I really liked TLJ, even if a whole bunch of the story was driven by no one stepping in and stopping Poe's bad choices train, and the plot for Rose and Finn being kinda pointless.

Apparently I am good with shirtless Adam Driver? Look, I don't understand it either, but dang, the dude is impressive. And with leather pants!

Some of my favorite parts were snarky ghost!Yoda setting fire to the Jedi history, Leia using THE GODDAMN FORCE, how Snoke's death happened, Luke and Leia together "at the end", and the fact that Rey is not a Skywalker. I really like the fact that she's a random nobody who is Force-sensitive.

I was really damn amused that none of the shippers got what they wanted from this movie. Rey + Kylo? Teased, but denied! Rey + Finn? Hey look, there's Rose!, Rey + Poe? They only just met at the end of this movie! Honestly, the only ship that comes out of this with any sort of push, in a hatesex sort of way, is Kylo + Hux.

And now I can go safely wander the internet again.

Aesthetically speaking, I was good with that part, too, Jilli.

yeah, but Rey + Poe is clearly happening next movie. Right?

God, I hope not.

I think I would argue that the Finn and Rose subplot wasn't pointless, but I'm not sure how to articulate it. First of all, the black guy and the Asian woman had their own plot, which in itself is a big deal. Second, it was a side of the universe that we haven't really seen at all, I think. The high rollers, the people living large off the misery of others. That spark that Holdo and then Poe talked about -- for Finn and Rose, seeing those people, that inequality and that complete disinterest, help rekindle that spark.

And it's a reminder that even at the end, when no one comes to help the Resistance, it doesn't mean that they're alone. There are still places where that spark is burning. It just isn't strong enough to burst into flame yet.

I agree that the Finn/Rose side quest was poorly executed compared to the rest of the film, but it's important to putting the Force battles in context of what the Rebellion is supposedly fighting for. The only excuse I have for Maz giving them such a shitty quest in the first place is that she was running from active gunfire and not thinking very clearly.

You're right I totally misspoke on the Finn & Rose side plot being pointless. It did show a lot of things that needed showing, and oh! The kids. The kids were great. But it was VERY badly executed and was one of the things that threw off the pacing of the movie.

In other movie pacing opinions, I am so over big long fight scenes, of any type.

I didn't mean to argue with you specifically, Jilli. It's a very common opinion I've seen expressed, and like I said, I've been trying to figure out how I felt about it.

I feel like when Finn says "it was worth it" and when Rose says "now it was worth it" they are both right, even if it ultimately does not help the Resistance escape the First Order. So, not pointless.

Also, I know it was a long movie and I have seen numerous comments about pacing problems, but I did not check my phone once to see how much time we had left so I can't buy into any of that.

I didn't mean to argue with you specifically, Jilli.

Don't worry, I didn't feel argued with! It was a point that didn't occur to me originally, and I wanted to acknowledge that.

Right about the point where Luke astrally projected (with a haircut and beard trim) to fight Kylo, I leaned over to Tim and whispered "Jesus, this is long!" I'm usually not aware of movies' length, but TLJ was too long for me.