Star Wars celebrated 40 years this past spring, making it one of the longest running movie franchises in history. The prequels were a rough patch for some fans while others loved them despite their flaws. Which is pretty much how most feel about Rogue One and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fans were thrilled to see the continuation of a story that has hooked most of us since early childhood. My first vivid memory is of watching Star Wars: A New Hope and being freaked out over Chewbacca, yet thrilled at the same time.

When fans are attached to a story in that way, it gives the creators a ton more play room than other traditional Sci-Fi movies would have. Sometimes that liberty goes a bit too far and we end up with a movie that has way too many plot hole and mysteries. This is the result of J.J. Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens. From a big picture standpoint, the film is good — not great. There hasn’t been a great Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back. Which means fans are long overdue for one. With the release of The Last Jedi this week, the long wait may finally be at an end.

But until then, let’s spend a few minutes of our day looking back on Star Wars VII. Plot holes were everywhere, which led to Disney and Lucasfilm stepping up and addressing many of them via comics and books over the last two years. But there’s no way they could nail every one, leaving us with 25 unresolved mysteries and plot holes form Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.

25 Minimal Guards Assigned To Protect The Thermal Oscillator

The First Order is supposed to be an improvement over Palpatine’s Empire, but they can’t seem to learn from mistakes made in the past. The last remaining leaders of the Empire fled to the outer regions, planning for the future. They build a mobile planet that is stronger than the Death Star, yet Starkiller Base is protected in the same manner as the previous two.

Is history not taught in the Star Wars galaxy?

Shields are not a fool proof defense, and every super power weapon has a focal weak point. Common sense says protect your shields and the weak spot, also known as the thermal oscillator in Force Awakens.

The new motto for the First Order should go something like this: Get me once, shame on you. Get me twice, shame on me. Get me three times, I suck at this.

24 Maz Is The Only One Aware That Luke’s Lightsaber Survived Cloud City

There is so much more to Maz than meets the eye. For her to acquire Anakin and Luke’s original lightsaber, she has to be deep into the under-workings of the galaxy. Han, being a smuggler, obviously has a good working relationship with Maz, but somehow the conversation of Luke’s lightsaber never came up.

Nothing gets transported and sold on the black market without whispers from other smugglers and sellers. Something like Luke’s lightsaber was bound to raise more than a few eyebrows along the way. At the very least, Han or Leia should have been aware Maz had it.

And let’s not forget to ask how the lightsaber even survived Cloud City. Luke was dumped out of the city, so it would seem his hand and lightsaber should have too. And if it didn’t where is his missing hand? Or does Maz have that too?

23 Why Didn’t Plutt Steal BB-8 When The Droid Was Standing In His Doorway

Plutt is obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed. BB-8 is literally standing in front of his door and he lets Rey walk off with the droid he’s coveting so badly. How does sending two worthless thugs to retrieve BB-8 make any sense when all he had to do was open the door and hit him with an ionization blaster? Jawas had them on Tatooine, shouldn’t a crook like Plutt have one lying around too?

Even if Plutt didn’t have access to an ionization blaster, he had to have something lying around that dump to control droids with. And if he didn’t, how did he plan on catching BB-8 in the first place.

Plus, how does a tool like Plutt end up with the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy when he can’t apprehend a single droid?

22 Jakku Made To Seem Like Finn’s First Battle

According to the book Phasma, the children soldiers of the First Order are put through a rigorous training. This includes mock and real battle simulations. Any candidates that even sneeze wrong are disposed of quietly, so how is it possible that Jakku was Finn’s first battle? And how did his thoughts of rebellion not get him killed?

There’s also the question of how he ended up on Phasma and Kylo Ren’s battalion. If he was stationed on Starkiller Base as a sanitation worker initially, how did he get promoted to the Finalizer with no battle experience? The only logical explanation would be that he snuck his way into Phasma’s group, but that idea get’s shot down when he’s confronted by Phasma after the field trip to Jakku — and isn’t questioned about why he was there.

21 Where Are All The Droids Maintaining Starkiller Base?

There’s no blue-collar workers maintaining Starkiller Base, so there must be droids. Yet, they seem to be mysteriously absent through the whole third act of The Force Awakens. A Base of that size and magnitude would need constant maintenance and repair. There should have been hundreds of droids out-and-about doing their thing.

The MSE-6-series repair droid, or mouse droid, should have recognized intruders within the base. And if they’re not programmed to, then someone dropped the ball big time. What’s the purpose of having a repair droid that can’t be programmed to send out a distress call regarding intruders? It’s not like it’ll get confused. The First Order is very strict regarding uniform policies, and they’re even color coded. Maybe Han and the gang should have been dressed in white to fool the droids that ignore intruders.

20 Three Hero’s Abandon The Cause After Ben Solo Goes Kylo

Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker all played a major role in destroying the Empire. But when the same institution resurfaces under a different name, they all abandon loved ones and the cause. What was the purpose of risking their lives in the first place?

Han distancing himself from Leia initially would make sense, but as the First Order continued to grow, him still living as a smuggler doesn’t quite add up. Luke running away to Ahch-To and staying there permanently makes even less sense. What did he think was going to happen to his sister and best friends?

