hk47awesome said:
I do think they missed an opportunity at showcasing a new dynamic. . . . I would have much preferred the new dynamic of the New Republic battling a small faction known as the First Order that still believes in the ideals of the Empire. . . . Technically, in canon, it’s been thirty some odd years but TFA is literally the first film after ROTJ, in the main saga, and so the fact that we go from “we did it!” to “welp, it was nice while it lasted” just like that is disappointing.

And:

LordPlagueis said:
The lack of political context irked me at first. Eventually, I realized the relationship between the Republic and the Resistance is at least roughly analogous to the relationship between the French Resistance and Free France in World War II.

You guys are circling the central point of the framing that I wish had been done with these sequels: an analogy with the rise of Hitler and the Nazis between WW1 and WW2.

The Allies punish Germany too harshly / the New Republic bullies the Imperial remnant
German resentment soars, and a young, bitter corporal named Adolf blames Jews and communists / Imperial resentment soars, and a young “Hitler” blames uncontrolled, unaccountable Force-users for supposed incompetence and the failure of their “sorcerer’s ways” to carry the Empire to victory
Hitler rises to power by tapping German resentment and desperation; outlines a plan for a fascist, antisemitic state and brand new war machine / The Imperial “Hitler” outlines a plan to destroy Force-users, rebuild the Imperial war machine, and get vengeance on the New Republic
The Allies didn’t take Hitler seriously until it was too late to prevent a new war / The New Republic doesn’t initially take the Imperial resurgence seriously

I mean, good grief and bantha poodu, the parallels that could be drawn throughout a sequel trilogy!!!

I’m also considering a new TFA-TLJ amalgamated crawl that actually sketches these parallels, with the opening scene on Jakku being all about an Imperial hunt for Force-users.