Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – What Went Wrong?

this video is brought to you by keeps [Music] hey wisecrack jared here coming from these self isolating comforts of my own apartment and let me tell you I got a bad feeling about this no I'm not just talking about my dueling supplies of top ramen and coffee but well this I have a bad feeling about this yes the time has finally come to delve into the least controversial subject on the internet a little yarn called Star Wars when the rise of Skywalker was set for release director JJ Abrams promised this final entry in the Saga would tie up everything that had come before heard the filmmaker this wasn't just the end of a single movie or even a trilogy it was the end of an entire nine film saga it had to be the end of not just three movies but nine movies the question of course could the rise of Skywalker possibly tie up every loose end and story thread in a satisfying way I mean this is a gargantuan seemingly impossible task and yet somehow they did it after the film's release the rise of Skywalker was lauded as the best Star Wars film of all time and the internet came together in Universal celebration oh wait sorry I was imagining an alternate timeline we're going out to the grocery store isn't an episode of black mirror no the rise of Skywalker was of course a colossal disappointment filled with awkward exposition plot holes and strange retconning of its predecessors so what the hell happened how did the rise of Skywalker fail so absolutely well the answer lies in the past you know that thing the last film kind of sort of tried to kill but the past time kill it if you have to so welcome to this wise pack edition on the rise of Skywalker what went wrong and of course spoilers ahead for the whole Skywalker saga but before we get into it I want to give a shout out to this week's sponsor keeps it could be hard to admit that you're losing your hair especially when in my case it's pretty intertwined with my identity it's tough to talk about but ignoring it won't solve the 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the rise of Skywalker begins with the resistance intercepting a message that Palpatine is somehow not only alive and well but amassing a fleet of ships on the hidden planet x achill our heroes rey finn and Poe go in search of a Wayfinder that will lead to the mysterious planet meanwhile kylo Ren at the behest of Palpatine is tasked with killing Rey and ending the Jedi once and for all from there you get your typical lightsaber duels Chase's rescue missions and cameos by beloved characters there's even some new character revelations and backstories kylo basically tells Rey not to pay attention to anything that happened in the last Jedi there are filthy jump treasures so do you offer drinking money the dead in a pauper's grave and the jakku desert yeah instead turns out ray isn't the nobody but actually you don't just have power you have his power nor his granddaughter this is followed by some more lightsaber duels chases and rescue missions interspersed with a classic character heroically sacrificing himself the film culminates in an aerial battle between the resistance and the first order while ray faces off against Palpatine with the help of bad guy GaN lights kylo Ren ray kills Palpatine but in doing so dies of course 10 seconds later kylo brings her back to life sacrificing himself in the process we end with Ray taking up the mantle of the Skywalker's who are you I'm right ray who [Music] right Skywalker if all this sounds very familiar like you've seen this same story play out before well that's because you have oddly enough George Lucas spells it out in a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of The Phantom Menace Lucas explains how Anakin is directly modeled after Luke Skywalker you see the echo of where it alls gonna go instead of destroying the Death Star he destroys the ship that controls the robots again it's like poetry so if they rhyme for Lucas the story of Star Wars was all about how history is constantly repeating itself there are hundreds of echoes in the prequels directly correlating to the original trilogy a young Anakin blows up the control ship just as Luke will blow up the Death Star both guys lose a hand in a lightsaber duel obi-wan watches helplessly as his mentor qui-gon jinn is killed by Darth Maul mirroring Obi Wan's own eventual demise with Luke helplessly watching from the sidelines and it isn't just these plot elements that bridge the two series together even the visual language of the prequels directly mirrors the original trilogy to quote another sci-fi epic there's one person who took Lucas's approach to heart JJ Abrams in an interview for the force awakens Abrams stressed the importance of repetition part of the story of this movie is history repeats itself but Abrams took Lucas's approach one step further getting a super meta to the filmmaker it wasn't just history that was repeating but the actual films