My main question is how have we gone from that euphoria at the end of ROTJ to the Rebellion now in absolute tatters and the Empire reborn as the First Order?
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But do you really want to be spoon-fed this information.

For me, the fascination lies in the not knowing.

This shines some light on things

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10215194/star-wars-the-force-awakens-guide-canon

comment by Metro.⚽️ (U6770)
posted 10 minutes ago
My main question is how have we gone from that euphoria at the end of ROTJ to the Rebellion now in absolute tatters and the Empire reborn as the First Order?
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But do you really want to be spoon-fed this information.

For me, the fascination lies in the not knowing.
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I don't need to be spoon fed but I'd like at least some information as to what exactly has gone so spectacularly wrong for the Rebellion that the Empire have been allowed to rebuild as the First Order into a position of such huge power and are now arguably more powerful than they ever were before.

Did the Rebellion go to sleep for a couple of decades? Was there no attempt to rebuild or establish some kind of Democratic Government or a Senate like we saw in the prequels?

I just wanted some storyline filled in instead of absolutely no explanation given which is what happened in Force Awakens.

I'm thinking that all the senate and state of galaxy is background stuff to the family drama we have with skywalker/solo...
i think it may have been mentioned but cos the film is so kinetic, it will take multiple viewings to catch it..
Think Maz says something about it, and Hux, but i've got to see it again, my local is still sold out! til next week!!

My reading of the political side of things kind of mirrors the real life situation with the break up of the USSR. That is empire were hugely dominant across an entire galaxy. The resistance were small time but somehow managed to overthrow them, much to the joy of many planets, but also to the disappointment to many others.

The empire may have disappeared in name, but not in spirit, hence the first order. The Republic didn't assume control of the entire galaxy. There would have been many independent factions, planets, solar systems etc.

The First order controlled the areas friendly to the empire, the Republic likewise, possibly many other independent entities.

Much like when USSR broke up, there was still russia, the major power in the region, getting stonger all the time. At the same time there were numerous new, independent nations ruling themselves.

Just because the empire crumbled doesn;t mean that the Republic became the sole leaders.

Superb where do you get the idea the rebellion is in tatters? Before the first starkiller strike the film suggests the council have been doing a good job and that the covert operations were doing fine also.

The starkiller base was a secret and much like pearl harbor we only knew about stuff after - actually as manf says above this would be the same as a direct nuke strike on washington by russia during the cold war killing the president while the vice president is out with the army doing some manuvoures.

In the film they tell you the main fleet is out of operation after the strike, and the order specifically target the main planets associated with the council.

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The force ghosts were there purely because balance was restored to the force. They don't give a feck about the empire.

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Eh? How do you come to that conclusion?

I'm not sure what you seem to find so hard to comprehend here superb. The empire were not destroyed in return of the jedi. Why isn't it possible that the empire could regroup?

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I'm not saying it's impossible I'm asking how it happened when the Rebellion seemed to have such an upper hand by the end of ROTJ. Most importantly I'm asking why it barely gets touched on in this movie.

I don't want to have to read Aftermath just to get an idea as to what's actually happened in that 30 year gap.

that theory about the Empire was always the view I held. Remember how some spoke to Vader in Ep 4?
It was like They didn't really want him there. They were a much bigger force than we saw.
but whoever yields the way the way of the force can rule.
Another doozy here, what if..... What if, Rey does get trained by Luke. And now it's compete. The Sith is back, Master and apprentice. It's why Luke ran.
The Darkside is strong with Rey. Too strong for Luke to handle. Kylo is just a wannabe brat, force sensitive but who is not the chosen one.
But here is Kylo Rens redemption.

Obviously people just fan dreaming, but I have to applaud some some these minds sometimes.
Gotta say I like that one... Although I hate Kylo with a passion...
But Luke and Rey tearing it apart together!
That would be a sight.
Rey with her double bladed saber staff standing next to hooded Luke.

