Making the most of it is why I was disappointed with the ST. I’m not going to argue about what undermines whoever’s character arc (which might be me missing the whole point of this particular thread), but what I felt was unfulfilled, not disrespected. It’s like one step forward two steps back but I never got to see the step forward, the plot effectively DOES reset the environment to OT status quo and discussing it as a good, bad, or inevitable thing still says to me we agree on that. Hate the pot hole, not the plot hole! The ST exhausts my patience I feel like I’m walking in place, what’s undermined is my investment, Luke already acted out of love instead of hate, learning the lessons of the previous generation’s failures, what does the ST build off of? All that our heroes did wrong happened frustratingly off screen for the purposes of establishing the ST plot line and we’re lucky every so often to see a hint in a flashback of how we got there, Palpatine is a symptom of this, his return is not exactly a mistake, but it’s a crutch, for all that was swept under the rug until then. People are upset with the literal undoing of the characters accomplishments for where it leaves us plot wise, a smaller group might disagree with how it applies thematically and that’s fine to discuss til you’re blue in the face. But what I care most about is the progression of events, they didn’t have a compelling enough reason to kick down the sandcastle only to rebuild it more or less the same way. There are other layers fine, but the world building, the central conflict, and its players all become limited to their most iconic elements. That’s why fans find it boring (and why it rubs off overly corporate to some). Inference inference but not drop to drink, a recycled journey I can’t sink into and discover. There is a lack of imagination, the universe has almost never felt smaller.
But that’s just my subjective perspective, and my explanation for the core complaint behind the mask of the criticism, why some fans have this feeling of “what was the point?”. I’m glad you got something you really liked out of the ST, Test, believe it or not we do have other members who feel the same and greatly enjoyed TROS. I even have fun watching it, but it never came together for me personally, and worse could have more cleverly connected to a more cohesive and rewarding whole between the saga, and itself as its own trilogy, had they only taken more time at the writing stage.
Star Wars was a mistake. Just, the whole franchise was a mistake. I side more with TestingOuttheTest, but I stand by regretting the existence of this godawful franchise.
Jesus we really are in post SW group therapy, huh.