12 Reasons The Star Wars Sequels Aren't As Bad As You Think
6. The Disconnect Between The Three Films Has Been Exaggerated
The thing which this trilogy has been criticised for the most is the lack of planning and while this is definitely a valid point, this has still been exaggerated. It's arguable that Disney Did have a plan to some extent before. What they didn't have was a backup plan for what would happen if Colin Trevorrow's Episode IX fell through.
The trilogy still felt like three parts of the same story and remember, in each Star Wars trilogy all three films are tonally different. Therefore, the accusations of both Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker bashing the previous film just because they have differing tones and themes really aren't fair.
Obviously, Rian Johnson did take things in a slightly different direction with Last Jedi but had JJ Abrams made the middle chapter, it probably wouldn't have been that different in the grand scheme of things; rather, he would've just done different things with the reveals about Snoke and Rey's parents. It would still have been a sci-fi adventure pitting the Resistance against the First Order in the end.
As for Episode IX, it's really not that disrespectful to The Last Jedi. Obviously, the Emperor's return wasn't planned in advance but it always seemed possible Kylo Ren had been lying to Rey about her parents. Regarding Luke acting more like his old self, perhaps those who called that pandering to fans didn't actually watch Last Jedi. Luke had had a change of heart by the film's end.