweeps away could have been used to explain his hesitation to take her on as an apprentice in The Last Jedi. However, on the same note, it could also serve to indicate another lapse in judgement on Master Skywalker's part. Rey clearly has an advanced grasp on the Force for someone who has really yet to begin her Jedi path. If she is a naturally gifted Force user because of her heritage, wouldn't it make sense to train her for her own safety and that of others? As Luke tells Din Djarin when taking Grogu away to be trained, "He will not be safe until he masters his abilities." We even see this dangerous lack of training come to fruition in The Rise of Skywalker when Rey destroys a shuttle with a blast of Force lightening that everyone believes is carrying Chewbacca. Luckily, Chewie is carried to Kylo's flagship in a different transport, sparing Rey from the guilt of murdering one her best friends do to an unrefined grasp of the Force.
Only This Blade Tells
The Sith dagger in The Rise of Skywalker is an extremely questionable choice. Used to direct the wielder to the Emperor's wayfinder, it is nothing short of amazing that it actually works. Conveniently located in the underground tunnels of Pasaana, the blade weathers all kinds of tribulation to make its way back to a moon of Endor. Here, Rey conveniently stands in exactly the right spot for the blade's "map" to indicate the Emperor's vault. This doesn't hold up to scrutiny for a number of reasons. Wouldn't the wreckage of the second Death Star have shifted in these turbulent oceans over the last 30 years? The odds of Rey being able to line up the dagger with the silhouette of the wreckage feels like an immensely clumsy and convenient plot device. It is pretty apparent that Abrams really wanted a scene in the destroyed throne room of Emperor Palpatine and this was his way of getting Rey and the audience there.
Ben Solo's Journey to Exegol
After Rey defeats Kylo Ren (with an assist from Leia), she steals Kylo's TIE Silencer and leaves for Ahch-To, effectively marooning Kylo on the Endor moon. Kylo is left to brood on his actions, leading us into one of the best scenes of the movie as Kylo is confronted by his fathers memory/ghost. As Kylo is consoled by the deceased Han Solo, he flings his red-bladed saber into the ocean and leaves behind the mantle of Ren. The redeemed Ben Solo, determined to destroy Palpatine, soon arrives on Exegol in a TIE Fighter. But how? Even if he somehow manages to find a Fighter in the wreckage of the Death Star, how does it survive the blast that tears apart a moon-sized space station? Not to mention that it has been sitting in the ocean for 30-plus years. A large part of the plot of the movie revolves around the Sith wayfinders as they are the only way to guide a ship to Exegol, yet Ben manages to navigate his way back to the Sith world just fine without one. All these arguments are ignoring the biggest fallacy of all, which is simply that TIE Fighters are not equipped with a hyperdrive. The TIE is, after all, a short range fighter and unable to get deep into space on its own.
The Citizens' Fleet
The climactic moment of the Skywalker saga sees Lando arriving on Exegol to reinforce the battle weary Resistance with a militant fleet of civilians. While this moment is saved with some exceptional scoring from the maestro, John Williams, it still left many scratching their heads. When the Resistance tries this exact same move in the previous movie, they are hung out to dry. Does Lando really have that much sway in the galaxy that he is able to marshal a veritable army when barely a year earlier Leia has no such luck? While this moment is visually stunning and heartwarming, it ultimately feels slightly undeserved and like a "get out of jail free card" for our heroes.
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