TLJ is such a fascinating case study of what not to do in the middle act of a story. The film tore down everything the first film set up, and then left nothing to replace it with and handed it off to the next guy. There wasn't even a hook for TRoS when TLJ came out. In ESB there was Luke finding out Vader's his father, and rescuing Han Solo. In AoC it was knowing the next film was going to show the birth of Vader and the rise of the Empire. In TLJ though? The Resistance was done to like 20 people, and Kylo Ren was the new Supreme Leader, but the way they had portrayed Kylo in the first two films is a non threatening fool, who the protagonist can already match. Rey was also revealed as a Nobody, so the suspense of finding her parents was wiped off the table, and even though Rey Nobody worked for some people, for others it didn't. There was not a whole lot to look forward to.
As stupid as it was, you almost can't blame Lucasfilm for bringing back Palpatine given the situation. But what baffles me the most is how the powers that be didn't see the potential problems Rian Johnson's script created, and didn't move in to course correct.
