1. Han is a deadbeat dad and husband. Estranged? Han ran away when he didn't want to confront his son and abandoned his wife AND his son. Not impressed.

2. Yes, Luke tried to murder his SLEEPING TEENAGE NEPHEW and then ran away and hid while he waited for death. That is cowardice. I don't see any alternative way to interpret it. He was disillusioned by his own self hatred... because Jake Skywalker knows he's a coward.

3. Yes Finn acted bravely at the end of both films. That was his arc... he starts out timid and defers to others. Eventually the influence of strong women (Rey in TFA and Rose in TLJ) makes him discover his inner bravery. I thought it was interesting in the first movie (bravery often comes from a desire to protect those we care about), but to see him totally reset in TLJ as if that character growth NEVER HAPPENED only to do it all over again was obnoxiously redundant. Especially since you could have removed Finn/Rose and their story from TLJ with almost no actual impact on the story. Finn was the best and most well developed character in TFA, and they wasted him badly in TLJ.

This isn't avast conspiracy dude. IT's subtext... something you find in every single movie ever made.

Did you notice that The Dark Knight trilogy was about the war on terrorism and the need to fight dangerous ideas with physical violence? That's also not a conspiracy. IT's just subtext.
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Meh. Where you see an attempt to tear down men to prop up women, I just see shitty writing, contrived attempts at producing conflict, and recycled character arcs.

You make a great point about Luke. He was a coward. He was disillusioned by the guilt he felt after trying to murder his nephew.. But that whole arc makes no ****ing sense. That is so completely out of Luke's character, I can't even fathom why they thought it'd be a good idea to include it (I can actually- shitty writing). This is the man who had every chance to kill Vader and refused to because he saw the good in him.

It's hella contrived. They knew they needed a way to get Luke out of the picture, otherwise he'd just deal with Snoke and the First Order by himself. It's not that they wanted to emasculate him because feminism. They just needed an excuse to reduce his role or there'd be no story.

I disagree with your thoughts on Finn, though. He may have started his arc as timid, but that only makes sense. He had just defected and was probably unsure of his position. Plus, he was a stormtrooper. Of course he'd have a natural inclination to defer to others.

But he's been pretty brave for quite a while now. Aside from his shining moments at the ends of both movies, he's had taser club showdowns with two high-ranking stormtroopers and basically spent half of TLJ undercover on the enemy battle cruiser. Finn's a pretty brave dude.
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Wait a minute... There were multiple flashbacks of the Luke/Kylo encounter each showing a different slant on the memory. We don't really know which one is true...
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It is still funky that Luke would turn on his nephew because he felt a flicker of the Dark Side when he spent Episode VI trying to redeem Vader.
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When Rey bests him in their little quick sparring match and has him on the ground with the lightsaber in his face (like that would have ever happened. Fuck off with that, RJ), the version he tells her seems to be the truth. He went in with the intention of ending Ben before he could become something dangerous, realizes he doesn't have it in him to do it and gets himself together, then defends himself when Ben realizes his uncle can see what he's become and attacks.
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Actually Luke had pretty much bested her and then she went and got A LIGHTSABER which gave her an unfair advantage.

I thought it was a nice little scene showing a hint of darkness inside her.
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Everyone has moments of weakness, and that's all it was.
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That scene was actually perfect for me.

Luke saved the galaxy by having a thought and turning off his lightsaber.

Luke threw the galaxy back into turmoil by having a thought and turning that exact very same lightsaber back on.

It was a perfect character arc moment.

And in the end, he redeemed himself. Like he always does. By turning the lightsaber off again.

Wars not make one great.
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It's almost like Yoda preached this very thing in ESB, or something.
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Against Luke? LOL....
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Keep spinning.
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The revisionist history people have given Luke in the sequels is the weakest part of the criticism of TLJ.

Luke has always been an impulsive individual who was prone to make decisions on a hair trigger. If you’re angry about his exile, blame TFA, not TLJ.
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No shit. the Luke "THE CHOSEN SON" Skywalker gets his ass handed to him by a Force n00b in Rey.
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I have blamed TFA and the new regime.

TLJ just added to the list.
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Episode 9 better end with her becoming more powerful than god and crushing the entire universe using her force powers. Without training or focus, she already seems to be elite. I mean 3 days of hanging out on an island allowed her to beat her master in a dual. Imagine if she has a full 6 to 12 months to read some books!
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