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agree superb, you shouldn't have to rely on reading comics and what not, but i think if there's any ambiguity,
then it is deliberate.
some don't like that the beats of TFA follow ANH closely, even to the point where we were dumped straight into it.

but lets see how this all plays out. i think job done, cos Ep 8 can't get here quick enough....

Ok lets forget everything Star Wars for a minute then answer the following question:

At the end of a new hope what do we know of the empire?

What did we learn about the empire over the course of the film?

So we learnt the empire is bad, is very big and has a bad man in a mask and a big ball that can blow sh 1t up. Oh and there is a holigram who seems to be in control.

Ok same question for force awaken

......and its the same answer

At the end of both films we know next to nothing about the origins or what exactly they are doing.

So why for the force awakens we feel we need this information yet for a new hope its ok?

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agree simon, that was kinda the point i was making, that TFA follows ANH in every way, but thats not a bad thing....

Guv thats my exact point. I said in an earlier post we knew so much more as we had 3 additional films, as well as books, games, cartoons etc.

So why can the force awakening not have this benefit of the doubt for now?

We have people complaining about "plot holes", and i can only assume they have no idea what a plot hole is as there were certainly none that i was aware of in the force awakens.

There were things not explained but that can potentially be levelled at any film in the history of time. Why do we need to know everything about everything?

But what exactly happened after jedi......irrelevant for this film, go get a book

But why isnt the Republic in 100% control of the entire universe.....again irrelevant

What happened to luke after jedi?......irrelevant for the majority of this film.

Basically this is the same as people watching Saving private Ryan and asking the following questions:

How is germany so strong and in charge of the whole of europe, as they were beaten just 20 years earlier?

What did the alliance do wrong they were in control?

Who is this hitler fella?

etc etc etc

Some interesting stuff from the script:

For awards consideration, Disney has released the screenplay for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to the Writers Guild, which provides new insight into the film's ending and other key plot points.

According to the script, the planet on which Rey (Daisy Ridley) meets Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) during the film's final moments is called "Ahch-to" and is said to feature a "pristine and mighty" ocean that is "dotted with random, beautiful, mountainous black rock islands," as well as "countless green trees." Not much is known about the planet, but /Film notes that Ahch-to is Hebrew for brother, which may be a clue as to Rey's relation to Luke.

The screenplay also makes it clear that Luke is well aware of who Rey is, saying Skywalker "doesn’t need to ask her who she is, or what she is doing here." It also describes Hamill's character has having "kindness in his eyes" despite the "tortured" feelings within.

The vision Rey has when first touching Luke's lightsaber is also detailed, confirming that Cloud City is shown in the opening flashes. Additionally, the script notes that the scene in which Luke is touching R2-D2 is indeed during the attack on his new Jedi Academy.

Additionally, the script confirms that Rey was left in the care of Unbar Plutt (Simon Pegg) when she was abandoned as a child on Jaku, saying: "Unkar Plutt’s meaty hand holds her thin arm" while the starship that brought her there flies off "towards the desert sun."

Adam Driver's Kylo Ren is also further detailed in the screenplay, which notes that Ren is "horrified" and "somehow weakened" when he kills his father Han Solo. Additionally the novelization confirms that Snoke informs Ren that Darth Vader's only weakness was the love he had for Luke, and that was the reason the dark side ultimately fell.

The script also emphasizes the fear felt within Ren during his battle with Rey, noting Ridley's character nearly killed him before she realized she was standing "on a greater edge than even the cliff — the edge of the dark side." As such, it's clear Rey also feels the pull of the dark side. In fact, the novelization says she hears an "amorphous" voice telling her kill Ren, which, according to the audio book, appears to be Supreme Leader Snoke.

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That wouldn't make Rey Force sensitive though as she wouldn't have the Skywalker bloodline

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But in the film it say 'my father has it, I have it and my sister has it, the force is strong in my family'

That would suggest it's the Skywalker bloodline IMO

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