DominicCobb said:
I think a big part of it must be the expectations thing. As evidenced by GothamKnight’s post, if you were expecting something after TFA and didn’t get exactly that, there might be a disconnect for you personally, even if in reality the two films actually fit very well together.😒
Why is this the operating assumption of TLJ apologists? It’s not that I or other critics were expecting particular answers or resolutions. It’s that we were expecting . . . answers or resolves, or even just new information, of any kind, as long it was a plausible, natural progression from TFA.
So for example, let’s say I was speculating, like many, that Rey was a Skywalker. It’s not that I was disappointed, much less upset, that she wasn’t a Skywalker; that didn’t have to be the explanation for Rey’s Force-prowess. The problem is that TLJ provided no explanation for it; therefore it provided no natural or logical progression from TFA.
I get tired of the apologists arguing that critics are whining about “not getting what they wanted” in terms of specific plot developments. We just wanted . . . plot developments.
I agree with many of your criticisms, but you’d get less pushback if you didn’t refer to TLJ’s fans as apologists — not because the label is incorrect, but because the label has taken on a negative connotation in modern discourse.
I don’t agree with people who think TLJ is a good Star Wars story/movie, but that doesn’t mean they’re making excuses for something they know deep down isn’t good, which I think is what many would call an “apologist” today.