we know, from way back when luke did it first. and better.

Utter rubbish.

So Return of the Jedi was pointless then...

Yet another reason to consider the sequels little more than expensive fan films (except that fan films usually try to respect and stay in line with the source material).

This all goes back to Abrams wanting to recreate the Star Wars of his youth. He wanted rebels and stormtroopers and Sith Lords, regardless of whether or not it made sense to have them. All the trilogy does is undermine what had come before. Sure, Johnson created a complete nonsensical mess of a film with Last Jedi but Abrams efforts are just as stupid.

The sequels should have focused on something new. The Force is in balance, the Jedi are rising once again to protect the restored Republic, there have been 30 years of peace and prosperity in the galaxy but from somewhere outside the galaxy, a new threat arises, one that views Jedi and Sith alike as heretics unworthy of wielding the power of the Force. Maybe they're remnants of the Force god civilisation, returning to claim the galaxy as their own or maybe they are some kind of cult, out to destroy the presence of Force in the galaxy itself by destroying all life and it's up to the Skywalkers, direct descendants of the Force and it's chosen champions, to defend and protect the Force and the galaxy.

I dunno, I'm spitballing ideas but the point is, any sequel trilogy should have acknowledged and respected what had come before rather than seek to undermine it. Hearing the voice of Hayden Christensen telling Rey to bring balance to the Force "as I did" felt like a real insult to the story Lucas created and told. The Force had been out of balance for thousands of years, ever since the days of the first Sith. Anakin was supposed to end that imbalance by destroying the Sith...turns out he failed. Ugh.