*** SW: The Last Jedi - FULL SPOILERS BE IN HERE ***

347,034 Views | 3129 Replies | Last: 6 mo ago by Definitely Not A Cop
amercer
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Dude blew up the Death Star, killing millions including slaves, prisoners, contractors, and a bunch of innocent people.

Luke was and awesome Jedi, not Jesus Christ.
bangobango
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Farmer1906 said:

Same question for The emperor.

Like, there wasn't even the slightest bit of curiosity on your part about who this guy was? How he became so powerful with the force? what made him seek out Vader in the first place? He had to have been around during ANH, so who/what/where was he?!
I don't think that is apples to apples.

We are thrown into the middle of things with A New Hope. It even says Episode IV. We know that there is a backstory and an entire history that we are not getting and we are encouraged to fill in the blanks on that with our imagination. You are prepared for that and you know it literally when the movie begins that you are not going to get everything leading up to his event.

In this movie, we have the history explained to us. We know all the events leading up to the beginning of Episode 7, with the exception of about forty years or so. We expect to be told why this huge victory we were so invested in during episodes 4-6 did not last.

It's a completely different expectation as a fan going into these movies. You don't get the benefit of being vague and letting the viewer use his imagination with these new ones. Again, if they wanted to do that, then they should have started the movies much further down the timeline than the end of episode 6 and just explain that it is hundreds of years later.
TCTTS
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M.C. Swag said:

TCTTS said:

Bingo. Probably my favorite plot development/surprise of the whole movie, and made me even retroactively like/forgive TFA more.
I don't understand this. Correct me if I'm wrong but your primary point of contention with Snoke was his overall similarity to Palpatine right?

So how does just writing him off wash your feelings from the previous movie? At this point I feel like all it did was confuse people. Like, there wasn't even the slightest bit of curiosity on your part about who this guy was? How he became so powerful with the force? what made him seek out Kylo in the first place? He had to have been around during the OT, so who/what/where was he?!

I mean, i don't know how you could feel anything other than cheapened at his sudden death. It just felt...pointless. Even if you can accept his 'primary' role was to train Kylo, I can't disagree more. His role FELT like it was much deeper than that.


Because his similarity to Palpatine now has a point. In TFA they set up a character that aided in painting a certain picture of this new trilogy, one that, to many people's dismay (including mine), was very similar to the OT. But now we know it was all a ruse, a slight of hand. And it's apparent that Snoke's lack of context was purposeful rather than lazy on the part of the filmmakers.

Besides, sometimes I don't think of these as characters so much as chess pieces the filmmakers are giving us to set certain expectations and then break them down. I could not give two sh*ts where Snoke was from now because that entire sequence was designed to tell us that it didn't matter. It didn't matter where he was from, where Rey was from, or what anyone's past is, for that matter. It was all to eximify that Skywalker blood means nothing, to subvert expections, to say that anyone can be anything. No one is special and everyone is special. And just because things have played out a certain way before doesn't mean they have to play out that way again. I just loved that so much.
aggiebird02
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bangobango said:

Just start the movies a couple hundred years after TLJ and have Luke and Han and Leia be nothing more than legends whispered about in stories. I would much rather you do that than bring them back just to carelessly kill them off.
I feel as though the deaths of Han and Luke WERE important. Han's death accelerated Kylo's path along the darkside. Luke died after once again saving the Rebels/Resistance (in a legendary hero type of way). Leia isn't even dead yet...
M.C. Swag
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Man...i just can't agree with any of that. I don't think his introduction and lack of backstory was lazy...but I sure as **** think his death was. You and I are 180 on this. His death felt like the ruse. Like the writers just shrugged and said 'fuggit.'
M.C. Swag
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amercer said:

Dude blew up the Death Star, killing millions including slaves, prisoners, contractors, and a bunch of innocent people.

Luke was and awesome Jedi, not Jesus Christ.
....you are so far off on this.
bangobango
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Belton Ag said:

I wonder if this had been the plan for Snoke all along or if Johnson convinced Lucasfilm to kill him off in order to advance Kyle Ren's character.

