For all the good elements in TLJ I have to admit I’m having a very difficult time accepting how RJ hit the reset button on the galaxy and its heroes. What doesn’t make sense to me is, that after the destruction of SKB the FO would reign the galaxy as stated in the opening crawl, later revised to controlling all major systems within weeks. Some here have claimed, that the FO doesn’t yet control the galaxy, and that the ending of the film suggests they might never reach that point, because of how inspired everyone is, because of Luke’s big illusion. However, this completely ignores the fact, that the Resistance suddenly becomes the rebellion again in this film, and is literally stated to be reborn by the end of it.
rebellion
/rɪˈbɛljən/
noun
an act of armed resistance to an established government or leader.
“the authorities put down a rebellion by landless colonials”
synonims: uprising, revolt, insurrection, mutiny, revolution, insurgence, insurgency, rising, rioting, riot.
In other words the Resistance can only become rebels, if the FO now represents the established government, otherwise the whole rebel designation makes no sense. For all its rehashing of ANH, and poor explaining of the bigger picture, TFA managed to at least present a state of the galaxy that seems pretty realistic. It makes sense that there would be Imperial remnants. It makes sense that Leia, given what she went through in the OT, would consider them a threat. It makes sense that the Republic, tired of war, would want to believe the FO can safely be ignored. In other words it provides a setup for a potentially very different conflict between a government struggling to maintain stability (and at what cost?), and a ruthless organization bent on terrorizing the galaxy, and destabalizing said government, whilst expanding its sphere of influence. However, despite the risks TLJ took in some of its character moments, its narrative outcome is a New Republic wiped from existence, and a tiny band of rebels resisting an Empire, the starting point of ANH. So, in terms of the big picture, the story has completely regressed back to where we started in 1977.
So much of what was established in the OT (and PT) was undone in the ST both from a narrative and a character perspective, and the best explanation we’ve been given thusfar is, that a lot can happen in thirty years (as long as what happens ultimately places us narratively in OT territory). Two of the big three turned into shells of their former selves, because of past failures that are only hinted at in flashbacks, and conversations, then find an ounce of redemption, and then die. Ben Solo was seduced by Snoke for some reason, Snoke was able to revive the Empire for some reason, the entire galaxy just gave up fighting once the Hosnian system was destroyed for some reason, the FO ends up with unlimited resources, despite the fact that SKB was destroyed for some reason. This kind of lazy storytelling to me is very unsatisfactory, and makes it very hard for me to get excited about the upcoming episode IX. For all the good acting, plot twists, great action and visuals, I can’t shake the sense, that the entire premise of the ST thusfar remains on very weak footing, and sadly fits perfectly in Disney’s currently successful business model of feeding off the nostalgia, that the general audience has for classic stories, whether it be through a modernized adaptation of the OT, or live remakes of their animated classics.