'Star Wars' Ending, Explained (And Why Everyone Hated It)
There's probably no franchise as widely divisive as the Star Wars (1977) prequels and sequels. While it seems most people have somewhat of a balanced agreement on the original trilogy, it's often what comes afterward that stirs the pot too drastically. Some opinions are just that: opinions. They matter all the same, but they don't necessarily provide merit to the canon and what it attempts to achieve. Others are understandable, and more detail-based disagreements deserve to be questioned.
For the most part, The Force Awakens (2015) is a pretty decent start to the sequel trilogy and provides enough for fans to care about the new journey we're going on. It's a strong movie no matter which angle you look at it from, and it's afterward that everything crumbles. Ultimately, there's one big reason why everything falls apart in the sequel trilogy, and that detail not only retcons matters in the original trilogy, but it's unnecessary in more ways than one.
A New Villain In 'Star Wars' Would've Been More Compelling Than An Older One
The biggest meme that's come out of the Star Wars trilogy is Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron saying, "somehow Palpatine returned," in the most exasperated tone someone could deliver a line with. Credit to Isaac in every way because his delivery is indeed one of the best things to come from the last movie. The bigger question here is why. Why on earth did we need to see Palpatine return when Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke was already compelling enough to give us insight into how Adam Driver's Ben Solo was corrupted toward becoming Kylo Ren?
Nostalgia in the Star Wars trilogy is as strong as the Force at this point, but it's simultaneously where the problem lies. It worked in The Force Awakens and, to some degree, it even worked in The Last Jedi (2017), but when we started taking lineage to strange places in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), that's where everything becomes convoluted and questionable.
In addition, with different writers, the tonal shifts are neither organic nor do they result in a pleasant marriage of various voices. And here's the thing: it can work, but it sadly doesn't here. The Force Awakens is written by Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt; The Last Jedi is written by Rian Johnson, and The Rise of Skywalker is written by Chris Terrio and J. J. Abrams. The information we get in The Last Jedi that effectively takes from The Force Awakens is essentially retconned in The Rise of Skywalker, making it seem like a completely different story altogether. Where The Last Jedi establishes new lore, The Rise of Skywalker disregards it. For a franchise that emphasizes the balance of a literal Force that tethers them all, the sequel trilogy unfortunately loses it in writing.
'The Rise of Skywalker' Completely Dismisses Rey's Hard Work And Character
The biggest issue in Palpatine's return also boils down to Rey's lineage. A number of theories began floating around regarding her ancestry when Daisy Ridley's character was first introduced in The Force Awakens, and each of them made sense for distinct reasons. Was she a long-lost kid of Princess Leia and Han Solo? A secret Kenobi? A clone? The way the Force responded to her and how she behaved signaled that she could be a descendant of various renowned figures, but the reveal that she was essentially a Palpatine was wild on so many levels that it's still hard to process years after the reveal.
Sure, it can deliver a riveting idea on nature vs. nurture, but that's essentially what Kylo Ren/Ben Solo's story explored. The idea of Rey having zero connections to any of the characters we knew and instead being someone who possessed the Force made far more sense than the truth. And that's the thing: it doesn't matter which angle you look at it from because the glaring issues all point out the detail that the end result lacks evidence within the actual canon.
Part of what always stood out in Star Wars was this idea of good versus evil that was explored through a non-linear, profound lens. It wasn't so much about what side you took but rather how hard characters worked to get to where they are. When Rey's introduced to us, she's a survivor. A kid left abandoned on the outskirts, doing everything she can to make it through another day. There's an innate goodness in her, yes, but a large part of her relatability is her tenacity. The way she operates and fights through every obstacle.
All of that is essentially shot to the ground when it starts to sound like every form of power she holds with the Force is a result of her connection to Palpatine. In addition, there's also the romantic angle presented between her and Kylo Ren that poses them as two halves of a whole. You don't have to root for them as a pairing to understand how colossally cheapened the journey is by the end.
As two of the most important characters in the new story, their journeys are rushed, together and separately. If he was meant to get a redemption arc for all that he'd done, death is essentially the most cliché form for that to happen. And while sharing a kiss, too? As a romance fan, it's these very moments that frustrate me the most because it's a clear sign of how little some people understand the genre on a fundamental level.
And sure, someone will argue that this isn't a romance, which I'd refute that claim by pointing out how everything fumbles, not just the relationship. It feels like the arc is thrown in there as an easy way out of exploring real human emotions and giving both characters a nuanced ending, as opposed to some pseudo-fairytale moment that stings because it's rehashing the same plot from Return of the Jedi (1983). Darth Vader dying after his shared moment with Luke works for many reasons, age included, but Ben Solo not having the chance to atone properly doesn't hold that same substance. It unfortunately feels lazy, and again, because of Palpatine's return. Where the writers could've shaped and constructed an even more powerful villain who could've had his own issues with the galaxy, they brought back Palpatine for reasons that don't fit.
From the motives to the minute decisions that have huge implications on the original lore, the sequel trilogy unfortunately frustrates too many fans. Again, interestingly, Star Wars fans won't agree on much. But for the most part, countless people are in agreement about how the third film is significantly less layered.
Every original character dying is also an odd choice, especially because none of the deaths carry the same weight as they did in previous films. They hurt, sure, but we don't spend nearly enough time with them or any of the characters to fully process what we've just watched. What starts off strongly turns into a mismatched puzzle that's assembled by forcing pieces together as opposed to allowing every end to find its organic match.
Lastly, it's also how the new characters are treated that feels wrong on so many levels, including the fact that characters like Finn, Poe Dameron, and Rose Tico are all played by people of color, and the writing for them reduces them to stereotypes in the end. There's so much to unpack with all the unfair atrocities they experienced in canon, and from the fandom as well, that contributes to making the sequel trilogy a heartbreaking development. In short, it's unfortunate that there's so much great material to work with, but the execution fumbles throughout.