Only one of the original heroes (not counting droids) cares about the rising power of the First Order. This makes everything they sacrificed in the past seem worthless and meaningless.

19 The Impracticality Of The General Hux Speech

We get that J.J. Abrams wanted an over-the-top scene featuring General Armitage Hux, but the whole scenario seems awfully impractical. You're about to launch head first into a galactic war and 90% of your army and navy is still on Starkiller Base doing nothing but watching you speak — this only makes Hux look stupid, not like a mad psychopath general.

Snoke should have immediately fired Hux as general after that. Yet he somehow maintains his position as head honcho over the First Order army, navy, and a weapon of mass destruction. Maybe there needs to be some restructuring done within the First Order.

It’s also important to note that Hux isn’t an idiot, but rather a very intelligent strategist. Which makes Abram’s scene even more ridiculous because it doesn’t fit Hux’s character.

18 If Luke Wanted To Hide Why Leave A Trail?

Apparently hide and seek isn’t a game played by children in the Star Wars universe. Because individuals who go into hiding, don’t go to extremes to leave a mysterious trail to their whereabouts. Either he wanted to run away and hide forever, or he didn’t — it can’t be both.

There’s also the elephant in the room regarding how Lor San Tekka ended up in possession of the map and not Leia. We understand R2-D2 holding part of it, but why entrust the other part to anyone other than your own sister? There’s no story about a falling out between Leia and Luke, and in The Force Awakens, she doesn’t seem to blame him for Ben becoming Kylo Ren. Luke not trusting Leia doesn’t fit in with the rest of the Star Wars canon.

17 Let’s Leave One Trooper Guarding The First Orders Most Valuable Asset

Who leaves one Stormtrooper to guard your most valuable asset? A rookie commander maybe, but not someone as smart as Kylo Ren. Even Princess Leia had more Troopers guarding her than Rey had. Either Kylo Ren is as dumb as Plutt or this is the most convenient plot hole in history.

We’ll even play along and say one guard was sufficient. Wouldn’t there be other Stormtroopers in the nearby area guarding other prisoners? And if there weren’t other prisoners, however unlikely that scenario is, somebody should’ve spotted she was gone before Kylo returned to the room. Do only two Troopers make rounds in prisoner sectors every hour?

For supposedly being a well-oiled military machine, the First Order is sure lacking in their tactical training department.

16 What’s The Purpose Behind Kylo Ren’s Mask?

Kylo Ren idolizes Darth Vader, we get that. But what exactly is the purpose behind him wearing a mask when all he does is take it off. Does it give him a tactical advantage? If so, then why didn’t he grab it after killing Han and getting shot by Chewbacca? He had plenty of time.

Either he wears the mask, or he doesn’t. You would think by this point in the story Kylo Ren would’ve figured out when he should wear it and when it’s appropriate for him to remove it.

Apparently, Rian Johnson saw this plot hole as well and found a way to eradicate it in The Last Jedi, or so we hope. The mask was a good idea on paper, but its execution by Abrams was sloppy and inconsistent.

15 Finn Is The Only Human Not Immediately Eaten By Rathtars

The Rathtar is considered an effective hunter. Darth Maul had this to say about them. “Rathtars are among the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. Hungry. Vicious. Relentless.” The events which transpire after their release of them on Han’s ship support these descriptions, except for the Rathtar that chose to capture Finn. If the Rathtar is so deadly, wouldn’t it have incapacitated Finn before heading off? It’s not like anyone was chasing him.

Even if the Rathtar was being chased, how is it that Finn is the only human to survive after being taken by one? Han lost his whole crew obtaining these beasts, making it all the more unlikely that Finn would survive. Either Finn is the luckiest human in the galaxy, or we’ve got another Star Wars VII plot hole.

14 Build A Battle Station Based On A Twice Failed Model

Records show that general Hux was put in charge of Starkiller Base, but who’s idea was it in the first place to build it? For their sake, we hope they’ve already died off, because Starkiller Base was begging to become a failed project.

If a model has failed twice in the past, either you learn from the previous versions mistakes or you start back at square one. The leaders of the First Order, however, thought it was a brilliant idea to follow through on neither of those two concepts.

These idiots couldn’t run a Walmart for a week without getting fired, let alone the most feared order in the galaxy. Never has the saying “rising to a level of incompetence,” ever been truer.

13 How Did Luke Not Have A Vision About Han Dying?

One of the most pivotal moments in the greatest Star Wars film made to date (not counting The Last Jedi) is Luke’s vision of his friends being held captive and tortured. Luke abandons his training with Yoda and flies in to rescue them, but it’s a trap!

Based on his previous vision, wouldn’t it seem likely that he would also have a vision regarding Kylo Ren shoving his lightsaber blade through Han. And if he did why in the world didn’t he fly in to rescue his friends again? I get that he’s old and his ideals might be at a shattering point, but that doesn’t explain him avoiding the situation. This plot hole makes it seem like all of Luke’s actions in the past were for nothing. Noooooo!

