Actually I do apologise, there is in fact ONE throwback to the prequels in TFA. Is it one of those moments we loved from the prequels? HA! Nope! It’s Anakin’s archaic hairstyle from Episode III and his child-like demeanour from Episode II. It’s exactly what we hated in the prequels!
Are you talking about Kylo Ren? Having him throw a tantrum would have been extremely risky in light of Episode III, were it not for the fact that it was executed fucking fantastically. And his hair isn’t allowed to be long, either? He didn’t have a PT mullet.
I think the main thing this film has convinced me is that people on this site love to hate films. Especially Star Wars. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of valid criticisms. But, I think we do get pretty neurotic about ridiculous things around here at times. Myself included.