I also wonder if Johnson changed up Rey's backstory/origin (assuming Kylo was telling the truth).
I posted earlier, I am beginning to suspect the plan is to end the third movie with the First Order still in power and the Rebels still battling them so that future franchise projects already have a defined structure to operate within.

Does anybody know how long Driver is under contract? Is he planning on not having anything else to do with Star Wars after the third movie? Would be kind of cool if they could move forward with him in a Vader/Emperor hybrid role. Wouldn't really need him in a lot of future material, just the threat of him swooping in and destroying everyone would create a lot of tension moving forward.

Hell, if they hadn't got rid of the mask, then they could have whatever actor they want come in and make cameos for them for years and years and years going forward.
TCTTS
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You can't agree with my sentiment or the fact that that's what the filmmakers were doing? Because it's 95% apparent that's exactly what Johnson and co we're doing. That's literally the theme of the movie.
VanZandt92
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M.C. Swag said:

Man...i just can't agree with any of that. I don't think his introduction and lack of backstory was lazy...but I sure as **** think his death was. You and I are 180 on this. His death felt like the ruse. Like the writers just shrugged and said 'fuggit.'
M.C. Swag
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TCTTS said:

You can't agree with my sentiment or the fact that that's what the filmmakers were doing? Because it's 95% apparent that's exactly what Johnson and co we're doing. That's literally the theme of the movie.
Both. All of the above.

Rian Johnson could not have picked a worse message than 'it doesn't matter.' Rey is special solely for the reason the universe says so. Snoke is in power for no reason other than....it doesnt matter? Like...what? Am I taking crazy pills? How does that message come across as enjoyable in this universe?
bangobango
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aggiephoenix02 said:

bangobango said:

Just start the movies a couple hundred years after TLJ and have Luke and Han and Leia be nothing more than legends whispered about in stories. I would much rather you do that than bring them back just to carelessly kill them off.
I feel as though the deaths of Han and Luke WERE important. Han's death accelerated Kylo's path along the darkside. Luke died after once again saving the Rebels/Resistance (in a legendary hero type of way). Leia isn't even dead yet...
I think Han's death moved the story forward in that it helped progress Kylo's character. I will give you that, but anybody could have played Kylo's dad. They didn't need Kylo's dad to be Han Solo, especially if the whole freaking point of the movie, like TCTTS and some others are suggesting, is that it doesn't matter if you have Skywalker blood or special parents. I mean, patricide is a big deal no matter what your last name is.

And Luke didn't die defending the resistance. That's part of the problem. He forced projected a hologram there and then he just let himself fade away into nothing. We don't know if that is because of the force projection or just because he decided it was his time to go. It seemed completely pointless to me. I think most would have been more okay with that scene if Luke would have arrived in person and actually battled the First Order and then died. As it was, it seemed like "okay, he forced projected so he could by them time and not get himself killed in the process. Clever Luke.... Oh wait, wtf?"
aggiebird02
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bangobango said:

The other thing about this movie, does it not kind of seem like a huge lecture about how stupid "boys" are?

I mean, you have Poe getting taught a lesson by Leia and Holdo.
Finn getting taught a lesson by Rose.
Luke getting taught a lesson by Rey.

And every single lesson is punctuated by the woman shooting, stunning, crashing into, or beating the guy in hand to hand combat.

I know, I know, "politics." Eye roll and all that. If you have a daughter or you are a girl, then this stuff probably seems ridiculous to you. But if you are raising boys right now and they spend anytime watching Disney cartoons, then you probably know there is a happy medium somewhere in there and this is not it.
I worked with a male who identified as gay, he was dating his boyfriend who was a female who identified as being a gay male. So they are a heterosexual couple that identify as something totally different. I'm not kidding.

boy girl male female, they're all the same now.

Having said that, I'm a man who identifies as being a straight male ("not that there is anything wrong with that" -Seinfeld)...
bangobango
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Why show the tie fighter in the bottom of the ocean if you're not going to have somebody force lift that damn thing? I don't get that either. Talk about a tease.....

