I
thought about holding off on doing a Poe write-up, since The Force Awakens only features him briefly and I’m assuming we’ll
get to know him a lot better in forthcoming movies. But hey, I’ve already written about Rey and
Finn, so I thought I’d better round off the new trio. While I wouldn’t technically consider him a
Favorite Character yet, I do like what I’ve seen so far and trust
that the next films will only improve my opinion of him (spoilers for The Force Awakens.)
In my
Rey and Finn write-ups, I touched on the ways they remind me of the original
trio, Luke and Han, respectively. Like
Finn, Poe also reminds me in part of Han, but in a different way. While Finn’s ring of familiarity is in being
a reluctant hero who steps up despite his initial instinct to look out mainly
for himself (though, granted, this looks very different on Finn than in does on
Han,) Poe’s has more to do with the feel
of Han. The easy charisma, the dashing
figure, the well-earned confidence in his piloting skills – there’s a reason
Oscar Isaac has been indoctrinated into the digital halls of Internet
Boyfriends.
But as
with Finn and Rey, this isn’t a straight one-for-one comparison. Poe isn’t
Han, which is good. He should be his own
character, and from the little we’ve seen so far, I think he’s distinct enough
to stand on his own. Yeah, he’s a
hotshot pilot, but he’s not a grifter using his charm to pull cons or try to
talk his way out when he gets caught crossing dangerous people (not throwing
shade on Han, by the way. A fictional
landscape needs all sorts – Han is one, and Poe is another.) Instead, he’s a trusted member of the
resistance, flying missions for Leia and risking his life for the good of
others. (So maybe, a bit more like where
Han is by the end of his journey in the original trilogy? Still different, though. Despite the similarities, Poe really does
feel like his own character.)
So,
what do we know about Poe so far? He’s
highly competent at what he does and knows he has the skills to pull it
off. He’s brave in the face of danger
and cocky in the face of his enemies. He
signs up for tough missions, both because it’s the right thing to do and
because he thrives on the adventure of it.
He’s a loyal friend to person and droid alike (pretty sure the bit of
him sending BB-8 off to safety and vowing to come back for him immediately put
Poe in a lot of people’s good graces – I know it did me. Ah, a boy and his droid…), who doesn’t need a
long acquaintance to get invested in someone and want to help them. In all honesty, if I had a complaint to make,
it’s that what we’ve seen of Poe is a little too terrific. I’m hoping that, as we get more of him in
future installments, we’re shown flaws that inform his character and make him
feel fuller; my guess is that he’ll still be a bit secondary to Rey and Finn,
but I’d definitely like to see him get richer as a character.
Mostly,
I’m just glad we’re going to have an opportunity to get that. Early in The
Force Awakens, when Poe is presumed killed, I was decidedly bummed and at
least gave the movie props for really making me like this short-lived character
before it killed him. So, I was thrilled
to discover, along with Finn, that he made it out alive and is fighting
on. I really have my fingers crossed for
great scenes between him, Finn, and Rey (and BB-8, of course) in films to come.
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