I actually thought I mentioned that in my post but apparently I forgot -- the lack of a proper Luke lightsaber battle is fucking criminal. Instead we get this weird cocktease with a damn slow-mo Matrix-dodge. I have nothing against slow-mo in movies whatsoever, but it's not something I ever wanted in Star Wars. Call me a purist, but I like that the series has (had) little idiosyncracies that became "how Star Wars movies are". Even the flashback ruffled my feathers, though I think I could have dealt with that if served more than feeling like a shoe-horned twist.

And here's the thing -- I actually would have been FINE with the lack of a Luke vs Someone lightsaber battle if they had actually approached Luke's character in a different/better way. For example I'm one of the people who (retrospectively) dislikes that Yoda ever used a lightsaber, as it seemed beneath his character. But given the plot we did actually get, a good Luke vs Kylo fight (even if it ended with Luke doing the Obi-Wan-Kenobi "strike me down" trick) would've been...well, something.

@Wilshire
Your point about only light side users being capable of Force ghosting is interesting and along with the Sith-culture stuff is really the kind of shit I was hoping to see more of -- specifically, the lack any actual "Sith training" is an insane missed oppturtunity IMO, and could've been a cool way to flesh out the Sith and/or Dark side in general, while also serving as a sort of inverted version of Luke and Yoda in TESB.

I was also one of the people who (before the rumor was dispelled) would've actually not minded a Snoke-as-Plagueis twist. Despite the prequels being generally very poor movies, I do feel like there should be a little more continuity between trilogies. Beyond that, the notion of a reincarnating/immortal Force user whose been manipulating the galactic society for decades Dunyain-style has some potential in my mind (assuming it had, like, good writing and not another cackling, cartoonishly evil Big Bad), and it could've even helped handwave some of the series extant weird plot holes and/or lazy worldbuilding such as the similarity of the First Order to the Empire, or even why Kylo would decide to be trained by such an individual, given his Vader fanboyism.

Speaking of villains, the portrayal of Hux was borderline character assassination. I mean he wasn't anything amazing in TFA per se, but again, like Finn (or Rey, or Snoke) the character had plenty of potential for growth. Instead he became a receptacle for corny humor (because there wasn't enough of that already).

I thought that there were other Gods who can save souls.

My assumption on this is that while other Gods are able to save souls, Gilgaol and Yatwer can trump any of them, thus "saving" (or "seizing") whatever souls they wish. This sort of makes sense given that Yatwer (birth, life) and Gilgaol (war, death) are at the top of the metaphysical foodchain, and serve as the ultimate gears of the cosmic engine that keeps the cycle of souls running -- the same cycle which the No-God is intended to interrupt.

Honestly, the more I think about it the more disappointed I become.

I've loved Star Wars since childhood, was the perfect age when the prequels came out (was probably 8 or 9 when The Phantom Menace hit) in that I was able to enjoy them just for being SW movies and was not old enough to detect the flaws -- though I started feeling it by the time Revenge of the Sith came out. Regardless, this series looms larger in my life/memory than perhaps any other popular media, in terms of nostalgia and so forth. And there are certain things even from the prequels (Duel of the Fates) that to this day can give me goosebumps like nothing else. So yeah, I'm a pretty big fan, if perhaps not quite a "fanboy" or whatever.

When news that a new trilogy with the old cast was being made, it was borderline tear-inducing. As was the first teaser for TFA. For whatever reason, I'd just assumed that it would never happen and that I'd never see Luke Skywalker played by Mark Hamil on the big screen again. When TFA I came out I went in with measured hype, having been through enough of such experiences to be keep my expectations in check. Somewhat to my surprise, TFA exceeded my expectations -- it wasn't a perfect movie by any means, and it definitely stuck a bit too close to the ANH formula, but it otherwise succeeded handsomely in what is was trying to achieve. It actually FELT like a Star Wars movie, I liked all the new cast members, and Kylo Ren in particular was already the most nuanced villain in a Star Wars movie thus far. I went out of the theater genuinely satsifed and very excited to see where things would go from here. That was only amplifie when I learned that Rian Johnson, literally one of my favorite directors, was announced to do TLJ. Beforehand, were you to ask me who I'd like to direct it, I'd probably have said RJ. It was a dream come true, so I thought...