EDIT: X-wing, not tie fighter.
Know Your Enemy
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bangobango said:

Why show the tie fighter in the bottom of the ocean if you're not going to have somebody force lift that damn thing? I don't get that either. Talk about a tease.....

Wasn't that an X-Wing?
amercer
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M.C. Swag said:

amercer said:

Dude blew up the Death Star, killing millions including slaves, prisoners, contractors, and a bunch of innocent people.

Luke was and awesome Jedi, not Jesus Christ.
....you are so far off on this.


Seriously, Luke Skywalker is my favorite movie character and childhood hero, but I don't know from the OT where you get the idea he's some sort of saint. In his battle against Vader he gives in to the dark side a little before turning away. Pretty much exactly the same thing that's described between him and Kylo in TLJ.
aggiebird02
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Yup...
M.C. Swag
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you win
Ag Since 83
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M.C. Swag said:

TCTTS said:

You can't agree with my sentiment or the fact that that's what the filmmakers were doing? Because it's 95% apparent that's exactly what Johnson and co we're doing. That's literally the theme of the movie.
Both. All of the above.

Rian Johnson could not have picked a worse message than 'it doesn't matter.' Rey is special solely for the reason the universe says so. Snoke is in power for no reason other than....it doesnt matter? Like...what? Am I taking crazy pills? How does that message come across as enjoyable in this universe?
I think some people are interpreting "it doesn't matter" the wrong way. It's not Rey's past that is important to the story, it's Rey's future. It's not Snoke's backstory that's important, it's Kylo Ren's story, which involves turning to the dark side, struggling with the light, and then fully rejecting the light, killing both his literal and surrogate father in order to achieve what he wants: power.

Snoke's backstory doesn't matter in the same way Palpatine's didn't matter. Go back before the prequels. You didn't know Palpatine's backstory. Did anyone need to? No, the original trilogy was still great.

Now, they can always try and tell the backstory at some point (and I assume they will in some canon material), but it's ultimately not important to the plot of THIS SERIES OF MOVIES. Because it's Rey and Kylo's story, and Snoke served his purpose for that.

Ultimately, this is a demonstration of a long standing problem Star Wars has: everyone wants something different from the movies. If Snoke's backstory is what was important to you about this series, you're not going to like it, unfortunately.
bangobango
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Junkhead said:

bangobango said:

Why show the tie fighter in the bottom of the ocean if you're not going to have somebody force lift that damn thing? I don't get that either. Talk about a tease.....

Wasn't that an X-Wing?


Doh! Yea.
TCTTS
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Did you and I watch the same movie? Literally, the theme of the movie is "where you come from doesn't matter." Meant as a positive sentiment. In other words, a scavenger girl can become a Force-wielding leader of the Resistance without HAVING to be a Skywalker. Like it or not, the OT put a lot of emphasis on Luke being a Skywalker. And as poor and as removed from the action as he was at the onset, he was still part of a legacy and desitined to become great partly because of that legacy. The force seemingly chose him BECAUSE he was a Skywalker, because it was literally in his blood. But TLJ turns that on its head and says, "Nope, anyone can be anything." And Snoke's entire existence and subsequent death is there to underline that point. To literally say, "Things aren't going to go the way you think." To make it clear that everything we once knew is not quite reality as we've been led to believe so far. To say that you don't have to be special to be special, if that makes sense. I mean, this really isn't even up for debate. This is what Johnson and others have literally said the movie is about. And even if not, it's so undeniably apparent. Kylo's whole thing in TLJ is about killing the past. And Rey has to learn that her past doesn't matter. This movie all about that idea. And again, one way that theme is underlined for the audience is by subverting our expectations of what we've come to anticipate these movies to be. And Snoke's death did that brilliantly.
SeattleAgJr
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Lucasfilm is a complete and utter cluster****,

No ACTUAL clear-cut arc in place?

