LogFAQs > #980426622

andri_g posted...

Space battles tend to be similar. The moments that make them stand out are not when the units fight against each other as groups; it's when one member of a unit makes a critical strike or sacrifice that allows their side to "turn the tide" of the fighting in their favor..

Luke used those old books as an excuse to "try to get everything right, someday" instead of trying to get the one thing right that everyone not FO needed "today."

"Time, it is... hmm, for you to look past a pile of old books, hmm?" - Yoda [ "Much of a reader, I never was..." ]

You seem to be dialing into the scene level differences but the overarching plot is the same. Regardless of the specifics of different space battles, in both ESB and TLJ there's a tiny rebel trying to escape the thumb of the Empire after they discovered their possibly only base. Whether or not the advancing Empire ship is disabled or destroyed or evaded is semantics. It's the same scenario with different scene execution. Looking back at the plot, why is TLJ even in that situation? In TFA I was given the impression the First Order - New Republic relations was like the North Korea and the UN. First Order developed their weapon in secret, New Republic never took them serious, and thus the First Order was able to deal a decapitating blow to the New Republic. But if New Republic territory was vastly greater than First Order territory then they should have other fleets scattered about even if their largest was destroyed. Leia, as a Senator in the Empire, as a founder of the New Republic, as a leader of the new resistance, should have lots of connections and be able to pool a lot of systems to her side. Absent of that, I'd imagine most systems would just declare independence and we'd shift to a city-state (planet-state) dynamic where everyone is tired of galactic governments, but that's not the set up we got. Either of those options would be a new dynamic, but instead we got the First Order controls everything just like in ESB.

Step back from the books and look at their role in the story. If Luke used the books to learn new knowledge that changed the nature of the Jedi vs Sith fight like learning about the witches in Ashoka, that'd be something new. If Luke used the books to change his training style and he had a new secret school where Snoke couldn't corrupt students before they were ready, those fresh recruits would create a very new dynamic. But instead of doing anything useful, the books are a secondary reason for him to stay on top of his Ben drama PTSD.