Is there any chance that in episode 9 JJ reveals that Luke in episode 8 was actually Luuke(The evil clone of Luke) and then Mark Hamill returns ?
Well, space politics first came with Thrawn Trilogy books and people loved it then which is why Lucas added it I guess.
And as for Jar Jar he isn't the worst character that Star Wars has ever had. Ewoks were worse , boba fett was pretty awful in ROTJ that he needed the expanded universe to shine , Hutts are the worst Alien specie in SW universe .(Hutts should have been a Mafia title and Jabba should have remained human imo)