Why didn't the Star Destroyers right next to the dreadnought at the start of the movie shoot down the bombers? Why bother showing a fleet at all if you're going to treat ships as though they were alone?
Admiral Holdo was a ****ing idiot.
"Our actual leader got taken out by an enemy attack, morale is low, we keep losing ships, and no one has any idea what the plan is. Clearly, when my CAG makes these concerns known to me like a good officer should, the way forward is to tell him to **** off, rather than take him aside and explain things."
Poe shouldn't have taken matters into his own hands, but Holdo a terrible leader. Literally the first thing Leia does when Poe wakes up is explain the plan.
Also, when a villain chooses not to execute prisoners in a straightforward, efficient manner, but instead chooes some silly mthod that'll take longer, it eliminates any and all tension, and it makes the villain in question look like a moron.
Phasma is a moron. Probably intentional, given her track record of utter failure. I can't take her seriously.
Unrelated: it's interesting to me how much Star Wars is anti-democracy. Or maybe anti-government. The old Republic bureaucracy and division kept it completely incapable of accomplishing anything even as its civil institutions were co-opted from within and one of its member worlds was under occupation. Until they voted in a dictator.
The New Republic was seemingly completely unable or unwilling to recognize or deal with an existential threat.
It's in rather stark contrast to the Empire and the First Order. Especially the First Order, which recovered from a significant blow at the end of TFA only to actually win the war.
Basically, in Star Wars, government is either ineffective or tyrannical. It's strange because it isn't the focus of the movies, but its a thread that remains very consistent through all of them.
Nah, not really. Ackbar's entire claim to fame is a meme, endlessly repeated. His inclusion as major character would have been fan-service for the sake of fan-service.
In universe, Ackbar's claim to fame is winning the Battle of Endor despite overwhelming odds. Unlike whatever victory Holdo won, that's a battle we actually got to see, making his competence much less of an informed characteristic. Show don't tell and all that. Holdo is a character they did not need. Yes, maybe it's a bit of fan-service, but it absolutely would have a purpose. An admiral-type was needed. Ackbar serves fine, and was far more known to the audience, adding an emotional impact to his sacrifice. I didn't care when Holdo died because the only thing I ever saw her do is **** the situation up by deciding subordinates did not need to be kept informed.