Star Wars: 10 Massive Plot Holes The Sequels Stupidly Created
Bringing balance to the Force, or confusion to the films?
While the Prequel Trilogy was lambasted by fans and critics across the board for its flat characterisations, over reliance on underdeveloped CGI and bland dialogue, Episodes I, II and III are still praised to this day for fleshing out the Star Wars franchise from a simple reframing of ancient good/evil myths in space into a complex and developed liveable universe, full of established lore and culture.
The Sequel Trilogy, in an attempt to remove itself from the Prequels, reverted back to the bare bones that made the Original Trilogy so well loved in the first place: tangible props, a Light Side/Dark Side dualism, and the mystification of the Force. In trying so hard to recapture the spirit of the franchise's first three movies, however, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker took a very insular look on the franchise, expounding on concepts introduced in the first three movies while not really adding anything new to the mix.
By being so focused on pre-existing mythos and well-known and well-loved characters, perhaps it was inevitable that the Sequel Trilogy would stumble across a few inconsistencies along the way.
What many fans didn't predict, though, was that the movies would retroactively introduce plot holes into the franchise, questioning why some things happened or didn't happen in the first six films.
10. The Chosen One Narrative
In The Phantom Menace, it was revealed that there would be a so-called "Chosen One" who would "bring balance to the Force", ridding the galaxy of evil. Qui-Gon Jinn, and subsequently the Jedi Council, came to realise that a certain boy from Tatooine by the name of Anakin Skywalker was this Chosen One.
Though Anakin seemed to have lost his way in the third movie of the then six-part saga (turning into a Sith Lord would do that, all right), he eventually redeemed himself at the end of Return Of The Jedi, becoming once again Anakin and killing The Emperor, ridding the galaxy of evil before dying.
Turns out, Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One after all and, after a couple of decades on hiatus from his destiny, he eventually fulfilled the prophecy, bringing balance to the Force and ridding the galaxy of the Sith.
Until, of course, The Force Awakens. While Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren weren't technically Sith (the latter belonging to the Knights of Ren, an organisation whose purpose still hasn't really been explained), it was clear from the start of Episode VII that the Force didn't seem to be in "balance", after all. Luke's Jedi Order had disbanded, and an Empire-like organisation quickly swept in to re-take control of the galaxy.
This tarnishing of Anakin's legacy and the prophecy took another stride forward when The Rise Of Skywalker revealed that Emperor Palpatine had orchestrated the rise of the First Order, and had been pulling strings for years. So if Palpatine was alive, does that mean that ... Anakin didn't bring balance to the Force?
Disney tried to resolve this by having an Anakin Skywalker Force Ghost tell Rey to "bring balance to the Force, as I did", but come on - if this "balance" only lasts for a few years, is it really balance at all? This begs the question: who exactly was the Chosen One?