What's the point of this trilogy?

I'd say the opening poem of the TFA novelization kind of metaphorically sums up the whole ST.

 

It's too early perhaps to provide a final analysis. It is not (IMO) too early to do analysis 2/3 rds of the way in. What is working against this trilogy at this point, is that most of the interpersonal threads coming out of TFA were tied off in TLJ. ESB lets us know (at the very least) we have issues yet to resolve, Luke's relationship with Vader, Han's rescue, would Luke become a Jedi? And in the PT, we have the questions of how the Jedi are wiped out, how does Palapatine orchestrate his rise, how do Luke and Leia end up separate, how does Obi Wan fail Vader, and how does Vader end up in his mechanized suit?

I would argue there are NO such binding questions between TLJ and EPIX. Kylo is the Supreme leader. Rey is not Luke's daughter. Ben won't be redeemed (I see people still talking about the possibility otherwise and honestly for me it feels like people still in the denial stage of grief. Luke, Kylo, and Leia confirm that Ben ISN'T coming back, I'm not sure how more clear Rian could be on this). Snoke has no role going forward. Poe is the leader of the rebellion. Finn is no longer important enough to have an arc that raises any questions about him, let alone answers them.

Other than simply finishing out the trilogy, I'm not sure what anyone has to look forward to in EPIX.

 

While I agree with your overall assessment in waiting for the final piece in Episode 9 to make a true evaluation. The difference is the OT and PT were structured a bit differently.

ANH and TPM are essentially standalone movies (ANH was made that way in 1977) that end on a high note and then the meat of the stories pickup in ESB and AOTC and ROTJ and ROTS are more a part 2 of those movies.

For example, ESB ends on all of these cliffhangers with Luke’s heritage, the Other, and Han in carbonite. ROTJ picks up a few months later but still focuses on that narrative which is much different then ANH.

AOTC and ROTS are the same way as AOTC picks up 10 years later with a NEW Anakin and the movie ends with Clone Wars beginning, their secret marriage and the rise of Palpatine.

The ST is structured where TFA and TLJ work side by side in the narrative especially with a cliff hanger with Rey and Luke. Where Episode 9 essentially starts fresh and will tell a different story (especially after Carrie Fisher dying). So I honestly don’t know how this 3 act play will work when it is all said and done. It may or it may not, but it’s not like the OT or PT in that respect.

 

That's interesting, I remember in the 90s reading a fantasy (Dragonlance series by Margaret Weiss, among others) that had evil and good and neutral wizards share towers of sorcery where there was basically a no fight zone. They could discuss and learn their craft and share libraries and such. I wonder if Kylo and Rey could achieve such a compromise and how that would look and feel within the SW universe.

 

Nice. That would certainly be a new direction for the franchise. My idea was somewhat inspired by Stargate SG-1, with the ascended beings unable to actually destroy each other, the only way to stop an evil one was for a good one to engage in an eternal battle with them, keeping them "occupied" so they couldn't dominate or influence lower life forms.

 

In a way I feel the story is about Kylo finishing what Vader started. Kylo has now succeeded where Vader could not. He is now the Supreme Leader, and controls the First Order.

I would like to see a time jump in Episode IX where Kylo has become a new kind of Emperor of the Galaxy with his sights fixated on bringing Rey to his side to rule the Galaxy together.

 

Well, it's hard to know if they had any particular point in mind since they didn't have an arch for the trilogy planned out in the first place. They make these movies up as they go, which is specifically evident with The Last Jedi - a movie that feels more like Rian Johnson's personal take on Star Wars rather than Star Wars itself.

If you want the most true and honest answer, the main point of this trilogy is to make money. Now, when George was still around he of course also wanted to make money - but he always thought of the story first and foremost.

 

The way it's currently structured is that in TFA we are introduced to the main characters (Rey, Finn and Poe), in TLJ they get separated to go through their own character arcs and in EP.IX they will, most likely, defeat the FO together. This might be the "point" of this trilogy.
I've seen this structure somewhere before, but I just can't put my finger on where... It reminds me of ESB and LotR, but that's not it...

 

While this is true, Lucas story about Vader goes deeper then that, and that is sort of missing from this Trilogy. Yes, Vader wanted to rule the Galaxy in the OT, but the story was really about redemption and his children. While I like Kylo Ren as a characters (I'm a big Adam Driver fan), I just don't know what arc they can take him that will be interesting for Episode 9? If they redeem (which they probably won't after TLJ), then it's a retread of ROTJ. If he ends up the big bad villain and dies at the hands of Rey, then it will be somewhat anti-climatic.