No wonder TLJ sucks.

http://deadline.com/2017/12/star-wars-the-last-jedi-rian-johnson-ram-bergman-interview-spoilers-deleted-scenes-lucasfilm-plans-1202227741/

Star Wars 8 Director Had Freedom Of No Pre-Planned Story

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director and writer Rian Johnson had almost total creative liberty while working on the movie, explaining that there was not a set narrative arc for the sequel trilogy. Of course, there is the idea that it will be a three-film chapter from the famed saga, but Lucasfilm did not mandate specific narrative beats that he needed to hit, and with an interconnected franchise as big as Star Wars, that is quite a surprise.

In the conversation, the director was questioned about whether there is a clear-cut arc that the current trilogy is going through, and surprisingly, it turns out that nothing massive was set in stone before he boarded the project:

Quote:

"Not really. That's what's been really cool about the storytelling process. There is definitely the idea that we know it is a three-movie arc. We know the first film is an introduction, then the middle act is training, meaning challenging the characters. The third is where they all come together and you have to resolve everything.
But I was truly able to write this script without bases to tag, and without a big outline on the wall. That meant I could react to what I felt from The Force Awakens, and what I wanted to see. I could make this movie personal. I could also just take these characters where it felt right and most interesting to take them. I think part of the reason the movie feels like it goes to some unexpected places with the characters is that we had that freedom. If it had all just been planned out and written down beforehand, it might have felt a little more calculated, I suppose."

So no actual plan for Luke. No actual backstory for Snoke.
**** it.
I am saddened this garbage writer/director is in charge of the next trilogy.
DannyDuberstein
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Luke wasn't a saint. But I feel a little ripped off that the key character from the OT died and we're quite not sure how or why. Introduces a concept completely foreign to the first 8 movies and then croaks. Screwy
M.C. Swag
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Ag Since 83 said:

M.C. Swag said:

TCTTS said:

You can't agree with my sentiment or the fact that that's what the filmmakers were doing? Because it's 95% apparent that's exactly what Johnson and co we're doing. That's literally the theme of the movie.
Both. All of the above.

Rian Johnson could not have picked a worse message than 'it doesn't matter.' Rey is special solely for the reason the universe says so. Snoke is in power for no reason other than....it doesnt matter? Like...what? Am I taking crazy pills? How does that message come across as enjoyable in this universe?
I think some people are interpreting "it doesn't matter" the wrong way. It's not Rey's past that is important to the story, it's Rey's future. It's not Snoke's backstory that's important, it's Kylo Ren's story, which involves turning to the dark side, struggling with the light, and then fully rejecting the light, killing both his literal and surrogate father in order to achieve what he wants: power.

Snoke's backstory doesn't matter in the same way Palpatine's didn't matter. Go back before the prequels. You didn't know Palpatine's backstory. Did anyone need to? No, the original trilogy was still great.

Now, they can always try and tell the backstory at some point (and I assume they will in some canon material), but it's ultimately not important to the plot of THIS SERIES OF MOVIES. Because it's Rey and Kylo's story, and Snoke served his purpose for that.

Ultimately, this is a demonstration of a long standing problem Star Wars has: everyone wants something different from the movies. If Snoke's backstory is what was important to you about this series, you're not going to like it, unfortunately.
I get that and I'm not asking for a trilogy of prequel movies to show how Snoke arrived at the head of the First Order, but I would like some context as to where he was during the OT. Like, he was obviously trained by a Sith....fine. I can even get by his disfigurement as something he got when he probably killed his former master...but I still what to know what his connection was to the prior OT. He had to have been someone close to inherit the throne of the Empire. no? Actually, just any backstory on the First Order in general would be great.

Understanding the antagonist in a movie is just as important as understanding the protagonist. I feel good with Kylo. I actually like Adam Driver in that role. But I still want to understand Snoke. Otherwise, why not just show Kylo as the 'emperor supreme' from the get go? Because I don't think Snoke served any purpose.
bangobango
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TCTTS said:

