Star Wars prequel questions

[Pale Violet Light]

If episode 9 had been about Emperor Kylo Ren

Yeah, with Snoke down he was the only realistic option available. Once they decided to redeem Kylo Ren they were out of good villain options for the final film and I guess Palpy from nowhere was all they could come up with. Alternatively, having Rey fall to the dark-side (and maybe doing a hero/villain swap) could have been interesting, but they hadn’t really laid the groundwork for that.

 

[pukunui]

Yeah, with Snoke down he was the only realistic option available. Once they decided to redeem Kylo Ren they were out of good villain options for the final film and I guess Palpy from nowhere was all they could come up with. Alternatively, having Rey fall to the dark-side (and maybe doing a hero/villain swap) could have been interesting, but they hadn’t really laid the groundwork for that.

I mean, Rian Johnson kinda set up a Rey heel turn in The Last Jedi, when Luke admonishes her for not even hesitating to dive right into the dark side cave. He also tells her how her sheer power scares him and that he's only felt that way around one other person (presumably Palpatine). That said, Rey's just too optimistic and hopeful to go bad.

I reckon Ben's redemption was even more unearned than his grandfather's was. Anakin at least saved his son by sacrificing himself. It doesn't excuse all the horrible things he did as Vader, but it's better than Ben just kind of deciding he doesn't want to be bad anymore after Rey defeats him and then saves his life.

Having Ben turn back to the light to become a true Skywalker hero while Rey goes full-on Palpatine would've been interesting, but I think it would have been difficult to pull off.

 

[Maxperson]

As I recall Andor just opened full throttle in the sense that there was no narrative or foreshadowing to let you know what was going on. For me I had the feeling like I missed something. And seriously, after COVID my attention span and powers of comprehension are a lot less now, so that may have played a part. I didn't have the patience for the pay off and shut it off after maybe 10 minutes. Maybe I'll give it another chance.

I didn't have the patience for it, either.