The Extended Republic Theory of James Madison

The prequels are riffing on the old fourth turning theory of evaluating modern history. Good times make soft people, and then weak people make bad times. The sequel series like, who are the bad guys, what are they? We're trying harder there to make analogies about now than we are to make the sides make any sense or flow out of the existing story in any way that fits with human nature. It's just a mess.