It was a little, but on the flip side why even make movies with these characters if not to provide that kind of thing? Prior to that scene, we'd never actually seen the Vader that is hinted at in the movies. So if you're going to have Vader in the movie I'd rather have him do that than lead a trade delegation or some shit. Similarly everyone is like "oh snap we will see Luke training new jedi and passing down the lessons he learned", no one wanted weird blue titty milk and mugging for the camera. Fan service can be a good thing.
The Vader scene is one of the truest Star Wars things on film. Rogue One is well crafted but relies purely on being a modern reset/arguably unnecessary prequel to 1977's Star Wars.
The new trilogy should have dealt with three things.
1. The conclusion of the character-driven Skywalker tale
2. The lore of the Force
3. Subtle awesome shit (not fake awesome shit)
VII-IX
Several years of fighting followed the Battle of Endor until the New Republic routed every last Imperial faction throughout the galaxy. It is thirty years after the fall of the Empire. It is a peaceful time. Luke Skywalker has restored the Jedi Order.
Younger new characters are naturally present, two of them are Kylo and Rey. Han, Luke and Leia are not supporting characters but the main ones.
A new threat unrelated to the Empire presents itself as the first movie unfolds. It is a small group, nothing like the First Order, led by someone unlike the Sith, Palpatine or Snoke. No poetry, no retreading, no generic ideas, the story is faithful to its universe while being tonally consistent with the previous films.
Episode VII begins with Han, Luke, Leia and the New Republic. Lando is part of the New Republic, likely military. Leia is not anymore. Instead she is in charge of the Jedi and their students. Han left his wife for the Falcon with the wookie. Luke is the protagonist of these films. Luke has been missing for years. Leia was with him when they restored the Jedi. She is now in charge.
Ben is not Kylo Ren yet but he's already getting there before the first movie begins. He has nothing to do with the new bad guys. Luke never tried to kill him, his parents also have nothing to do with his behavior. He is a petulant, weak, unstable kid obsessed with his grandfather. As the first movie unfolds he drops out, fashions for himself his suit and saber, which is jagged, imperfectly made and seems almost ready to explode at any minute. A dangerous weapon. He ends up killing his father but not during the first film.
Rey is a character on the other side of the galaxy. She's not an orphan, her parentage doesn't matter, but as she is weaved into the larger story she will have a very important role to play.
The first film is about the New Republic, the small new bad guys starting, Rey meeting the main cast of characters, leaving to find Luke, Han coming home and Ben becoming Kylo Ren.
During the second film the threat grows as Rey finds Luke. Years ago he discovered something and went to the remote world of the first Jedi to learn more about the prophecy of the chosen one, his father, about the ones who climbed the sky and the beginning and the end of the Force. Luke left to save the galaxy. He is stronger and wiser. He teaches Rey and the history of the Force is delved into for the first time in the series. The Force becomes the main focus of the entire trilogy. There is a secret between the history of the Sith and the Jedi.
The rest involves the good guys dealing with the bad guys until Kylo appears fully fledged, pretending to be a Knight of Ren and kills his father.
During the third film Kylo Ren is completely insane, like a petulant child if allowed to wield power. He kills the bad guys early and takes over. The rest of the movie is about him. Luke returns with Rey. Several Jedi die. Leia teaches Rey. Luke speaks to his predecessors. We learn more about the Force and Rey's connection. Luke fails and Rey kills Kylo on the ocean moon of Endor. Rey turns to the dark side, bringing with her the real return of the Sith.
The nonology's conclusion is concerned with the Skywalker family and the personal stories of the characters above all; the broader struggles between good and evil are peripheral. The story’s central ideas and conflicts are resolved as new ones emerge. The conclusion is full of brightness in the face of looming darkness. The series ends in rapture and tragedy, Luke dies fighting Darth Rey, the final action sequence on Korriban. His death is not in vain, his will and knowledge from Ahch-To and Tython change the future. The New Republic is in peril as the last Skywalker teaches new Jedi knights about the balance of the Force as a new war begins.
