We’ve had quite the journey so far, but where will Episode 9 lead?
We’re about a year and a half away from Episode IX so it’s an interesting time to take stock of where we are with this trilogy.
What did TFA give us?
TFA gave us some great new characters in Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren. We got an interesting look at The First Order’s power. We see some epic battles. We get Han Solo and learn that Kylo Ren is his son.
The storyline between the characters was mostly established in this film. Luke’s disappearance is literally the first line of the opening crawl. Han Solo tells us that one of Luke’s students fell to the dark side and destroyed his temple. He also said that Luke was looking for the first Jedi temple.
We only got a glimpse of a very perturbed Luke Skywalker at the end.
It was a fun film that raised more questions than provided answers (the hallmark of a good Star Wars film).
What did The Last Jedi give us?
TLJ mostly takes the story set up in TFA and plays out what it means for our respective main characters. We see the counter duality of Rey and Kylo. Much of Rey’s abilities stems from her Force connection with him during TFA. We see echo’s of this during separate fight scenes.
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We also see part of Rey’s conflict. She lies to Luke (“I was cleaning my blaster…”) and confides in Kylo Ren – very foolish action that was instigated by Snoke to cause havoc.
(One scene that I wish we could have seen was her standing over an unconscious Kylo Ren holding his light saber preparing to kill him and then deciding not to; a fantastic echo to what we learn of Luke’s actions at his temple and, perhaps, give her better insight into Luke’s motives).
At the end, Luke is dead and Snoke is dead. Each are now leaders of their respective forces.
So where are we with Episode IX
We still have lots of unanswered questions.
Why did Luke go to Ach’to?
What we don’t know is *why* Luke went to find the first Jedi temple to die. I mean, there are many ways to die, especially for people who fly space ships and carry around light sabers. There are also a lot of places to die. You don’t have to go to the most undefinable place in the galaxy. So it’s not clear what the broader story behind this is. Was he sent there by the force to wait for Rey and give her the books? Or was there more to it (I hope so). What had he been doing force-wise before all that?
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What is Rey’s Purpose?
Why does Rey want to help the Rebellion rebuild? I mean, she was helping BB-8 and all but she was trying to go back to Jakku and wait for her parents. We know that Finn was just all about being with Rey until he decides to fight the First Order. Why does she want to be in the Rebellion?
I mean, Luke tells us that he wants to join the rebellion against the Empire and become a Jedi like his father. He made that choice after the Empire killed his family and we knew he was excited about the Rebellion against the Empire (and because Biggs was defecting though that wasn’t in the film).
When did the Rebellion become her friends and want to fight for them? I mean, Han and Finn rescued her from Starkiller base and they weren’t with the Resistance. She didn’t even know Poe apparently. We didn’t really get a sense of what Rey wants and why.
What is Rey’s Force Journey?
Luke teaches Rey about the Force and the Jedi, but doesn’t help her to discover what this power means for her. She apparently got all of her skills from her force connection with Kylo Ren in TFA (something I’m a bit dubious of, but here we are). What exactly is her journey going forward and how will she balance this with her allegiance to the Rebellion? It seems to me that the only way to defeat Kylo Ren at this point is to discover something new about herself and about the Force.
What is Kylo’s Deal?
Kylo Ren killing Snoke may have been a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, it is a stepping stone for him. That he may be personally resolved about his ambitions is one thing. But he lost that battle on Crait over his personal vendettas. If we take that to the Nth degree, we could see The First Order revolt against him for being too Giligan of a character.
But what’s he going to do with The First Order? Is this the type of power he’s looking for? I’d like to get an idea of what his motivations for power are.
Is Snoke really dead?
We’ve seen this continued yin/yang balance between Rey and Kylo Ren. Luke and Snoke are both dead as a means of preserving this balance. But we also know that Luke might not be *really* dead. We could still get a Force ghost -which would be interesting.
Is there a contrast to this for Snoke? This would be an interesting departure for how we view Dark Siders after they’ve died. Whether it’s a literal manifestation (clone?) or some end-game plan as the Emperor pulled, it would be an interesting contrast.
Will Leia *not* save herself?
Leia is constantly saving herself and those around her. Will we see a sacrificial scene from her? Early in the film? In its aftermath?
One more shot at a strong Phasma scene
I’ve not given up on getting something more significant with Phasma. The deleted scene from TLJ would have been interesting to incorporate. But her purpose was never really established within the First Order also. She could be a saboteaur if she suspects the First Order could die. She could be an assassin. She could be a defector. There’s so much they could use her for in a significant, action-packed way. I’d really like to see a bit more.
There’s a lot to do with Episode IX. I hope JJ takes his time to do things right. He doesn’t really perform well in these types of situations (*cough* Star Trek Into Darkness).
Star Wars Protocol 