| Mandalore76 said:
I don't disagree with you. However, the opening crawl and the dialogue still states that the Republic has been "decimated". Is it sloppy story telling? Sure. But, it's par for the course in Disney's chosen narrative for their Star Wars trilogy. Where did The First Order come from? Unexplained. Why is there still a Rebellion after the establishment of The New Republic. Unexplained. Why isn't The New Republic at war with The First Order? Unexplained. They leave it up to the viewer to dig up the answers outside the films. Here is what I found (I'm guessing this comes from the books that have been published in the last few years which Disney says are canon): "A peace treaty was signed that ended both the Empire and the Rebellion. Mon Mothma formally established the New Republic and passed the Military Disarmament Act, ensuring that the new government would have neither troops nor starships. As her term ended, Leia also became aware that a mysterious organization, the First Order, was gaining strength in the outer reaches of the galaxy. In an attempt to counter this new threat, aware that the New Republic could not become a military force, she began gathering allies into a small and private group. They called it the Resistance. In order to establish the first Resistance Base, the group decamped to a planet called D’Qar, a planet that had been scouted decades before by the Rebel Alliance. This is where Leia and her followers were as they watched the First Order blow up the New Republic. As “The Last Jedi” begins, there is no government in the galaxy, and the First Order is on the march." https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/watching/star-wars-resistance-rebellion.html According to that, The Republic in The Force Awakens has no military whatsoever. So, when the capital and Senate get blown up by The First Order in The Force Awakens, that's pretty much it for the Republic. There's no organized military machine in place to prevent The First Order from seizing control. And no Republic fleet to send aid anywhere. There is just Leia and her Rebels. |
I figured the First Order was a remnant of the Empire licking its wounds and rebuilding its strength after defeat. I never did get the dynamics of the galaxy in VII so I had to look up what planets got destroyed. I know people hated the politics of the prequels, but two three minute scenes of Leia explaining the need to organize to a Prime Minister and the threat of the First Order would have helped lay the ground work real quick.
Scene 1 - Prime Minister Office (Establish planet of New Republic to call back to when it gets blown up)
"You're no longer a General, Princess Organa, the days of war have long passed"
"Prime Minister, the Empire was driven to the Outer Rim, but they have been regrouping and we have reports they've begun taking systems. We should prepare to meet them when the time comes."
"I'll not hear paranoid delusions that could sink us into debt or conflict, we will not escalate matters, the fleet will remain decommissioned. Now, i have work to attend to, good day."
Scene 2 - Meeting with others at old Rebel base
"We are here because we've seen this before, and we now we must prepare."
"What we are doing could get us all in lots of trouble, the New Republic specifically banned systems from arming ourselves."
"They are free to come and try to stop us, I sense the intent (Leia senses Ben) of the First Order, there will be war, and soon."
"Very well, we can begin immediately fixing up the old ships we still have from the rebellion."
These are not great, I'll confess, I'm no writer, but they do quickly convey the situation to the audience and how things can play out the way they do. Give parallels to World War II and appeasement process.
