If I want to work out how I would have designed EP8 if the outcome has to be the same than for TLJ, first I need to identify crucial plot points. To do so, I will loosely refer to the plot summary of TLJ at imdb.org [1]. From this source, I would segment the movie into the following parts with the denoted important story points:
- The Resistance escapes from D’Qar / Fight against the First Order / The First Order chases the Resistance
- Snoke mocks Kylo
- Finn wakes up
- Rey, Chewie and R2 arrive at Ahch-To / Luke does not want to see them
- Poe is demoted / TIE fighters attack the Resistance’s fleet / Leia falls unconscious after playing Marry Poppins
- Luke sort of agrees to train Rey / Rey and Kylo form a connection
- Admiral Holdo takes over for Leia / Holdo does not reveal her plans to Poe / Rose comes into play
- Rey’s first lesson / „It’s time for the Jedi to end“
- Canto Bight / Meeting DJ
- Luke’s first version of the story / Kylo’s version of the story
- Holdo has a Plan / Poe starts a mutiny / Leia awakes
- Everyone arrives at the First Order’s Ship and is caught (Finn, Rose, DJ, Rey) / DJ betrays the Resistance / Phasma orders to kill Finn and Rose
- Snoke meets Rey / Kylo kills Snoke / Rey and Kylo team up temporarily / Rey’s parents are „filthy junk traders“ / Luke’s lightsaber breaks
- The Resistances tries to reach Crait / Holdo sacrifices herself
- Finn battles Phasma / Finn is „rebel scum“
- The First Order arrives at Crait / Resistance’s Speeders Attack / Rey and Chewie save the day / Finn tries to sacrifice himself, but is stopped by Rose
- Luke appears on Crait / Luke fights Kylo / Crystal Foxes lead the Resistances out of the Stronghold
- Luke dies / Rey levitates rocks
- Leia restarts the Rebellion / A kid force pulls a broom stick
I will cover each of those scenes in a single posting, for reasons of readability and because it allows me to release bits and pieces of that work as they are done.
Some words on things that will be true for each of the following postings. Actually, I like every one of the characters that was introduced in TFA. This is very important for me, because that means that I do not see EP8 as a must-fail, as some people do that did not like TFA. Why I like the characters? Well, here is a short list:
Rey: I know that many people our there consider her to be a Mary Sue and that may indeed be the case, but that does not bother me. Actually, having the story of a force sensitive being that has to be trained, would be the third time we see that (Luke and Anakin being the first and second – or second and first, depending on the applied chronology). Therefore, Rey just having these capabilities is a concept that I found quite intriguing in TFA.
Finn: A deviating Stormtrooper. Well, that was something new! He may have been sort of overused as a comic relief, but he had his moments. And especially his conflict between his inner motivation, to just flee the First Order, and his will to do the right thing gave him a lot of potential.
Poe: He may have been sort of the new Han Solo – a badass pilot. But I don’t think there’s something wrong with that. Not every character, that is important to the development of the story, has to be deep and meaningful.
BB-8: He is just cool! Yes, he may have been introduced so Disney can sell more toys. But it gave way to let R2-D2 do something else, without having no astromech droid as a side-kick. And: he is holonomic! That’s pretty cool, from a computer scientist’s point of view.
Kylo Ren / Ben Solo: I found it brilliant to see him being torn apart between that dark and the light at the end of TFA. That beared a lot of potential for TLJ.
Snoke: Yes I like him, even if he is sort of Emperor 2.0. Yes, he is mighty as hell. Yes, we see him in TFA only as a hologram (compare to Empire Strikes Back). Yes, he is defaced like the emperor. However, as far as we know from TFA, he has a very different background. Again: a lot of potential for TLJ.
Hux: We did not see that much of him in TFA, but what we saw was good. Especially the speech that he gave at Starkiller Base was absolutely stunning.
Captain Phasma: We did not see much of her in TFA, but we had another novum: a female stormtrooper. However, she is actually the least interesting new character in TFA, from my point of view, because she had so little screen time.
Maz Kanata: A little mysterious, a little quirky – I liked her for that. And, of course, that nagging question: How did she get Luke’s lightsaber?
So, with that being said: Stay tuned for the next post, covering the Resistance’s Escape and the fight with the First Order.
Sources:
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/plotsummary