Episode IX: Brilliant, but flawed

So jealous that Germans got to see it before Americans

This review contains no spoilers.

The Rise of Skywalker exceeds expectations on nearly every important front:

1. Working wonders with footage from the cutting room floor of Episodes VII & VIII, the filmmakers give Princess Leia the sendoff she deserves.
2. The characters of Rey and Kylo Ren — and their complex relationship — develop in fascinating, rewarding, and often surprising ways.
3. Emperor Palapatine has never been more menacing and compelling as a villain.
4. At long last, Lando Calrissian returns!
5. An unexpected cameo by a character from the original trilogy steals the show.
6. The saga comes to a worthy, resounding, satisfying conclusion.
7. Episode IX ranks among the finest films in the franchise.

The film’s overall excellence makes it easy to tolerate the inevitable clichés and a flat notes, but that much harder to accept the two things it gets profoundly wrong: Rose and Poe.

Rose Tico emerged as a major character in Episode VIII. In a saga crowded with stock heroes (noble knights, dashing rogues, stunning princesses), Rose represented a refreshing change of pace: a humble maintenance worker, quirky and charming, played by an Asian-American actress who is not a…