12 The Great Galactic Mystery Of R2-D2 And The Map

The explanation was not given in the Force Awakens, but J.J. Abrams did provide an answer in an interview with EW. “BB-8 comes up and says something to him, which is basically, ‘I’ve got this piece of a map, do you happen to have the rest?'” Abrams said. “The idea was, R2 who has been all over the galaxy, is still in his coma, but he hears this. And it triggers something that would ultimately wake him up.”

So, the word “map,” spoken by a droid R2 has never met before, triggers him to wake up out of a droid coma. That’s the best answer he could come up with, is it? First off, R2-D2 is a droid. Meaning there is a scientific way to “wake him up.” Secondly, why would a strange droids voice register with him over C3-PO or any of the others? I also find it odd that with all the talk about the “map,” that somehow R2 never heard the word spoken prior to BB-8 showing up.

11 How Has Han Solo Never Used Chewie's Bowcaster Before?

Excluding EU (expanded universe) content, Han Solo and Chewbacca have been a pair for at least 30-40 years. Yet somehow over the course of four decades, Han never fired Chewie’s Bowcaster. You’d think it would’ve come up at some point — like over a few drinks, and shoot the blue milk or something.

But let’s say for argument’s sake that he didn’t. How is the scene in The Force Awakens the divine moment when Han decides to give out the Bowcaster a try?

It was an average bit, and I laughed when it happened (because I’m a nerd), but that doesn’t mean it’s not a plot hole. Get creative with the bit and make it work in context. Don’t just throw random, lazily written humor, into a Star Wars film for laughs unless you’re making a parody.

10 The Republic Lives In Complete Ignorance Of Starkiller Base

Politics play a huge part in the Star Wars saga. With politics and armies come spies, as they’re essential towards staying safely in power. Spies, now known as Rogue One, retrieved the plans for the first Death Star. Bothans retrieved the blueprints to the second Death Star.

But no one in the Republic or the Resistance is aware of Starkiller Base, let alone sending in spies to find flaws in its construction. I get that the Republic was run by idiots, Bloodline the book touched on that. But there wasn’t one single person in power who was curious? And what about General Organa? She’s a tactical genius. How was she unaware?

Relying on Finn to provide the information they needed should have never happened. This concept is like spitting on the graves of those during the time of the Empire. If things are that bad, the First Order isn’t the only group that needs some leadership changes.

9 If Snoke Is So Powerful In The Force, How Was Luke Able To Hide?

Star Wars canon states that Darth Vader never found Luke prior to Boba Fett’s research, because Vader never went to, or thought about Tatooine. Yoda remained hidden on Dagobah, because the dark side of the force was prevalent on it. Recent interviews leading up to The Last Jedi have revealed that Snoke has more power than Darth Sidious and Vader combined. The Force Awakens also shows Snoke being aware of Rey’s awakening.

With all these facts coming to light, it seems unlikely that Snoke had no idea where Skywalker was. Maybe it was a test for Kylo Ren. But as of yet, audiences are left in the dark as to how Luke remained hidden on the same planet for so long. With Ahch-To being the site of the first Jedi Temple, it seems unlikely that the dark side would have a large presence there.

8 Why Would Han Grab A Lightsaber With The Tip Pointing At Him?

When you pass a knife, it gets handed to the other person handle first. If you don’t, people tend to get hurt. But Han thinks it’s a good idea to put his hands on his son's lightsaber with the barrel facing right at his chest. That’s like grabbing a gun and pointing it at yourself while someone else has their finger on the trigger. Did Han want to die? We’re pretty sure Harrison Ford wanted him to.

We do have a theory that might debunk this plot hole though. If Han killed himself with the lightsaber, then Kylo doesn’t complete his training towards the dark side. Essentially, Han sacrifices himself to save his son.

But if this theory doesn’t pan out in The Last Jedi, then the action was beyond ludicrous.

7 Phasma Lowering The Shields Was Too Convenient

In her self-titled book Phasma, we see that she is only loyal to herself and her survival. Saving her skin by lowering the shields fits her character. But there are two glaring issues still at large. First, how is she the only Trooper in the vicinity of the main terminal that controls the planets defense system.

Secondly, Stormtrooper helmets have advanced communication technology built into them. Shouldn’t Phasma be able to alert someone? And if not, they should install an emergency code word into the communication program. Just don’t use 1,2,3,4.

But that’s essentially what the First Order did. Who knew Mel Brooks could see into the future. This is a huge plot hole as the entire third act is dependent upon those shields coming down.

6 Why Didn’t Force Ghosts Appear To Guide Rey?

George Lucas loved the idea of having force ghosts, and he ran with it too. It was justified and brought up in the prequels. Even Obi-Wan’s voice can be heard in Rey’s vision when she touched Luke’s lightsaber. So how in the world were there no force ghosts present when Rey could’ve used one?

An argument can be made that a force wielder needs to be in a meditative or focused state for them to be seen. And this is a valid point. But that doesn’t explain why one didn’t show up when she was focusing on her escape from Starkiller Base. You could even say it would’ve made her escape more believable. But alas, she somehow figures it out all by herself and doesn’t need a force ghost. Or does she?