WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in theaters now.
J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was expected to wrap up the Skywalker Saga's loose ends and answer all the lingering mysteries introduced in 2015's The Force Awakens. However, while it manages to do this, for the most part, there are still certain issues stirring up arguments and dividing the fan base the same way Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi did.
Now, while the debates may be for different reasons, a major problem is the many gaping plot holes contained in the narrative, such as C-3PO not being able to decode Sith language when he was built at a time when it wasn't forbidden. With that in mind, let's break down some of the others.
KYLO-REY'S FORCE-TIME
Kylo Ren and Rey have been able to communicate with each other using the Force in what's clearly a mystical version of FaceTime. They can speak to each other after connecting mentally and glean the surroundings of the other once they're linked. They can even touch each other and pull items off one another's bodies as the Force allows a sort of portal between these two strong users.
That said, it makes no sense how Rey couldn't be sensed on Kylo's warship when he comes searching for her on Kijimi. Kylo and the Knights of Ren sack the capital looking for her but the plot fails to connect him to her hotline at this point as she's trying to find a Sith compass known as a Wayfinder. Throughout the film, Kylo can sense her close by, so her sneaking around his chambers undetected is pretty convenient as he has a connection to the Darth Vader statue, which should have alerted him.
PALPATINE'S RETURN AND HIS FLEET
We never discover how Palpatine survived the reactor fall in Return of the Jedi, so it's hard to imagine how he could actually be back in this film. He should have been fried to death, which even George Lucas acknowledged, leaving fans wondering who brought the former Emperor back and hooked him up to life-saving machinery on Exogol.
Another major flaw is how he assembled his Final Order soldiers, who helped him engineer his clones in the first place and who built the new fleet of Death Star Destroyers. Seriously, there's no way he could have built this since the end of ROTJ without the Resistance knowing. Also, it's impossible for him to staff this massive fleet with loyalists as there weren't that many left after the Empire fell. To make matters worse, Allegiant General Pryde (Richard E. Grant) is said to have worked with Palpatine for years, although the character was never seen in previous films. We also have no clue how he and his minions magically teleport to Exogol to man Palpatine's ships.
KYLO AND THE KNIGHTS
While the Knights of Ren didn't get any screen time in The Last Jedi, they return in The Rise of Skywalker and are once more loyal to Kylo. After all, he's their leader, so of course they would follow his every word to the tee. That said, why would Kylo go after Rey on Kef Bir by himself when he could have used the Knights to aid him?
Rey defeats and nearly kills Kylo on the fallen Death Star as he speaks to her about the Dyad, but this could have been prevented had he not dropped the legion who swore fealty to him once more. They could have helped him subjugate Rey easily at a time when he clearly needed them the most.
THE WATERPROOF X-WING
We learned in The Last Jedi that Luke Skywalker retired his X-Wing by placing it underwater on Ahch-To. Rey, however, gets a shot to fly it when Luke's Force Ghost brings it up for her following a heart-to-heart to restore her faith in saving the galaxy after finding out Palpatine's her ancestor.
Still, this X-Wing was marooned underwater, abandoned for decades, so to see Rey just hop in it when it's clearly a waterlogged vessel is baffling. There's no way the engines should be running, and Luke himself stated in The Last Jedi that having a decommissioned ship with no chance of flying would keep him on the planet. Either Rey's an extraordinary mechanic or she's just lucky this ship is waterproof.
PALPATINE'S BIG MOVES
In the movie's finale, Palpatine's Force lightning turns into a storm, but once it stops, power is restored to all the freefalling ships. The lightning should literally have fried them, but with no logic in terms of science being applied, Abrams molded physics the way he wanted for dramatic effect. Furthermore, when Rey deflects his lightning, Palpatine keeps shooting it when all he has to do is stop so he won't fry himself.
His big scheme is flawed, as well, as he said he always wanted Rey at his side, yet, through numerous instances in the trilogy, his First Order and Kylo almost kill her. It's a bizarre plan as he also sends Kylo hunting after her once more, and the Supreme Leader almost succeeds in murdering her. Rey almost stayed on Ahch-To, as well, so there's no way Palpatine could have foreseen this in addition to her traveling to Exogol. His ideals are conflicting because he wants her to succeed him, then decides to kill her by conveniently draining her life essence when it's something Palpatine could have done all along.
LUKE KNOWING ABOUT REY
Luke's Force ghost admits he and Leia knew Rey was Palpatine's granddaughter but still decided to train her. This is a huge error because Luke repeatedly tried to shoo her away in The Last Jedi and showed no signs of knowing the girl's identity. If he did, he wouldn't have tried to let her go as she could have become a weapon of mass destruction for the Dark Side.
Moreover, Luke says Leia would want Rey to have her lightsaber, so why didn't he offer her it when he taught her on on Ahch-To? It's once more a forced retcon for emotional mileage because Luke would have given it to her for the war in the last movie. Having it there all this time simply doesn't fit his behavior and everything that came before.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is in theaters now.