Did you and I watch the same movie? Literally, the theme of the movie is "where you come from doesn't matter." Meant as a positive sentiment. In other words, a scavenger girl can become a Force-wielding leader of the Resistance without HAVING to be a Skywalker. Like it or not, the OT put a lot of emphasis on Luke being a Skywalker. And as poor and as removed from the action as he was, he was still part of a legacy and dsitined to become great partly because of that legacy. The force seemingly chose him BECAUSE he was a Skywalker, because it was literally in his blood. But TLJ turns that on its head and says, "Nope, anyone can be anything." And Snoke's entire existence and subsequent death is there to underline that point. To literally say, "Things aren't going to go the way you think." To subvert expectations and make it clear that everything we once knew is not reality as we've been led to believe so far.
But that's only enjoyable if it is set-up correctly and makes sense in the universe that has several movies and tv shows already behind it. It's not creative or exciting to turn things on its head just because nobody expects it. It has to make sense in the context of the universe and the overarching themes and stories that have been explored.

I am not personally that hung up on Rey's parentage, but I can understand why a lot of people are disappointed in that reveal.

The "Chosen One" is definitely a trope, but it's a trope because people enjoy it. Deep down, we all want to imagine we are "more special" than everybody else, and we cling to that in our protagonist.

if you want to move away from that, then fine, but do a better job setting it up. If you want to show that nobody is special, nobody is protected by fate or whatever, then don't also have a scene with a central character developing amazing abilities as to yet unseen or unheard of that save her from sure death at the very last minute. That is just sloppy.
ccaggie05
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Just saw this and I'm pretty conflicted. I'm usually a pretty forgiving viewer of movies/TV, so there isn't a ton of stuff I'm overly critical of or dislike.

With that said, I'm not sure how I feel right now. I didn't hate it, but I'm also not very excited for Episode IX. I was so pumped at the end of VII, and it seems like so much of what made the wait for this film fun (who are Rey's parents, Snoke's background, Luke's role etc..) is gone. There isn't much to anticipate except for the inevitable Rey/Kylo battle and maybe Rey struggling with the pull of the dark side. I don't really mind that Luke is gone, but how he went just seems, cheap.



Cromagnum
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I'm starting to think that the intent was to leave all Star Wars fans conflicted after this movie so that everyone could feel like Kylo Ren.
aggiebird02
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TCTTS said:

Did you and I watch the same movie? Literally, the theme of the movie is "where you come from doesn't matter." Meant as a positive sentiment. In other words, a scavenger girl can become a Force-wielding leader of the Resistance without HAVING to be a Skywalker. Like it or not, the OT put a lot of emphasis on Luke being a Skywalker. And as poor and as removed from the action as he was at the onset, he was still part of a legacy and desitined to become great partly because of that legacy. The force seemingly chose him BECAUSE he was a Skywalker, because it was literally in his blood. But TLJ turns that on its head and says, "Nope, anyone can be anything." And Snoke's entire existence and subsequent death is there to underline that point. To literally say, "Things aren't going to go the way you think." To subvert expectations and make it clear that everything we once knew is not reality as we've been led to believe so far.
That was well said...
Bruce Almighty
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amercer said:

Dude blew up the Death Star, killing millions including slaves, prisoners, contractors, and a bunch of innocent people.

Luke was and awesome Jedi, not Jesus Christ.


I watched Clerks too.
SeattleAgJr
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I just want to see Kylo utterly destroyed.

Either Rey striking him down and killing him with a light saber, or severing all of his limbs and leaving him a quadriplegic and letting Chewie have what is left of him.
Belton Ag
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Yeah, I don't believe that. If he had decided to have Rey join up with Kylo Ren and betray and kill Leia I'm positive they would have put a stop to it. We already know that Kennedy does influence the films based on the stories about Rogue One and Solo.
aggiebird02
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bangobango said:

TCTTS said:

Did you and I watch the same movie? Literally, the theme of the movie is "where you come from doesn't matter." Meant as a positive sentiment. In other words, a scavenger girl can become a Force-wielding leader of the Resistance without HAVING to be a Skywalker. Like it or not, the OT put a lot of emphasis on Luke being a Skywalker. And as poor and as removed from the action as he was, he was still part of a legacy and dsitined to become great partly because of that legacy. The force seemingly chose him BECAUSE he was a Skywalker, because it was literally in his blood. But TLJ turns that on its head and says, "Nope, anyone can be anything." And Snoke's entire existence and subsequent death is there to underline that point. To literally say, "Things aren't going to go the way you think." To subvert expectations and make it clear that everything we once knew is not reality as we've been led to believe so far.
But that's only enjoyable if it is set-up correctly and makes sense in the universe that has several movies and tv shows already behind it. It's not creative or exciting to turn things on its head just because nobody expects it. It has to make sense in the context of the universe and the overarching themes and stories that have been explored.

