Summary
- The Rise of Skywalker missed the mark with its Sith planet Exegol, but Jedi: Survivor's plot fixed this problem by creating a more logical and cohesive story.
- The plot of The Rise of Skywalker, centered around Exegol, was a weakness as it lacked mystery and wasted time building up to something already seen.
- Jedi: Survivor successfully followed a similar plot to The Rise of Skywalker with the planet Tanalorr but executed it better by effectively setting it up throughout the story and creating a satisfying final level.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker missed the mark with its Sith planet, but Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's plot managed to fix this problem. The Rise of Skywalker was rushed and packed with too much information, but the biggest issue was the central plot tying the story together. The story centered around the mysterious Sith planet Exegol, but the story's execution left much to be desired.
Thankfully, Jedi: Survivor learned from The Rise of Skywalker's mistakes to create a more logical and cohesive story. The game addressed questions that The Rise of Skywalker failed to answer and placed the characters in a position that made the story more exciting. To fully appreciate what Jedi: Survivor got right, it's crucial to understand what The Rise of Skywalker got wrong.
The Rise Of Skywalker's Exegol Plot Was A Massive Problem
The Rise of Skywalker centered around the heroes searching for Exegol, but this was the movie's greatest weakness. Kylo Ren found Exegol in the first scene, making it odd when Rey goes on a quest to find it. Palpatine and Exegol would have been more impactful if they were a mystery and the heroes and villains were in a race to discover it first. This was Colin Trevorrow's original plan for Episode IX, with Duel of the Fates focusing on Rey and Kylo searching for Mortis. As it stands, The Rise of Skywalker wastes a lot of time building up to something the audience has already seen.
Another confusing aspect was why getting to Exegol was so challenging. The characters had to use a Sith Wayfinder to fly through the Red Honeycomb Zone, but the nebula didn't surround the entire planet. The movie never explains why the character couldn't acquire the coordinates and find a route around the nebula. The First Order could have attempted to do so instead of trying to fly 10,000 Star Destroyers through a nebula called the "Ship Eater." With such a bizarre plot littered with unanswered questions, it's no wonder that Exegol became a problem in The Rise of Skywalker.
Jedi: Survivor's Abyss Follows A Similar Exegol Plot - But One That Works
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has a similar plot to The Rise of Skywalker, but this one succeeds where Exegol failed. Jedi Knight Cal Kestis and his friends were searching for the planet Tanalorr that could serve as a hiding place for those on the run from the Empire, but this sanctuary was located in the Koboh Abyss nebula. The heroes and the villains were searching for the planet, which needed an Abyss com for safe navigation, raising the stakes for who would find it first. While a few flashbacks showed Tanalorr during the High Republic era, none of the characters knew exactly what they would find.
The game's final level is more satisfying because Tanalorr was set up effectively throughout the story. The nebula also surrounded the planet, so going on a quest to find an Abyss com was necessary to get there. Jedi: Survivor fixed all the problems with The Rise of Skywalker's Exegol plot while creating a well-paced and emotionally engaging story. Exegol may not have a future after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but since Tanalorr is hidden in the Abyss, there's no telling what its fate is after Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
