A great sci-fi character needs a send-off to suit the magnitude of their character. Obi-Wan Kenobi had his epic robe-drop moment in A New Hope, Darth Vader had his mask-off farewell in Return of the Jedi, and Luke Skywalker had his astral projected swan song in The Last Jedi. It would really be a bummer if a big character met their end bc they caught a nasty bug on Hoth or accidentally tripped and fell over a cliff. (The only real exception is Yoda; he’s allowed to pass away from natural causes because he’s almost a millennium old.)
Because of this pattern, fans don’t expect heroes to be defeated in lower-stakes moments, which has led to one of the most notorious Star Wars in-jokes in its almost 50-year history: Stormtroopers have terrible aim. Our heroes may exchange blaster fire with the faceless, helmeted henchmen, but they rarely are hit by them because that wouldn’t be satisfying at all. Now, another movie is repeating this notorious yet avoidable trope on an even bigger scale.
