Decades later it struck me how the premise of TESB makes no sense. Think about it.... the Rebels defeat the Empire at the end of Star Wars. The Death Star is destroyed, Darth Vader manages to escape. The last scene is the heroes getting their medals. A happy ending.
But three years later the heroes are in an underground bunker and the bad guys are stronger than they were at the end of Star Wars.
TESB opening text crawl:
Wouldn't it make more sense if TESB started with the Rebel Alliance strong, pursuing the Imperial remnants and then something dramatic happens and there is a shift in the balance of power and the Empire - led by Vader - 'strikes back!'
There is no internal logical reason why the heroes are weaker at the start of TESB. It contradicts the ending of the original Star Wars film. It's a huge leap in story logic or, if you prefer, a big U-turn in the plot by George Lucas. I mention this because it looks as if The Force Awakens is going to do the same thing - the Empire will return and battle the heroes - whom, I suspect, will be weaker than they were at the end of Return of the Jedi.
When it comes to franchise sequels happy endings mean very little. Happy endings are forgotten about. I don't know if this is good storytelling. It might be better to establish the fact the heroes won in the last episode, start the new episode with the heroes still the dominant power and then a dramatic event takes place to change the balance of power. It's kind of cheating or lazy to go from "the heroes won, The End" to "well, actually, the heroes are now hiding from the bad guys."-
I don't think the big jump in the plot spoils the the film but, said in hindsight, I feel Mr Lucas did dismiss the ending of the original Star Wars film. It was just forgotten about. The heroes won. Well... er.. not they didn't.
But three years later the heroes are in an underground bunker and the bad guys are stronger than they were at the end of Star Wars.
TESB opening text crawl:
It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.
There is no internal logical reason why the heroes are weaker at the start of TESB. It contradicts the ending of the original Star Wars film. It's a huge leap in story logic or, if you prefer, a big U-turn in the plot by George Lucas. I mention this because it looks as if The Force Awakens is going to do the same thing - the Empire will return and battle the heroes - whom, I suspect, will be weaker than they were at the end of Return of the Jedi.
When it comes to franchise sequels happy endings mean very little. Happy endings are forgotten about. I don't know if this is good storytelling. It might be better to establish the fact the heroes won in the last episode, start the new episode with the heroes still the dominant power and then a dramatic event takes place to change the balance of power. It's kind of cheating or lazy to go from "the heroes won, The End" to "well, actually, the heroes are now hiding from the bad guys."-
I don't think the big jump in the plot spoils the the film but, said in hindsight, I feel Mr Lucas did dismiss the ending of the original Star Wars film. It was just forgotten about. The heroes won. Well... er.. not they didn't.
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