As for the discussion of whether TLJ lines up well with TFA, I just remembered this quote from Mary Jo Markey, one of the editors of TFA, that’s relevant to that topic.

“It’s very strange to have the second film so consciously undo the storytelling of the first one. I’m sorry that’s what it felt like. I don’t even feel that’s true about the third film. It took where the second film ended and just tried to tell a story. I didn’t feel like it was consciously trying to undo — it just didn’t feel that way to me.”