Poe Dameron and the Resistance are the real MVPs of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
By Buckie Wells
Sure, the porgs were cute, and Kelly Marie Tran made a wonderful Rose Tico, but Poe Dameron and the Resistance outshine everyone in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Depending on how you like your Star Wars: The Last Jedi was either a huge step in a new direction or something that will make you so mad, you think the film deserves a 57 percent audience score.
Either way, I think we can all agree that Star Wars is only as powerful as its Resistance. Whether you find more thrills in fighting alongside Jedi, piloting an X-Wing or smuggling away a princess’ heart, Star Wars‘ true colors shine through the Rebels. It’s always been that way and Star Wars: The Last Jedi dutifully reminded us of that.
From here on, we’re going to talk some light spoilers, so beware.
Alongside General Leia, both Poe Dameron and newcomer Vice Admiral Holdo lead the Resistance at various points of the film. In Poe, we find a leader who is sure of himself, filled with conviction and heart, and someone who wants to do right by his leaders and his comrades. While this sounds exactly like Poe, most of his problems are handled with a surprising amount of sass that adds levity to a film that otherwise mirrors Rogue One‘s scale of loss when it comes to casualties of war.
And opposite him, we have Admiral Holdo, who, against all odds and whatever everyone thinks of her, must make the hard decisions to save the last of the Resistance. As far as women in Star Wars are concerned, Admiral Holdo became worthy of standing alongside Leia, and her final sacrifice in the film serves as one of the most badass moments in Star Wars history.
Because no matter how terrible the odds seem, it just takes one person to stand up and keep fighting.
However, the guts and glory of the film extends far past just the leaders. In fact, it’s Rose Tico and Finn who serve as the first steps in reigniting the spark of Rebellion as they travel to Canto Bight in a Hail Mary move for the Resistance.
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Because of Rose’s commitment to saving the things she loves and honoring her sister’s memory, she plants seeds of hope in a new generation of children who will one day seek out the Force and join the cause.
And like the people who watch the films, that’s what Star Wars is all about: a sense of fulfillment found in the Force and passing that feeling on to others.