This is something that baffles me especially after your other two comments regarding Yoda and the Force powers. First of all, regardless of canocity, the ability to impact the physical realm after death is a part of the Force as a concept, dating back to ROTJ drafts, and the ROTS novel. So, this isn't as left field as many would like to believe.
As it was never used in a movie, that doesn't mean THAT much. Of course now that it HAS been used in a movie, it means a lot. I see it as a completely new Force ability, introduced in Episode VIII--as we have no evidence in the movies or cartoons of this ever existing before. I'm not knocking the decision--it's an interesting concept, but if Yoda can be dead and cause lightning, then why can't he stop Snoke himself?
It introduced a new cast of characters who will carry the series forward from this point on.
I realized something just as I was writing the first part of my post, this being the end of the "Skywalker Saga" doesn't have to mean it's the end of the core series. With Luke dead, and Leia and Kylo Ren possibly dying here, it could just be that there won't be any Skywalkers left by end of the movie. The series could then continue on with Rey, Finn, and Poe, but with no Skywalkers around it can't really be "The Skywalker Saga" at that point.
These are all creative decisions, but think it about it from a story point of view. What this trilogy has done is basically say that the original trilogy was pointless. Can't win, don't try. All the sacrifices of the first trilogy were in vain. The heroes of the original trilogy were tossed aside like garbage because "out with the old, in with the new."
I think this was a terrible way to move forward. They just are essentially repeating the same story, but in a way that invalidates the original trilogy. You can introduce new characters and new challenges without stepping on the toes of the originals. It's been done in other franchises, with no better example than the TV run of TNG. Of course, TNG was set about a century later, but if you want a more recent example, Dallas on TNT brilliantly updated the original show, while keeping the original characters relevant AND introducing new characters. The only reason JR died on the show was because Hagman died in real life. Ultimately, Star Wars, in my opinion, has very much failed in moving forward in part because they have merely used these two movies to swat away the characters that made the franchise great in the first place.
And creatively--why should there be no more Skywalkers? It's a bloodline that centered the whole franchise and they are fascinating. This is a creative decision pre-Episode VII. Why only one child for Han and Leia? Why turn him evil? Why not have multiple Skywalker offspring, including a son or daughter of Luke? Luke was almost unrecognizable in the last movie. Creative decision, but ultimately, character assassination.
Secondly, based upon your own arguments, Luke's death can't be stupid, because he can come back and still wield influence. He does what Obi-Wan does except he uses the Force for knowledge and defense, and never for attack, demonstrating a fulfillment of the Jedi's ideals around the Force. The fact that he died is insignificant because, as Yoda says, "Luminous beings we are. Not this crude matter." To put it rather bluntly, if Luke's death is stupid, then so is Obi-Wan's and Yoda's.
That's IF they use him that way. Until the last movie, we had no evidence that a Force ghost could do anything significant. They mostly showed up, dropped a few lines of wisdom, and left. Yoda was no more than a cameo in this movie, but what he did with the lightning is pretty significant. Luke's death WAS stupid because all he did was die. Yoda died of natural causes. That's not stupid. Obi Wan sacrificed himself so Luke could escape.
Had Obi Wan lived though, he might have been a much more powerful force for good in the original trilogy. An interesting thought.
In that trilogy, all Obi Wan really did was take a dive, and give Luke a few pieces of wisdom.
But Luke? He wasn't in any physical danger. He wasn't an old man. He just died for no reason, and the audience was cheated out of seeing him have a legit fight. Everything was set up. You had Snoke as a worthy opponent for Luke and of course Kylo as an opponent for Rey. But they went another direction.
But if Luke could disappear as a young man, whose body took no physical damage, why couldn't he REAPPEAR? It's never been done, but it could be something new.
It would even establish Luke as being able to do something that even Yoda couldn't do.
You used a Yoda quote--"luminous beings we are, not this crude matter." Fair enough, but by that logic, why would any force user want to be alive? Just master the Force and kill yourself, so you can be free from your body--unless a body does serve a purpose, which is should.
Nope. The best case scenario is that they make the argument for peace with the First Order, and discover a new threat that requires them to join forces in order to defeat it. The best cause is a peaceful resolution, not wholesale destruction. It also sets up a new trilogy if there is another threat to deal with. No, not the Vong.
I am more accepting of the idea that Leia could fly like Mary Poppins in space than the idea that they could establish peace with the First Order. The First Order is a brutal, evil empire, that has been totalitarian in its rule and put a boot to the face of the galaxy. While a common enemy idea does have intrigue, there's nothing to suggest that will happen. Besides, given the balance of power, the First Order is far more suited to deal with a major enemy alone. The Resistance can help a little, but it would be like the Russia and China going to war, and getting contribution from the Beligian military. The rebels/resistance, by comparison, are not even close to equals to the Empire/First Order.
Your idea of a new enemy would have been more interesting in THIS trilogy. But based on the first two movies, we have learned that the rebellion of the first trilogy accomplished nothing. These people are literally no better than the worst of the original trilogy, and now they are just being killed off.
