SPOILERS AHEAD: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you want to read our spoiler-free review, click here. The rest of you, read on… but know that you have been warned.
With a new Star Wars trilogy just getting started, fans are full of both hope and fear. The hope is that we’ll get a new series of films like the first three, while many fans are fearful they’ll be disappointed as they were with the prequels. However, The Force Awakens has already shown us that it has something that the prequel trilogy lacked. It has Han Solo. Now I know what you’re thinking and calm down. I’m not talking about the actual character. I’m talking about the traits that his character brought to the original trilogy. Even with Han Solo gone, many of the things that he brought to the series are still with us, thanks to Oscar Isaac. He may not ever be the most important character to the plot, but Poe Dameron is the most important character to the films being successful. Here’s why.
1. He’s The Most Human
As much as Rey and Finn and great characters in their own right, they need Poe Damoeron to balance them out. Rey is going to be a Jedi, and Finn has his own issues as a formerly brainwashed Stormtrooper. These are great characters, but they’re not relatable characters. Poe is just a guy. He doesn’t use magic, he uses his wits and his courage. These are things an audience can truly understand, and it helps make him important.
2. He’s Funny
While the original trilogy doesn’t have a great deal of humor in it, the best lines come from Han Solo. And more importantly, it’s humor that works. It’s not the slapstick of the prequels. From almost the first moment we meet Poe Dameron, we realize that he’s cut from the same cloth as Han Solo. His first words to Kylo Ren are a joke. It’s kind of like making a joke just before you know you’re about to get attacked by a platoon of Stormtroopers. "It was a boring conversation anyway."
3. He’s Got The Skills
When the movie begins, we meet Finn and Rey at the beginning of their journey. Finn is a trained Stormtrooper, but he just left all of that behind. Rey has been spending all of her time waiting. If past is prolog, Rey may be spending a large portion of the next movie doing handstands while lifting rocks with her mind. Finn also has some soul-searching to do. They both have a lot to learn. Poe has already learned it. He’s the experienced one. He’s the confident one. The movies need somebody who knows what they are doing, or at least, acts like it. Until the rest of the characters get their feet under them, Poe can (and should) lead the way.