themselves I wanted to tell a story that was not just history repeating itself but a story that embraced the movies that we know as the actual history of this galaxy this was not about a nostalgia play it felt to me like a way of saying let's go back to a Star Wars that we know so we can tell another story for Abrams the fact that the force awakens is pretty much a carbon copy of a new hope is in and of itself the point for a pop-culture savant like Abrams it's not enough to merely echo the events that came before instead he has to repeat them and copy the previous trilogy wholesale thus raised a stand-in for Luke kylo for Darth Vader Poe for Han Solo even the basic story is the same a group of rebels fight against a nefarious imperialist army hell there's even a droid with an important message that can turn the tides of the for now Lukas and Abrams aren't the first people to claim that history has a tendency to repeat itself this notion dates all the way back to the dialectic bad boy himself Georg Wilhelm Hagel in Hegel's lectures on the philosophy of history the philosopher famously stated that revolutionary acts always tend to occur twice per Hegel in all periods of the world a political revolution is sanctioned in men's opinions when it repeats itself by repetition that which it first appeared merely a matter of chance and contingency becomes a real and ratified existence as proof Hegel cited the formation of the Roman Empire seed Caesar first led a revolution to take over Rome and the Republic and become its de facto Emperor many objected to Caesars reign though leading to a second revolution in which he was assassinated but in the aftermath this second revolution only reinforced the idea that one single emperor was needed to rule in effect cementing Caesars initial revolution to destroy the Republic in a nutshell the revolution has to happen a second time to make the first one work the latest trilogy of Star Wars films adopts this same philosophy in the original trilogy the rebels defeat Emperor Palpatine and the Empire but this revolution is short-lived in the ashes of the Empire's defeat the first order rises to power thereby prompting a second revolution in the rise of skywalker rey Finn and Poe lead this second rebellion to victory finally cementing the rebels victory that came before it's pretty much exactly as Hegel himself described the revolution repeating twice in order to fully take effect yet in channeling the spirit of Hegel Abrams has fallen into a kind of historical trap set forth as an addendum to Hegel's philosophy in 1852 philosopher Karl Marx stated that history doesn't quite repeat itself instead it parodies itself as he writes Hegel stated that all great world historic facts and personages appear so to speak twice he forgot to add the first time as tragedy the second time as farce for Marx when a revolution repeats itself it's not the cement that reinforces the original but is instead a mockery of what came before Marx most famously applied this criticism to Louie Bonaparte the nephew of Napoleon who much like his uncle led a rebellion to seize France and become Emperor Louis even led his coup on the anniversary of his uncle's coronation as the Emperor of France yet for Marx Louie was nothing but a character of the old Napoleon dressing up like his famous uncle repeating his same populist rhetoric but betraying Napoleon's own principles for Marx little Louie duplicates the cult of Napoleon in order to legitimize himself but without the values of his uncle he became nothing more than a hollow parody history had repeated but merely as a farce of the original just like Napoleon 2.0 dressed up as his legendary uncle without understanding what made him a competent leader rise of Skywalker dresses itself in the nostalgia of Star Wars without understanding what made the original trilogy great instead of crafting a new mythos the film borrows from what's come before using the exact same plot points archetypes and even sets but the end result becomes nothing more than a parody of its predecessors for example consider how the rise of Skywalker treats raised flirtations with the dark side this is the same arc as Luke's in Return of the Jedi but in that film Luke truly did grapple with joining his father at one point even succumbing to his darker impulses yet in the rise of Skywalker this arc is never fully dramatized Rey has a dark vision does a little force lightning and that's pretty much it Palpatine tries to tempt ray into succumbing to her darker impulses just as he tempted Luke but Rey barely flinches from her morals it's all talk the arc exists simply for the sake of repetition it's just as Mark said history repeats itself first as a tragedy and then well as this even the rise of Skywalker's twists are lifted from the original trilogy the Rey Palpatine granddaughter reveal is basically just a watered-down hi but the Palpatine reveal lacks any of the dramatic weight of its predecessor in the original trilogy Luke