 

my quick guess is that the point of this trilogy is partly Ben Solo (his fall and perhaps redemption) and also either some sort of merging of sith and jedi (yin&yang, there is no good without evil type of deal) or plain and simple the end of the force/force users, at least in the traditional sense.

 

When Abrams and Kennedy come up with something on the fly, they'll let you know the answer. Probably sometime in December of 2019.

Or hey.. maybe they'll tell you it was not important at all and have 2.75 hours of space unicorns. #BetterThanTLJ.

 

its about Legacy and passing the Torch

 

If the Sequel Trilogy is going the way I think it is and Rey remains a nobody, I believe its intention is to bring a conclusion to the Skywalker saga with the redemption and/or defeat of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. JJ has already stated that Episode IX will bring all nine films together, so I feel like this trilogy is intended to bring closure to everything. It makes sense—that way, there’s a beginning, middle and end to the story.

 

This isn't sense to me. I think it's badly written garbage. If this is Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson's idea of the end of the Skywalker family saga, they can shove this crap right up their asses. In fact, I doubt very much that I will even bother with "Episode IX".

 

This just reads like a kid is upset that his favorite character was killed off, rather than looking at a story objectively. Things should make sense, not necessarily please you. What would be the point if Han was able to talk some sense into Ben and bring him back over to the light side? What kind of trilogy makes its big bad a good guy by the end of the first movie? What a terrible choice that would have been.

 

Yeah, that would have turned the entire story upside down. Did you read the rest of my post? I know it's fun to discuss objectivity sometimes, but that first paragraph wasn't 100% on topic, so I apologize for that.

 

I did, but I don't remember what it set off the top of my head, ha! No apologies necessary my good man.

 

My guess is that in the scheme of the “rings” of SW, we were supposed to see the concept of the loss of the mother (Shmi) leads to the fall of the son (Anakin) flip to the return of the mother (Leia) leads to the redemption of the son (Ben). With CF’s death, I wonder if they won’t twist that slightly to the loss of the mother leads to the redemption of the son instead. Of course, that assumes that the ring theory POV is accurate and that the folks at LFL are still adhering to it, which can be debated on many levels.

 

Ok first other then the blatantly obvious political agendas being forced in to a story where they do not fit,there is no point to any of the sequels and I’m strugaling to call them sequels at this point. A sequel implies some connection to something that came before. They have as of the last Jedi killed off all connection to the intire story line of both the OT and the Prequals.
The prequals and the OT can be summed up as the rise fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. But there is the question of Anakins oragens. One theory was that Plagus used his powers to cause Anakins birth. Anakin was the chosen one of Prophacy that brought balance to the Force.
By the end of revenge of the sith Anakin had ballanced the number of Jedi and sith in the universe. The emperor and Vader and Obi-one and Yoda were the only force masters were left.(at least that we saw in the movies, excluding clone war and rebels animations)
But definitely by the start of the new hope that’s all that’s was left. So the prophacy angle is already done. If that is what there trying to go for in this sequal Trillagy they have a lot of explain to do in 9 about why Anakin did not fulfill that prophacy.
I think they wasted a lot of potential in desideing to kill Luke so soon in the sequels. And to be honest we don’t really have any reason to be invested In any of the other characters they have introduced. I mean by the end of the last Jedi we are not even sure what side we should be rooting for here. Why Is Rai even fighting with the resistance in the first place? Because some stormtrooper cowered landed on her planet and used her to escape! BB8 is the reason she ended up with the resistance! And what ever reason she thought she had to stay was destroyed by Ben telling her she is no one and not related to anyone of significance in the OT. So Other then Ben there is no one left to continue the skywalker lineage. And he is technically a Solo. So unless they make it all about Ben I don’t see why we can even call this a Sequel Trilogy!
And I’m sorry but Ben/kilo Ren is my least favorite character so far!! He is even more of a whiny Vhlor then Anakin was in episode 2. HIs reason for killing Han makes no sense after we find out that he only turned to the dark side because he felt betrayed by Luke. BECAUSE THE LAST THing I would do is betray my father after experiencing betrayal myself. So I really hope they bring in Mara Jade and make Rai Luke’s Daughter.

 

OK I will bite.

What are the blatantly obvious political agendas being forced in to the Star Wars sage story?