Star Wars: Episode VIII - 8 Things Fans Want (But Won't Get)

2. Proper Flashbacks

Flashbacks have never really been a thing in the Star Wars universe - not in the traditional sense. This is mainly due to the episodic structure of the saga, which does not permit the use of non-linear narrative techniques: the story always moves forwards. This, however, is going to prove to be something of a pain as far as Episode VIII is concerned; The Force Awakens skipped over so much information, after all, that Episode VIII has been left to pick up the pieces. A lot of the interesting stuff relating to Episode VII all happened in the past, but due to the restrictive nature of the Star Wars narrative engine, audiences probably won't be able to experience these moments in fleshed-out scenes. There are likely to be visions and dreams, of course, but these are always more abstract. And so there is a need for flashbacks in Episode VIII, because who wants to just listen to Luke Skywalker telling Rey everything? Surely fans want to see what happened between Kylo Ren and his former master instead of just hearing it in dialogue cues? And yet, despite their necessity, fully-fledged flashbacks probably won't have a place.