In contrast to how I felt walking out of TFA, or I walked out of TLJ wondering what exactly I'd just seen. I knew that I wasn't feeling it, but it was a long movie with a lot of scenes and I was still (and still am) absorbing it. But later that night as I kept thinking about it, I realized that I actually don't really even care that much about the next movie. I'll certainly see it, and I'd love to be surprised by how it turns out, but TLJ in my opinion did more damage to the series than any of the prequels (though I would not say that this was a worse movie than them).

There are many issues I have with the film, almost all of them regaring character development and the incoherence of the plot, as well some of the "expansions" to the lore and worldbuilding, but honestly it all comes down to Luke and Rey. I'm utterly baffled at the decisions made to the depiction of Luke -- I mean, I think I get what the premise was for the character at his stage, but the execution of it was so sloppy and off-putting that it ruins what potential was there, which is actually the case for almost everything about the movie. I think the film is brimming with great ideas, yet almost none of them hit the mark. The only characters I felt were actually well done with a coherent arc and journery are Poe, Leia, and to some extent Kylo, who remains IMO the most compelling new element of the entire trilogy. Furthermore, there's such a palpable sense of dissonance between where TFA left off, and where this movie decided to go, that it gives the impression that there is not, in fact, any sort of game plan for the series at all (which to my knowledge is not actually the case).

My biggest issue aside from Luke's depiction and characterization is that this film BARELY progressed the characters past where they were in TFA. Finn for example, who was probably the second most compelling character in TFA for me, had almost no meaningful development whatsoever. It's almost like you could learn everything you need to know from the opening text crawl of the next movie without feeling lost at all.

I do agree with what many have said, which is that it seems like the movie was preoccupied with going in unexpected directions for the series (a sentinment I'm 100% on board with, by the way) that it forgot to make sure those directions led to satisfying conclusions, nor even produce a competent film in general. It feels like a collection of wasted oppurtunities and good ideas that are not properly executed.

I'm actually more excited for whatever Rian Johson's other SW trilogy is going to be (assuming he still gets the job) than I am for the next film. I think that if the trilogy is fully separated from the main series (perferably by being something akin to KotoR, set in the ancient history of the SW universe), then they could be great. I already know RJ is an excellent director and writer, and TLJ is the only movie of his I don't love, so I still have hopes for getting good stories in the SW universe, even if I'm mildly heartbroken about this installment.

This is the best fucking thing ever. Thank you Tleilaxu for posting, much obliged.

This is amazing. I wanted a good reference for a while now, both for self-improvement but also trying to get better characterization in my writing.

I like to attribute specific cognitive biases to characters that are appropriate to their personality and the narrative, etc., but the list of specific biases that I actually know about off the top of my head is pretty short.

Also kinda funny since, as a borderline wikipedia-addict, I've tried using the page on cognitives biases before as a cheat sheet, but as the article say it's not the most complete or intuitive. This one's great.

Oooh this is awesome. Three-Body Problem rivals Blindsight as one of my favorite SF novels ever and also one of the most enlightening/frightening explorations of how alien contact could go south in ways totally unexpected and unrelated to "aliens are bad and just wanna kill everybody". In fact Three-Body Problem maybe even more-so than Blindsight, as the issues potentially stemming from relativity are ones that are basically inevitable if mankind is ever to colonize interstellar space. Don't even need the aliens for shit to get real hairy right off the bat.

Ah, the Cipher of Serwe...

Considering most of Earwa (which is full of naive, ignorant people) is Damned, the idea that Serwe is also -- unfairly -- Damned, does not strike me as an unrealistic possibility.

My thoughts? In the Circumfix, Serwe was the Jesus figure, and Kellhus was her Prophet, not the other way around as most presume.

Afterall, the one miracle in the series occurred there, and it was SERWE's --no Kellhus's -- heart that Kellhus inexplicably retrieved, the blood dripping from it literally cracking the ground.

Wonder whatever happened to that heart...