Episode IX The Legacy of the Sith

Apologia Part 1: Storycraft-Nuts and Bolts

A/n:  This postscript is as originally posted in June 2016.  Any alterations will be noted.

As with the last novella and because this is Star Wars, there will be disputes about some of the decisions I made with the storytelling. I will try to explain why I wrote what I did, and defend some things if possible. Although I am well aware that there are problems, some concepts being difficult to handle. Where I can, I will try to concede the difficulties, but try to defend why they were necessary. I do expect the novella to stand on its own apart from this section, but I want to offer an explanation for some choices I made to those that would wonder why. I welcome any critiques as well, as I am active in trying to correct mistakes and missteps, and some input has already made both of these novellas better.

So here are a few of the questions I hope to deal with. There is a lot here so feel free to read only what interests you.

Topics for Appendix One:

Rey's lineage not being very impressive and issues with Ren.

The heavy use of flashbacks instead of using historical dialogue and "dummy scenes".

The early death of Hux and another First Act death.

The lack or reduced focus on previous characters... Boba Fett, Chewbacca, Leia, et al.

Yoda's place in the story.

Crazy concepts that are in Star Wars canon. And deviations from canon, yes I did deviate.

I discussed a little of this in the Postscript discussion of Rise of the Dark Jedi under "Why isn't Luke Rey's Father." But it demands a deeper explanation after the new information in this novella. Again we must remember, the Skywalker lineage is the only lineage in the Star Wars canon where this idea of fatherhood is important. And also consider that the idea of lineage is already present with Ben Solo, so to have Rey's parents be impressive Force users would be to double-up on that idea. Furthermore, the Skywalker line is not always the most powerful. I hate to burst a bubble here, but Obi-Wan had no special lineage and he beat Anakin Skywalker at the height of his power. And Mace Windu (with no known lineage) defeated Darth Sidious, technically. Even Yoda had a difficulty fighting Darth Sidious and Windu came out on top in that fight (for a moment).

Having said that, I hope that eliminates a few questions about Rey's father right off the bat. His villainy was intentionally not based on his use of the Force or his lightsaber skills, but rather on his duplicitous nature, a theme that is worked in throughout the novella in both Ben and Rey's character arcs.

The flashback storyline.

For those only familiar with the Star Wars movies, it may appear strange that I would use flashbacks for the storytelling since the previous movies never do. It is true, the only time anything out of chronological order occurs in the movies it is restricted solely to Force visions. But in the greater canon, this is not so. Flashbacks are used heavily in the novel Tarkin, and even more so in the comic "Kanan, the Last Padawan."

Flashbacks have a very good narrative advantage. For complicated histories, the explanatory dialogue will bog down the progression of the story. Short histories don't need flashbacks for that same reason believe it or not. But J. J. Abrams has a way of storytelling that is purposeful in giving you unanswered questions and complicated histories. The most obvious example being the show "Lost" which heavily used flashbacks, and even time travel to show the past. It should not then surprise us if flashbacks then are an effective way to propel this narrative, Abrams being the force behind The Force Awakens. But I will touch on more of that in a later question.