The Last Jedi is about character growth, like it or not

[Spoilers, of course]

The interesting thing to me, with regard to the newest movie of the Star Wars anthology, is how many of the criticisms of the film exist because viewers don't like the fact that director Rian Johnson actually made a film rather than another episode of Star Wars.

After seeing The Force Awakens, most viewers said "that was good, I can't wait to see what happens next" whereas after The Last Jedi, anticipation for the 9th movie in the series has been blunted, because there was so much to digest from this movie. While this movie indeed carried on the overarching story, it was also an excellent thematic lesson in and of itself. The themes that the movie bore, most notably of failure and the ability to grow from those failures, allowed characters to develop beyond the archetypes we had already been accustomed to.

Let's take a look at two criticisms in particular, and I'll try to put your mind at ease. First, and most damning, is perhaps the one that came from Mark Hamill himself, who said he disagreed with how Luke Skywalker was portrayed in The Last Jedi, because the Luke he knew would never give up in the face of adversity like the fall of Ben Solo. Never mind the fact that most Star Wars fans remember his origins as a whiny farm boy, but his earlier failures are central to the plot of this particular movie.

If you need any help with this concept, Yoda is there to help spell it out explicitly for you (Aside - the criticism that Yoda seemed to have been shoehorned in to this movie also remain unfounded, because he is so integral to the moral to this story). In order to teach, one must pass along strengths, but also weaknesses and failure. Too late, Luke learned the dangers of hubris, which the Jedi's failures a generation ago should have passed on to him. Now, understanding these lessons, he can and did share those with Rey, and used Kylo Ren's own arrogance and anger against him, in order to stall for time for the Resistance.

A broader question, aside from the implications of the Force and the Jedi, is what the heck did the Finn/Rose story have to do with anything? Many people have said that they would have been ok with their story line had they been successful, but frankly, they had to fail. The point of their mission was to fail.

There were three important characters that needed to be a part of this story line. The first is Poe Dameron, who slowly saw the light as the movie progressed. He achieved an early success, destroying a dreadnaught in the opening scenes of the movie, but was reprimanded for the high cost of the attack. Shortly thereafter, an attack on the bridge killed most of the top leadership, including Admiral Ackbar, and severely wounded Leia (in a scene that I am growing more comfortable with) putting Admiral Holdo in charge, as a character that Poe did not know or trust.

Holdo had the best intentions in mind, but Poe remained unconvinced, and dispatched Finn and Rose on their mission to Canto Bight. Ultimately, he learned that patience would have been rewarded, and his brashness led to a further decimation of the resistance as transports were destroyed after the betrayal of the coder. By the end of the movie, on Canto Bight, Poe made two decisions that showed he now understood the value of assessing potential costs with gains, and patiently waiting for all information to come available.

The second character is more obviously Finn. Upon awaking from a medical stasis, he immediately wants to know the status of Rey. To him, the galaxy is mostly about him, and the woman who first ever treated him like a human being. His goal upon encountering Rose was to take the tracking beacon away from the Resistance fleet.

Being sent to Canto Bight with Rose opened his eyes to the plight in the galaxy. Yes, he could not fight those that he did not hate, but now, he learned that the Resistance wasn't fighting because they hated the First Order, necessarily, but because people like the stable hands needed the support of those stronger than them. By the end of the movie, the cause for Finn was no longer vengeance or self preservation, but doing right for those that needed help. Rose put it best when she told him that the war would be won by protecting who they love, not killing who they hated.

And that brings us to Rose, who was introduced to us in this movie, and might just be the most underappreciated character in The Last Jedi. Really, she is at the heart of where I think the franchise is headed. She is the every-woman, brought up from the lowest rungs of society to a mechanic's role in the Resistance. She comes from nowhere, like Rey, but without the sensitivity to the Force. In a movie that lays bare the failures of the doctrinal Force teachings, her heart and determination are the characteristics that drive any success in this movie.

That, I believe, is where this franchise is heading with episode 9. The only Skywalkers left are Leia and Kylo Ren. This franchise, then, is no longer about the Skywalkers, but rather about the Galaxy. The Force is guided by the Light and the Dark, but the Galaxy, like humanity, has Good and Evil at his poles. Unlike the Force, which requires balance, inherent Good doesn't require Evil to rise to its equal. This movie sets up the possibility of so many stories outside the characters we know, and sets up a climax in which the Galaxy, not necessarily a particular character or bloodline, prevails.

College football is still broken

Do you know how I know that college football is broken? The college football playoff remains an absurd, arbitrary  waste of time. There was, as I'm sure most everyone has heard, a vociferous debate as to whether or not the Alabama Crimson Tide should claim the final spot, or the Ohio State Buckeyes.
I think for most people who watch the games and have followed the season, and those that just want the best teams in the playoffs, it was an easy choice. Alabama is a more talented team than Ohio State, and deserved a spot in the playoffs over the Buckeyes.
Of course, if you think that what a team accomplished during the season is what should qualify a team for the playoffs, then Ohio State should be in the playoffs, as they were in the Big Ten Championship. But then, if winning during the season is important, what disqualified UCF, who was undefeated? And why was Wisconsin viewed so begrudgingly?
And if winning a conference was so damn important, why wasn't Auburn even considered? Alabama didn't even win their own division, falling behind their cross state rivals. Georgia, who won the SEC, did indeed make it to the playoff, but then they skipped over the runner up to get to the next best team, because people just said they were better.
That's why UCF wasn't considered, by the way. There was no way they could have made playoff, no matter how well they played, because they were in the wrong conference. If the ultimate goal was a national championship, then UCF wasted their time. So much for "proving it on the field".
Sure, there is still a four team playoff, but getting there is still fairly arbitrary. This year proved that college football still needs to be mended. If the third place team in a conference gets into the playoff when conference champs are dismissed out of hand, or a team has no means to get to the finale through their own virtue.
If fans or the NCAA want to crown a champion, they need to ensure that every team has a legitimate chance at that championship. The only way to do this, and I've said it thousands of times, is to automatically include every conference champion in a playoff at a bare minimum, before adding wild cards or at larges.
That's 10 conferences. Add a pair of wild cards (so Wisconsin and Alabama this year) to round it out at 12, and THEN let it be played out on the field. Otherwise, the national championship is still just a beauty pageant, and the most enjoyable tactic for fans of particular teams is to keep interest provinicial and follow the home town team or alma mater. UCF won American Conference. Wisconsin won the Big Ten West. Auburn won the Iron Bowl. That should matter, and it's more fun when it does.