Final Part: Game Changers
“This is not going to go the way you think.” This line, spoken by Luke Skywalker, was paraphrased frequently in the lead up to the release of The Last Jedi, much to the delight of the Star Wars fans who felt dejected after the near remake that was The Force Awakens. I was certainly ready for something new. Something game changing. Likewise, I felt very much the same for Infinity War. The Mad Titan was coming, and there was not a chance that some of my favourite superheroes were going to come out of the film alive.
If it isn’t already abundantly clear, Infinity War didn’t disappoint in this regard. Though some have criticised the film for its relation to the potential contents of future films – i.e. some people believe that the next Avengers film will undo the ending to Infinity War – I personally feel that the onus is on those future films to not undermine the plot, not on Infinity War to make itself non-underminable.
Of course, The Last Jedi did disappoint. Though the film certainly wasn’t what I was expecting (I was expecting to enjoy it) the implication that it would be a game changer turned out to be a giant red herring.
Granted, a number of characters died, but none of them played an important role in this arc of the story. Luke wasn’t present during The Force Awakens and didn’t fulfil his duty as mentor in The Last Jedi. The only real impact he had on the film was pissing off Ren for a bit at the very end. His death lacked substance, as he had been functionally dead since the credits rolled in Return of the Jedi.
As for Snoke? Well, apart from his death being utterly stupid (how did he not realise that the force was being used right next to him when he managed to connect the same two force users from across the galaxy moments earlier!!!) his impact on the films is also minimal. Ren already had a mentor in the form of his idealization of Darth Vader, and had already been taught about the force by Luke; Snoke was all but unnecessary.
Even when taken as a whole, The Last Jedi does very little to shake up or even progress the story. The rebels get fewer in number, a couple of impactless named characters die, and… err… that’s about it I think.
