Introduction
When it first came out five years ago, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) polarized audiences – and continues to polarize audiences to this day. Many critics considered it dumb and soulless. On the other hand, many fans considered it daring and mature. The beauty of any art form is that it’s always open for interpretation.
Our understanding and deconstruction of storytelling are filtered through our tastes, beliefs, and motivations. That’s why criticism can vary drastically. However, one precept that holds true is that narrative choice should mean something. If you can remove a narrative choice (or the scene that contains it) and it in no way impacts the story, then it’s meaningless. This is the problem with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Many of the film’s narrative choices surprise audiences. However, because audiences are surprised, many consider those choices audacious. It’s not what we thought would happen. It’s so subversive in its decision-making that it must be genius. Yet the reality is that after that moment of surprise, these choices have no bearing on the story other than to perpetuate a facade.
As far as Star Wars: The Last Jedi goes, there are ten conceits – five relating to character, and five relating to plotting – that don’t stand up under genuine examination. For the purpose of this piece, let’s explore the five relating to characterizations.
Poe Needs to Learn Temperance
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) establishes Poe Dameron as a hotshot and irreverent pilot. He must also be reliable and trustworthy enough to be entrusted with securing the map to Luke Skywalker’s location from Lor San Tekka.
Poe doesn’t have a lot of room for growth. Some might counter that it’s not exactly like Han Solo grows in the Original Trilogy. However, Han forsakes money for a cause in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He falls in love in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and becomes a Rebel leader in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983). New facets of his character are explored.
Additionally, we don’t learn anything about Poe in Star Wars: The Force Awakens outside of how he’s handed to us. That’s it. His journey is complete. One would think that he’d feel some remorse for surrendering information to Kylo Ren, even if it was under duress. One would also think that a character arc could be fashioned from that.
Director Rian Johnson is then forced to find an arc for Poe and decides his lesson in The Last Jedi is to learn the value of temperance and responsibility. Poe endangers the Resistance by spearheading an impromptu attack that results in casualties. The First Order then embarks on a long slow chase of the Resistance. All throughout this, Poe repeatedly implores Admiral Holdo to disclose what her plan for escape is. He begs of her on the ship’s bridge:
“Tell us that we have a plan!”
Here, Poe is clearly speaking on behalf of all of the bridge crew. He’s also being a responsible leader. He understands that everybody is afraid. They’re being chased, seemingly to their doom, and there’s apparently no strategy in place. As a senior member of the Resistance, Poe is acting as the crew’s spokesperson. You can actually see that some of the crew are genuinely invested in his representation.
Some people may criticize Poe for his disobedience, but he’s not being petulant. In fact, Poe is doing exactly what he’s meant to be learning – looking at the bigger picture and trying to take care of his fellow Resistance members.
If Johnson wanted to paint Poe as toxic, this could’ve been easily accomplished. Once Leia is incapacitated, Poe could have vied with Holdo for command. He could have disliked that she trumped him. Further, he could have been depicted as self-serving, trying to show he was the better commanding officer. Or, more simply, he could have usurped her, led them to disaster, and Holdo could’ve rescued them. Upon which time Poe could admit he was wrong.
With the information that we are given, Holdo’s reticence really doesn’t make much sense, outside of the fallback that she owes nobody anything. This also doesn’t seem to be the best leadership choice in a rag-tag group like the Resistance. The First Order has always been about mindless servitude. The Resistance, on the other hand, is meant to be about trust and comradeship.
Also, Poe’s just been lambasted for bad decision-making and Leia’s just been incapacitated. Surely the Resistance would be distraught and worried their fight is coming to an inglorious end? Wouldn’t it make sense for any commanding officer to reveal their strategy as a means of assuring everybody that there’s somebody competent in charge and they have a sound plan?
There’s no narrative justification for Holdo’s silence. It’s used purely as a framing device to create tension with Poe and to substantiate his arc. Johnson easily could’ve fixed this by inserting a First Order spy onto the ship. This would mean that Holdo would have to be careful what she said. A spy would also be a better way of explaining how the First Order could track the Resistance, rather than falling back on a magical hyperspace tracking device to propel this part of the story.
Finn Wasted as a Deserter Stormtrooper
Star Wars, as a franchise, will hit the same archetypes regardless of the incarnations. We get young heroes finding their way, Jedi apprentices, Jedi Masters, Sith, leaders battling odds, hotshots, mindless soldiers, politicians, aliens, and droids. The shapes they take may differ. However, more often than not, the journeys are similar. That’s fine as long as they’re treated uniquely. As long as they have a journey that’s both compelling and relatable.
However, with Finn, they stumbled upon one genuine stroke of originality: a deserter Stormtrooper who joins the Resistance. Ironically, Finn’s character might’ve worked better if the Stormtroopers had remained clones in the Sequel Trilogy, i.e. this one clone who dares to think differently. That’s a trope that’s been explored in other properties, but not in Star Wars.
As it is, the Sequel Trilogy spuriously establishes that the First Order abducted kids and trained and brainwashed them to become Stormtroopers. Think about the unlikelihood of the Republic not responding to the First Order abducting kids by the tens of thousands. Also, think about how logistically improbable it is to house, feed, train, and brainwash these kids over a prolonged period.
Nevertheless, by accepting the Stormtroopers for what they are in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s still novel that one of them, sickened by bloodshed, flees. Once he does, however, his journey becomes pedestrian. Both JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson employ Finn as a First Order Wikipedia page. He’s used to delivering exposition and moving the story forward whenever required.
The real crime is how the character of Finn has been wasted throughout Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He’s another character that is consigned to learn a lesson we didn’t actually know he needed to learn. In the Resistance’s charge upon the First Order forces on Crait, Finn prepares to sacrifice himself by ramming the laser cannon that’s about to blow the base’s gate. Rose rams him, derailing his course and saving him.
A distraught Finn approaches a woozy Rose in the cockpit of her derelict fighter, while First Order forces inexplicably ignore them so they can share this interlude. Rose tells him:
“That’s how we’re gonna win…Not fighting what we hate, (but) saving what we love”