My synopsis for Episode IX
Kylo, having established himself as the god-emperor of The First Order, set the top-tier general's teeth on edge. Hux, who obviously sees Kylo's reign as illegitimate, and correctly assumes Kylo had in fact killed the ex-Supreme Leader, oversees this disgruntled junta's plot to overthrow Kylo, who is very well aware of their sinister plans.
To further aggravate Kylo's uneasy reign, a band of his former comrades, the Knights of Ren, ride into town to get a piece of the action, making Hux' plotting for a coup a comparatively minor affair: these guys really mean business!
Beset by the enemies from within and without, Kylo grows more paranoid, succumbing even more to his own personal demons: he is haunted by the late Luke Skywalker' force-ghost, who invokes in him a deep sense of guilt and remorse.
Naturally, the vicious nature of First Order's reign only increases the ranks of the re-emergent insurgency on the occupied worlds, who rally around the surviving members of the Resistance and its new leader Poe, as well as Finn, Rey and the retired and ailing General Leia Organa, who is most of the time comatose and hibernating inside the bacta-tank. However, her Foce-powers enable her to reach out to her prodigal son from her deep sleep.
This, of course, torments Kylo even more and gets him off-balance in his stand-off with his many competitors. At one point, The Knights of Ren succeed in snatching the First Order away from Kylo, injuring him badly, as he manages to escape the certain death in the nick of time. He finds refuge on one of the worlds that had previously been scorched by the First Order. The locals on this world, themselves recovering from the ordeals of the First Order wrath, are generous enough to help a wounded man, ignorant of the true identity of their former tyrant as they may be.
This experience transforms Kylo. He rediscovers good in him. But not so fast; In order for Kylo to become Ben again, he must redeem himself. This he can do only by revisiting his comatose mother, and helping the Resistance defeat the even more vicious First Order that is now led by the oligarchy of the Knights of Ren. He reaches out to Rey, offering pact, which she reluctantly accepts.
In the meantime, the Knights of Ren, more determined and cruel than Kylo ever was, swiftly dispose of Hux and the disobedient generals and decide to crush the Resistance once and for all. The only piece of the puzzle missing in order for them to solidify their cosmic reign is Rey, possibly the greatest Force-wielder in the Galaxy. They need to get to her, either sway her to their side or kill her.
As Kylo revisits his comatose mother, both are relieved. Leia can now die peacefully. She flatlines in the bacta tank. There's only one more thing for Kylo to do in order to become Ben: He must destroy the Knights of Ren and bring an end to the First Order! What better ally than Rey in this undertaking. Rey intermediates between Kylo and Poe and Finn, who, as one can imagine, aren't very exhilarated about Kylo being born-again goodie and all. The plan is as follows: Poe and Finn will man the decisive Resistance attack on the First Order Fleet, while Kylo and Rey will try to get to the Knights in their collective throne room on the principal dreadnought.
Kylo will feign a reconciliation attempt with the Ren by delivering a prized captive to their feet: Rey, and Rey, of course, will play along. Of course, the Ren aren't stupid. They saw through their intent and thwarted both their pitiful plan and the Resistance offensive by leading it into a trap. Two birds with one stone, indeed.
As Poe and Finn realize their plan has been foiled, they try to rescue the Resistance Armada from certain doom. Their only chance of survival rests upon Kylo and Rey.
Kylo and Rey are encircled by the saber-wielding Knights of Ren, who are about to slice them up. Kylo then switches sides and for the moment has Rey thinking whether he was faking it the whole time. However, the only reason Kylo did this was to catch one of the Knights off guard and slip to Rey his lightsaber. Kylo dies in the process, as the other Ren runs him trough. With this final act of self-sacrifice, Kylo totally redeems himself and becomes Ben in death.
So now it's up to Rey, but this time Rey is armed. And you can imagine she's pissed off. In a lightsaber fight to end all lightsaber fights she prevails against the Ren, cutting them down one by one. Injured, she manages to declare herself the new Supreme Leader and order the First Order to stand down, but succumbs to sheer exhaustion and her wounds, alone in a throne room littered with corpses.
Finn, the ultimate Rey's cavalier, manages to slither through to the throne room on the enemy dreadnought, and rescue her. The First Order has been disbanded, Rey and Finn retreat to a peaceful life together, leaving to Poe and other resistance leaders the task of rebuilding the democratic Republic. [contd. in next post]