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

6. How Did Luke's Sacrifice Inspire The Galaxy?

Democratising the Force was a big thing in The Last Jedi, and it's something that's sadly absent in The Rise of Skywalker. Episode VIII's ending showed Luke's sacrifice on Crait inspiring new generations of Force-Users across the galaxy, with an anonymous boy on Canto Bight summoning his broom using that famous mystical aura.

The intent here is to show that, while the galaxy didn't heed the Resistance's cry for help in The Last Jedi, a new generation had been inspired by Luke's story and were ready and waiting to one day rise up and finish what he started. No effort was made to even vaguely explore that theme in The Rise of Skywalker, with the Resistance only gaining new allies at the end because I guess more people will listen to Lando than the soldiers stranded on Crait.

Ultimately, Episode IX tries to conjure a moment as hopeful as the one seen during Episode VIII's conclusion, but it holds no thematic weight. Everyone assembles because it's do or die at this stage, and while there is a general sense of desperation to the proceedings, it all feels a little too easy.

It's just really disappointing that the version of Episode IX we got didn't even vaguely explore the impact of Luke's sacrifice beyond it just giving the Resistance time, and even then they don't really dwell on that aspect either.