re: Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi Discussion Thread ***SPOILERS***

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I made this note in the other thread, but the movie should have been something like this:

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I feel like most people could concoct a better plot and trajectory for many of the characters in this film. For example, take something like this -

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Film starts off the same. In the middle act, however, we see more of Kylo training with Snoke, and less of Finn and Rose doing random, pointless things. We visibly see Snoke becoming frustrated with Kylo over the course of the film, and resultantly see Kylo's anger and hostility build towards Snoke.

Kylo brings in Rey, and all of the interactions between Rey and Snoke play out the same. However, instead of Kylo killing Snoke with the blue saber (which is borderline comedy), he instead Force pulls it towards Rey; she catches it, stands up, while at the same time Kylo ignites his red saber. They both stand facing Snoke, who then instructs his guards to take them out. We get the same fight scene, but with Snoke looking on, watching it all play out. After Kylo and Rey dispose of the guards, they turn to face Snoke. Snoke then proceeds to toy with both of them. He uses Force projection, lightning, sends them flying around the room, etc. And then, just before he applies the final blow, Luke shows up.

Luke and Snoke then have a quick back and forth discussion. Luke makes a few snarky remarks towards Snoke, noting how he felt his presence and ambition after the fall of the Empire, but how he was too cowardly to make himself known. Snoke retorts that Luke is old, washed up, and wasted his potential with the Force. They then have an epic fight, with Luke igniting and using his green lightsaber. Kylo looks on, waiting to jump in at the right moment, as he wants both of them dead. Just before Luke kills Snoke, Holdo's ship pierces through the Dreadnaught, and they all have to escape. Luke finds Rey and they manage to escape down to Crait to join up with the remnants of the Resistance. Kylo manages to escape as well, but Snoke, badly injured, fails to escape and ends up being killed.

The battle on Crait plays out largely the same. Kylo, however, senses both Luke and Rey inside the base, and decides to take his own patrol and ship to go after them himself. He finds a side entrance and makes his way inside. The troopers he brings with him flank the remaining Resistance forces on the inside, so they're forced to enter into a firefight. You now have two battles taking place - one on the outside involving the AT-ATs, and one on the inside. Rey senses Kylo, and runs off into the caverns and tunnel system...Kylo does the same. Luke stays with Leia, Poe, and the others to fend off the surge of Stormtroopers that found a way in with Kylo. Kylo and Rey then meet in a small side cavern and have a duel. This time, Kylo completely overpowers Rey. He destroys the blue lightsaber and severely wounds Rey, but she manages to escape. She finds her way back to Luke, Leia, Poe, and the others, and they manage to find a way out and escape the planet.

Cut to the credits.

You now have an interesting set up for Episode IX. At the beginning of Episode IX, Luke would complete (or actually start...) Rey's training by teaching her how to construct a lightsaber. He could then go on to say how he was too old for this, and how if she wants to truly become the next Jedi, she must face Kylo alone. This type of trajectory would satisfy nearly everyone, as it focuses and keeps the story on Rey and her personal arc, while still keeping Luke around as the immensely powerful and prudent Jedi Master.


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Why something like this is superior to what the film actually gave us -

- Theming. Rey was MIA for the final chapter in TLJ, yet she's our primary protagonist. We need her to grow, to fail, and to redeem herself. None of that happened in TLJ, but in the above mock plot, you have a clear arc - the hubris and confidence in going after Kylo, and then the failure and defeat of facing him again. This would have set up an epic showdown in Epsisode IX.

- Luke kicking arse and being treated properly. We didn't get any of this in TLJ. Even worse is the fact that he was killed off in the most irreverent way possible.

- Kylo's redemption. In the above mock plot, you have Kylo exerting his dominance over the protagonist. This creates a more menacing and authoritative villain for Episode IX.

- Snoke. If you're going to randomly kill him off, do it properly. Dying in the crash would have been far more acceptable than dying in the laughable fashion in which he did in TLJ, especially if it came after a little dialogue with Luke that provided some backstory on his character.

- Lightsaber duels. This is what everyone loves about Star Wars. In the above mock plot, you have two - Snoke vs Luke, and Kylo vs Rey. In TLJ, we had a grand total of zero.