10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Saved Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker

8. Establish The Knights Of Ren And Hux As Threats To Kylo Ren's Leadership

Nixing the Emperor from The Rise of Skywalker obviously leaves the film with a huge vacuum. Someone needs to fill the role of the antagonist, and if it isn't going to be Ben Solo (whose redemption was one of the few genuinely gratifying moments from TROS), then it has to be someone else.

Instead of bringing back the Emperor and, y'know, breaking Star Wars, Abrams and Terrio should've looked inward at the tools they already had at their disposal. The Last Jedi had maintained the rivalry between Domhall Gleeson's General Hux and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, while the Knights of Ren were still a looming presence in the distance.

Why not have one - or both - plot to overthrow Kylo as the Supreme Leader of the First Order in a coup of sorts? Perhaps they're frustrated by Ren's reluctance to be as ruthless as he once was, following the seed of doubt planted by Rey and Luke in Episode VIII, and they decide he's no longer fit to be leader? Further to that, The Rise of Skywalker makes no effort to explain where the Knights have been for the last two films and turns Hux into a spy in a way that fundamentally contradicts his character. He's meant to be a fanatic. I'm not entirely sure his hatred for Kylo supersedes that.

With the help of another influence (which I'll get to in a second), Hux and the Knights' attempt to oust Kylo from power would push him further to the light. Cue a big epic confrontation between the Resistance and the First Order, a redeemed Ben getting to interact with Rey for much longer, and a conclusion that actually draws upon the previous two films instead of one that feels derivative and nonsensical.