There’s no such thing as happily ever after. Life goes on. New challenges arise. You don’t win once and never have to fight again. Just because WW2 came a little over 20 years after WW1 doesn’t mean all those that fought were losers.
I got to see beloved characters again and were introduced to great new characters too. The First Order is not like the Empire. They do not rule the galaxy. They are more like a terrorist organization that formed from the remains of an overthrown government.
I can’t speak for others, but I have a bit of a problem with this thinking.
For me it’s more about how they go back to pre-ANH with the Sequels, almost resetting the timeline. It’s as if after World War I established new order in Europe, the heir to the Kaiser was suddenly reinstated by a small terrorist organization and then proceeded to redo the World War almost exactly the same.
Of course, that’s not what happened. The Second World War was a direct result from the conclusion of the First World War, with the Germans angry over their defeat and turning to a horrible ideology. If you were to learn about the Franco-Prussian War and then jump to WW2, it wouldn’t make any sense.
Compare that with Star Wars. Imagine watching ROTS and then jumping to TFA. It… isn’t that hard. There’s a Republic mentioned but only shown in a destruction montage. Beyond that it could be reasoned the Empire has stood for 50 years. Everything Luke, Leia, and Han fought for has been forgotten, undone, and now we are supposed to expect the new characters will somehow fix it permanently this time.
I’d rather the Sequels have built upon what the Originals laid out. It can have higher stakes, but the Victory over Endor should of had a major impact on the galaxy the same way the Empire took over at the end of ROTS. One possibility that comes to mind is the Vong War from EU… it felt even more important than the Battle of Endor, but without Endor there wouldn’t have been a Republic in the first place. The OT feels important, as it should.
The First Order does not feel like a terrorist organization. They feel like the Empire, and they are by TLJ. Show us the Republic. Play up terrorism, because it’s more impactful than ever. Show them bombing senate buildings, put the galaxy on edge. That would make the saga feel much different. At the end of TLJ, they could fire on Starkiller and become a new Empire. But then we’d at least see the Republic in action holding off this radicals. By removing most of what the Rebel Alliance established, they made the OT’s impact on the saga redundant.