Things that seemed to bother some people that didn’t bother me in the least:

1. Luke’s whole attitude/presentation. I mean, I know some were really hoping for him to be all big and bad. And apparently, he really DID try to teach others the Jedi ways. But if you think about it...he kinda exactly what his teachers modeled for him. Things got sucky so he pulled back and retreated. Granted, when Yoda and Obi-Wan did so....they knew there was hope out there in the forms of Luke and Leia. Luke, in this particular scenario, appears to have no fall back. Aside from that he’s already turned and lost his father, Yoda is gone, and Obi Wan is gone. His family line keeps failing over and over again. I think he perceives that perhaps this is a hint that the Skywalker family line isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Hmmm....

2. Everyone is complaining about Kylo Ren still. Yes, he’s whiny, at some points really rather annoying...

...but again, he’s part of that Skywalker line. Anakin had that same tendency, and so did Luke. Quite frankly, Leia was the only kick ass member of the family who just did what needed to be done and sucked it all up. (Girl power, yo!). And I still think in terms of baddies Kylo is, like his grandfather before him, a puppet who seems unaware of this...at least until the end of the film when Snoke pretty much tells him so. So we’ll see how that develops in the final entry. And how Kylo develops, too.

3. I saved the best for last. Rey may not be a Skywalker. Uhhh....so what?!? I guess I’ve done so much role play and read so many expanded universe books that I’m quite OK, even PLEASED, that she could be a NOBODY. It’s a big universe in Star Wars. Everything shouldn’t begin and end with the Skywalker line. THERE SHOULD BE OTHERS.

My concerns I’m having are with different things.

1. I feel the background knowledge required is a bit high. I feel the Original Trilogy or Prequel Trilogy can be watched in any order, either trilogy not individual movies. Core themes, relationships, even motivations are explained. With the new movies I keep getting the feeling that I needed to have watched the past movies, tv series, or book to truly understand what exactly is happening. By contrast with the OT or Prequel the EU enhanced the experience.

2. Threat of the First Order. It might just be me but the First Order seems less threatening or competent than the Empire. In the OT the Empire was fighting an enemy well versed in Guerrilla warfare, so it made sense the Empire could only bring a small fraction of its Forces to an engagement before the Rebels could escape, why the Rebels were able to escape from Hoth but why the battle at Endor had overwhelming numbers. Once again I feel the background knowledge is required to understand the current state of galactic affairs while the OT did a good job of framing the situation.

3. Technology, specifically the Hyperdrive. In TFA Han Solo uses the Hyperdrive to bypass a shield, in TLJ it is used to destroy a capital ship. Now I might be missing something about the interaction between hyperspace and real space, once again an extra source may explain it but that is more required knowledge. Ignoring that for a moment the idea that hyperdrives capable of such destruction should be exploited more often if that is a thing. Astronomic droids can plot and execute jumps, as a strategy would render large (SSD or bigger) obsolete. To expensive to produce vs how easy they are to kill.

I completely agree that the First Order, at this point, is not nearly as intimidating as the Empire. I think it has something to do with the fact that the First Order doesn’t seem to have a strong “villain” front. Both Kylo and General Hux are young, and don’t have the dark “presence” that Sidious and Vader did. I think Kylo still has potential to “grow” into this even with only one more episode left. We will see.