I am not personally that hung up on Rey's parentage, but I can understand why a lot of people are disappointed in that reveal.

The "Chosen One" is definitely a trope, but it's a trope because people enjoy it. Deep down, we all want to imagine we are "more special" than everybody else, and we cling to that in our protagonist.

if you want to move away from that, then fine, but do a better job setting it up. If you want to show that nobody is special, nobody is protected by fate or whatever, then don't also have a scene with a central character developing amazing abilities as to yet unseen or unheard of that save her from sure death at the very last minute. That is just sloppy.
This is also well stated! What a great thread!
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Ag Since 83
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M.C. Swag said:

Ag Since 83 said:

M.C. Swag said:

TCTTS said:

You can't agree with my sentiment or the fact that that's what the filmmakers were doing? Because it's 95% apparent that's exactly what Johnson and co we're doing. That's literally the theme of the movie.
Both. All of the above.

Rian Johnson could not have picked a worse message than 'it doesn't matter.' Rey is special solely for the reason the universe says so. Snoke is in power for no reason other than....it doesnt matter? Like...what? Am I taking crazy pills? How does that message come across as enjoyable in this universe?
I think some people are interpreting "it doesn't matter" the wrong way. It's not Rey's past that is important to the story, it's Rey's future. It's not Snoke's backstory that's important, it's Kylo Ren's story, which involves turning to the dark side, struggling with the light, and then fully rejecting the light, killing both his literal and surrogate father in order to achieve what he wants: power.

Snoke's backstory doesn't matter in the same way Palpatine's didn't matter. Go back before the prequels. You didn't know Palpatine's backstory. Did anyone need to? No, the original trilogy was still great.

Now, they can always try and tell the backstory at some point (and I assume they will in some canon material), but it's ultimately not important to the plot of THIS SERIES OF MOVIES. Because it's Rey and Kylo's story, and Snoke served his purpose for that.

Ultimately, this is a demonstration of a long standing problem Star Wars has: everyone wants something different from the movies. If Snoke's backstory is what was important to you about this series, you're not going to like it, unfortunately.
I get that and I'm not asking for a trilogy of prequel movies to show how Snoke arrived at the head of the First Order, but I would like some context as to where he was during the OT. Like, he was obviously trained by a Sith....fine. I can even get by his disfigurement as something he got when he probably killed his former master...but I still what to know what his connection was to the prior OT. He had to have been someone close to inherit the throne of the Empire. no? Actually, just any backstory on the First Order in general would be great.

Understanding the antagonist in a movie is just as important as understanding the protagonist. I feel good with Kylo. I actually like Adam Driver in that role. But I still want to understand Snoke. Otherwise, why not just show Kylo as the 'emperor supreme' from the get go? Because I don't think Snoke served any purpose.
Because having him as Supreme Leader from the get go eliminates an important character arc for him. He has challenges he has to go through: betray his uncle, kill his father, fight Rey, trick Snoke into thinking he's an obedient servant, kill Snoke. That's how you understand the antagonist.
SeattleAgJr
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Belton Ag said:

Yeah, I don't believe that. If he had decided to have Rey join up with Kylo Ren and betray and kill Leia I'm positive they would have put a stop to it. We already know that Kennedy does influence the films based on the stories about Rogue One and Solo.
the point is that there was no established A..B..C arc set in place . They are making up the **** as they go along.
and this is absolutely apparent from many of the story beats of TLJ.
aggiebird02
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Yep, it's about Kylo's path and rise to controlling the entire galaxy!

Kylo/Hux for Supreme Leader 2017!

Edit: Kylo/Hux gets my vote over Rey/Poe.
Although Poe is a strong candidate...
 
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