Another Star Wars Digression

Say what you will about Episodes VIII, IX, and X. I highly enjoyed them if for no other reason than the sheer insanity of the story. It was like watching a live-action cartoon in its ambition. Some things worked, some didn't. But one thing that still strikes me is the audacity of Rian Johnson's writing.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Keeping in mind what came before and that Johnson would only helm one film in the series, The Last Jedi contains some of the most aggressive storytelling I've ever encountered. First, Leia is given an insane new force power to move through space for the sole purpose of saving her own life (and putting the next crew in the precarious position of figuring out what to do with the late Carrie Fisher's role). Then we find out that Rey's parents, the mysterious identities of whom had so far been built up as an integral part of the story, were nobodies. I actually laughed when Snoke was dispatched, at how sudden and unceremoniously such a seemingly significant character was killed off. Narratively speaking, nearly everything that had been built up in The Force Awakens was torn down.

Don't get me wrong, I had a good time with TLJ, and I love that the people working on it had the guts to pursue such bonkers ideas. But taken together, I can't help but come to the conclusion that Johnson was purposely boxing the next writers into a corner, daring them to figure out a way to put the world's broken pieces back together.​