believed his father was a Jedi hero who was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader a young Jedi named Darth Vader who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights he betrayed and murdered your father thus when the big Vader turned happens it shatters everything Luke believed to be true it undermined the foundation of his moral compass his father wasn't a hero but the villain who betrayed the Jedi and killed his surrogate father now let's look at Rey Rey thinks her parents were junk traders who abandon her so the reveal that Palpatine is her grandfather doesn't hold the same emotional weight it's not like she wanted to be a great Jedi to emulate her dead parents also Rey hasn't even met Palpatine yet and knows nothing about him other than he's a bad guy and once she finds out Palpatine is her grandfather not much changes he's still just a guy that needs to be defeated her world hasn't been shattered in the same way that Luke's was and if anything the Palpatine twist is more of a revelation for fans as they recount all the great prequel memes they've seen rise up Skywalker is filled with these moments like Louie dressing up like his uncle the film incessantly dresses itself up like the originals repeating word-for-word shot-for-shot what happened in them but without any of the context that made these moments work these moments only exist as hollow callbacks any emotional or dramatic heft is entirely dependent on the viewers relationship to the original trilogy just look at how rise of Skywalker butchers Han Solo's most famous line now this of course harkens back to one of the most famous moments and Empire Strikes Back I love you know that simple exchange was the culmination of Han and Leia's tumultuous will they or won't they romantic relationship the reason the line has become a touchstone for the characters and the series as a whole is because of the build up beforehand the original films put in the work with their relationship to make this single line iconic but in the rise of Skywalker the lines just reused as a reference for fans it doesn't have any narrative value in the film except as a way to remind viewers of a movie they feel nostalgic for rise of Skywalker is built on references but it doesn't take into account the hundreds of moments beforehand that made these iconic moments work the relationships the characters the world building that were the foundation to the original series success and without this footing these references are just that hollow and empty a farce of the original trilogy rise of Skywalker becomes so obsessed with harkening back that it even sacrifices logic and its own characters motivations at the behest of these callbacks for one how the heck is Palpatine even alive why bring him back as the villain in the first place well let's take it from JJ Abrams the more we talked about it the more inevitable it felt that this character who was so important in the first two trilogies come back and and in some form that's the truth in a nutshell Palpatine is the villain only because he's the villain from the first six films does it make any sense that the emperor has somehow survived being thrown down a reactor shaft and blown to smithereens in Return of the Jedi yeah rise of Skywalker doesn't care somehow Palpatine returned [Music] without any clear logical reason for Palpatine's return the character feels like a farce of who he once was even Palpatine's motivations now don't make a lick of sense he sends kylo to kill ray yet when ray shows up and confronts him at the end of the film Palpatine changes his tune completely I never wanted you dead I wanted you here this yet again is a direct call back to the original trilogy where Palpatine tried to convert Luke to the dark side I am looking full and two competing countries must thus the only reason why Palpatine's motivation rise of Skywalker changes is to mirror his motivation in Return of the Jedi and rise of Skywalker is littered with these inconsistencies how does Palpatine suddenly a massive fleet of ships all equipped with planet-destroying weapons doesn't really matter because rises Skywalker has to end with an aerial space battle just like Return of the Jedi the rise of Skywalker attempts to elevate itself to the heights of the original films by playing on their success structure and nostalgia but instead the film becomes nothing more than a sad copy of a copy it's so obsessed with harkening backwards that it never creates an identity of its own history has now become Star Wars own undoing but what do you guys think are we being too hard on the 9th Star Wars film or is it really just a bargain bin version of The Return of the Jedi let us know what you think in the comments below please don't yell at us and a big thanks to all our patrons for supporting our podcasts and the channel execute order 66 on that subscribe button and as always thanks for watching guys peace [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Wisecrack

