10 Things That Make No Sense About Star Wars Sequels

With Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney's Star Wars Sequel Trilogy has reached its conclusion. It began with the shot in the arm that was The Force Awakens, it continued with the divisive masterpiece The Last Jedi, and has now finished on a note that's far more bitter than sweet.

The director's chair has changed hands a few times throughout production and multiple clashing views on the same raw, enfranchised material has led to several plot holes, loose threads, and things that just don't make sense.

And while the ultimate value of these films ISN'T tied to some sort of contrived continuity, it would be a lot easier for audiences to appreciate them if they didn't have to cringe every few minutes at something that's way more confusing than necessary.

Leaving these nonsensical plot points in the finished draft of the film hints at lazy storytelling and direction that relies on audience recognition of the Star Wars brand to sell tickets, which is a terrible mentality to hold when you're handed the reins of one of the most beloved film franchises in cinematic history.

On the surface, it makes sense that Luke would train Leia. Both are the children of one of the most powerful Force users of all time, Luke's goal post-Return of the Jedi was to rebuild the Jedi Order, and he'd want to start with someone he knew personally and would follow his teachings. It also explains how Leia was able to pull off her flying nun trick in Last Jedi, allows her to continue Rey's teaching after Luke dies, and lets her be a posthumous deus ex machina in Rise of Skywalker.

But on the other hand, when given further consideration, Leia being trained just muddles the narrative. It's only brought up that she received any training in Rise of Skywalker, but she apparently progressed enough to build her own here-to unseen lightsaber. She even became adept enough in the Force to have vivid, super-accurate precognitive visions that outpaced even Luke's. And in that time, she was also able to settle down with Han and have Ben? And this was never brought up again?

She was even such a powerful force user that she was able to dissolve into a Force Ghost, a trick so difficult that even fully-trained Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't able to do it properly and was only able to manifest as a voice. But this was only ever revealed because Rey needed a new lightsaber and J.J. Abrams wanted a nice send off for the late Carrie Fisher. Rest in peace, General.