I just think it’s unnecessary. People would have moaned if the film ended with the lightspeed jump now because so much was built up about Luke, but in 10 years when you are rewatching the trilogy, it would make more sense.
Should people’s home viewing a decade after the fact have really been the top priority, though? I think it’s unwise to discount the value of the theatrical experience here. The audience anticipation from not having seen these characters for 3+ decades in the real world is something they couldn’t (and I believe shouldn’t) have ignored. I went for one of my viewings with my mom and aunt who were both massive fans during the original run of the OT and lost interest during the prequels. They both thought that the Luke reveal was a huge moment. When I went on opening night, the vibe in the theater when the credits rolled was absolutely electric. I just feel like it would have been really lousy for the filmmakers to say “we know you’ve been waiting to see Luke again for 32 years, but you’re going to have to wait another two because it’ll flow better that way when you buy the box set”. The “A New Hope” subtitle in the crawl works better when you’re watching all of them on home video, after all, but a lot of folks here don’t like it because it wasn’t there for their theatrical viewings.