So we have a Death Star 3. Let’s do something interesting with that.

What if instead of just destroying the Hosnian system, Starkiller destroys dozens of planets in one launch? This would explain how the Republic collapsed – they had ships at bases across the galaxy, but Starkiller was able to destroy all of them in a single mass launch.

In addition to Coruscant, Starkiller could also target “symbolic targets” to weaken the Republic’s resolve for fighting. Endor, Corellia, possibly even Tatooine if TROS was edited, all removed in one attack. A Star Wars 9/11.

These planets won’t return anyway and their destruction would rally audiences to start caring about the Resistance - First Order conflict. I may not care about avenging Hosnian Prime, but I do care about avenging the Ewoks!