The Rise of Skywalker - A Brief Look At Bad Lore

6 episodes

The Rise of Skywalker almost had something good in it. So many times it's headed for greatness, but stumbles away without knowing how close it came. Existing lore, such as for the Sith, offers more than constraints: it tells you how to go about making the same scene better. By going with the grain instead of against it, you get a better result for less effort.

The Death Star section of this movie has attracted its fair share of criticism. Not all of it is deserved, and some flaws went unnoticed. In fact, some complaints are invalid and unfair to the writing. Let's see what would really happen.

A load-bearing costume element is removed and reinvented. New wheels for a new generation of fans. But we kind of liked the old ones. Paying tribute to Threepio is a kind thing. The galaxy is full of possibilities; by drawing on the depth of what we already know, the lore will lead us to the right stories. It takes less effort and gives a better result. Somehow, the galaxy will end in a matter of minutes. We can practically hear the seconds ticking down. Can you feel the writer's hand on the dial?

Finding a usable niche for a new invention. How can we use the existing design in an effective way, and what would that look like? Remember that time a boyracer ran over your foot in his landspeeder? Performing a droid loretopsy to find where one might actually insert a plug into an Industrial Automaton astromech. Have you ever tried to find the silverware in someone else's kitchen? Blindly guessing won't do you much good. You can't just pull the hyperdrive lever and hope for the best. You may not be able to hit a barn door, but you can definitely hit a star. You need a little knowledge or a little talent to be a pilot.

Who planted the trees on Mustafar, and when did they do it? Is there a landscaping supplies store in the galaxy far, far away? It's time to iron out some irontrees. Rey’s training strains credibility. Anakin was able to train off screen, so Miss Palpatine has no excuse. What was she doing for those six depicted hours? And what did Luke and Anakin do when the spotlight was on them? Looking up the force can save you from accidentally upending the galaxy. Teleport spells are pretty cool, but are they Star Wars? If you don't look before you leap, you might end up worse off than you started.