Finally got a chance to watch TLJ again last night, and I have to say I am more impressed with many story directions Johnson chose to take which will account for a great deal of growth for characters in episode 9, should Abrahms follow the set course.
While TLJ was primarily Rey and Luke's movie, I think the most growth will come from The secondary characters. Many people felt Poe, Finn and Rose's storyline was pointless, but I disagree. Their story led them to make choices that were nearly catastrophic for the Resistance, because they chose to not trust their leadership and take matters into their own hands, and ultimately mutiny, leading to the almost total decimation of the Resistance. Had Holdo's plan been allowed to unfurl without Poe and Finn interfering, the Resistance would have snuck away, taking refuge on the mineral planet leaving the FO to continue chasing the flag ship. This failure, I think will especially help to groom Poe into becoming more of a leader in the following film.
I also enjoyed how Ben Solo is shown as being not all black or white. I think his story shows how even good people can be lousy parents. Kylo is a severely damaged person, his parents probably more occupied by trying to rebuild the republic, rather than be attentive parents. His dark thoughts, which everybody has from time to time, led to what appeared to be the ultimate betrayal by his Uncle. What other direction could his character realistically take? Abandoned or betrayed by his family, he succumbed to the machinations of Snoke.
I actually found the lack of a cliffhanger to be refreshing, it gives a lot of room to the characters and story, as it's less clear what their next step in the Story is, the next step that I will be eager to see in the next movie.
Not new thoughts really, but just thinking about it more since watching it last night.
