Since TFA establishes that they discovered the location of the Resistance base and TLJ relies on that, seems better to keep that plot point if at all possible. V1 felt off, and it was in part due to the Resistance just keeping on their attack for seemingly no reason when they ought to retreat. V2’s structure lets the movie stick closer to the theatrical TFA while keeping all the intended gains. I suppose one could make an argument for the ‘revenge’ angle, but I feel it’s more complete the way we did it for V2.
Why WOULDN’T the Resistance keep on attacking? If anything, they would be more motivated to complete their mission after witnessing the destructive power (or at least the immense firepower) of SKB first hand. Why would they retreat from trying to destroy the thing that has just been confirmed to be the biggest threat the galaxy has ever seen? I really don’t think there needs be a justification for this. How would even the Resistance recon even learn in the heat of the battle that the FO is recharging the base?
This is one of the few issues I have with the restructure (which, make no mistake, I absolutely adore). It makes a bold move to remove a major similarity with A New Hope: the imminent danger to the Rebel base from the superweapon that they are currently attacking. And by tying two tragic events beautifully and making the final mission only a partial success, it pulls this ambition off with more than flying colors. Only to return to the very premise it wanted to avoid a few seconds after…
As for the TLJ tie-in, the movie never clarifies how the Resistance had been exposed, just the fact that it was. In fact, I think any potential fan-edit of TLJ would benefit from implying that at least a few weeks had passed between the the two movies, as opposed to mere hours. And that would be helped by removing the line that the FO had followed the Resistance recon ship to the Illenium system.