Nev, that’s a real nice mock-up for using a bit more of the buffalo with the chess game. I’m not entirely sure I’ll want to use it, as I’ve gotten used to the more striking introduction to these characters with, “T minus five!” But your approach adds a nice little callback aspect to the ending.
Yeah, that’s me, the whole buffalo guy 😃
The intro to our heroes in Ascendant definitely works as-is, even if their scene is very short. But what I like about splitting the scene is that beyond just being a nice bookend for their adventure, it transforms what in the theatrical version and Ascendant is still a glorified memberberries moment into an actual setup and payoff, even if it’s simple. In their introduction, Poe and Finn are annoyed at how Chewie can beat them in this game, and by the end their frustration is vented and resolved, while explaining why Chewie always beats them. This sort of thing is so basic that it almost doesn’t need explaining, but I think it’s important to remember that it’s no less satisfying for its simplicity.
Anyway, that concludes my monograph, back to the regularly-scheduled Rey Clone discussion 😉