Views: 975,501

Rating: 4.8651314 out of 5

Keywords: star wars, rise of skywalker, kylo ren, jj abrams, the last jedi, luke skywalker, star wars the rise of skywalker, last jedi, rise of skywalker bad, everything wrong with rise of skywalker, the force awakens, disney star wars, george lucas, episode ix, star wars theory, kylo ren vs rey, kylo ren death, rise of skywalker palpatine, jj abrams sucks, kathleen kennedy, han solo, wisecrack, what went wrong, deep or dumb, show me the meaning, philosophy, video essay, ben solo

Id: QzBohG4mR60

Length: 15min 51sec (951 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 24 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/ludwigritcher752]

Sigh

For the 1005632422379984321358532th time, the message of The Last Jedi was NOT "let the past die". Fucking kill me.

[u/lingdingwhoopy]

I hate vids titled and argued like this...the presumption that something objectively "went wrong."

[u/b_khan0131]

This hurt me too. I had to grin and bare it and, as I suspected, most of the complaints are the same as I’ve already heard. Fast pacing, no plan, “noStalgua”, “plothole”, the only one I agree with is the pacing, which is pretty overly fast. Apart from that, the lack of a plan doesn’t effect a stories quality in any real way, as shown by the OT not being planned and the PT being planned; the nostalgia in TRoS is actaully very minimal and mostly kept to Luke lifting the X-Wing (that was more of a continuation from Luke in TLJ) and the final scene, where I think it was relevent and earned; and there are no real plot- holes, just “plothole” made when people don’t pay attention or make subconscious or couscous assumptions (like the dagger being “ancient” when it is never stated as such).

[u/16salt]

While I didn’t enjoy the Rise of Skywalker, I thought the reasons given for “what went wrong” are unfair, and so I thought I would argue for the movie considering the comments are already swamped agreements.

1) The Last Jedi is negated by this movie - As many here have already said, the TROS build on TLJ. Kylo’s line that Rey’s parents “chose to be no one” instead of “they are no one”, adds to both Kylo and Rey’s character development. In TLJ, Kylo shouldn’t have been trusted anyways. He is obviously trying to turn her in that movie - he even says “you’re not no one to me”. Kylo is proving Rey’s insecurities and then trying to comfort her. Rey’s parents not actually being random junkers doesn’t break TLJ’s story.

2) Unlike the Sequels, the Prequels rhyme well with the Originals - Just as both Luke and Obi Wan helplessly watch their mentor die in front of them, so does Rey. Just as the ATTE mirrors the AT-AT, so does the AT-M6 build well on the original design. Just as Anakin and Luke blow up a super weapon so does Poe. Just as the trilogies’ respective trios are separated into their own personal journeys, so is Rey separated from Poe and Finn.

3) Rey isn’t a stand in for Luke, while there are similarities they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. While Luke starts off naive and cared for, Rey is introduced as a hardening scavenger desperate for a family. While Kylo Ren himself might want to be a stand in for a Vader, his character revolves around not being able to reach up to his grandfather. He is just a “child in a mask”, making him far more complex than Vader’s cold ruthlessness.

4) Just as Luke “succumbs to his darker impulses” in his duel against Vader, Rey does so as well, forgetting her training with Luke and Leia, and instead submitting herself to her passionate rage, she doesn’t hesitate to KILL Kylo when she has the chance. However unlike Luke who defeats Vader through his anger, Rey is unable to defeat Kylo and so her tapping into the dark side is less apparent. It’s only though Leia’s death is she stopped from further sinking into her emotions, just as Ben’s arrival STOPS HER FROM KILLING PALPATINE AND ACCEPTING HER DARK SIDE NATURE.

5) The “Rey Palpatine” reveal might not have been executed as well as the “I am your Father” reveal, but it still has dramatic weight behind it. One of Rey’s major flaws is her attachment to any potential parental figures and her desperation for being part of a family. She keeps the same haircut for YEARS in hopes that her parents recognize her. The reveal that the family she has been so desperate for originated from Space Hitler, “upturns her whole viewpoint” and “shatters everything she believed”. It’s so impactful to her that she decides to eke out the rest of her life in exile similar to Luke.

8) The lazy repetition of shots - this criticism relies heavily on nitpicking scenes from across different movies.

9) The “I know” example - this is meant to show the Sequels’ use of taking precious iconic moments and copying them without the context that made them special, resulting in a “farce”. Han’s “I know” line in TROS is the perfect example of Lucas’ golden rule: “Jar Jar is the key to all of this”, I mean “it’s like poetry, it rhymes”. Just as in ESB where it is “culmination of Han and Leia tumultuous relationship”, Han’s “I know” line in TROS acts as the culmination of Kylo’s fractured being as he tried to come to terms with his father’s death. This is build up throughout the trilogy. Unlike ESB were its used as an affirmation of Leia and Han’s love, in this case Kylo pictures his dad, acts out the exact movements when he murdered him and accepts that his father loves him and forgives him, destroying the Kylo Ren persona.

10) The plot holes of the movie can be easily explained by Star Wars’ extensive canon, similar to how Darth Maul’s survival and rapid creation of a second, bigger Death Star are explained and accepted as reasonable.