Star Warsis deep into its television area, with waves of new series set in a galaxy far, far away coming to fans’ screens at home.The Mandalorianhas had two seasons thus far, with another one on the way, and is arguably currently positioned as the focal point of the franchise. There’s alsoThe Book of Boba Fettand the currently airingObi-Wan Kenobi, as well as some animated series likeThe Clone WarsandThe Bad Batch.
Of course, prior to this new wave, the sequel trilogy was the main event of theStar Warsfranchise. 2015’sThe Force Awakenswas a smash hit with critics and fans, earning over $2 billion worldwide at the box office. Though the latter two sequels were more divisive, the latest and perhaps final trilogy in the Skywalker saga proved to be monumental, introducing beloved characters like Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, and more. Another one of these heroes is Poe Dameron, the first new character to appear in the trilogy and went on to have a substantial role inThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalker. However, in the last film,Poe’s role lacked substance, as the character’s arc was extremely weak to the point that it was nonexistent. In many ways, he ended the trilogy in the same way that he arrived, albeit with some new friends and a changed galaxy around him. Poe deserved a more substantial and memorable ending, and here’s what it could have been.
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Poe Dameron appeared inThe Force Awakensin his smallest role of the three films in the trilogy. In fact, Poe was not meant to live past the opening few minutes of the film, with his TIE fighter crash originally proving to be fatal. It was this critical piece of information that made actor Oscar Isaac hesitant to take on the role, but Poe’s death was reversed before he gave an official decision.
After his introduction inThe Force Awakens, he truly established himself inThe Last Jedi, where he had a bigger role than Finn, Leia, and other Resistance heroes. Poe’s arc, in which he learned to become a leader rather than a flashy hotshot pilot, was fresh and original and highlighted the flaws in one of the main characters of the trilogy.Despite the controversy that still surroundsThe Last Jedi, Poe’s character proved to be one of the less divisive aspects of the film, partially thanks to Oscar Isaac giving another excellent performance.
Rey, Finn, and Poe were this generation’s trio of heroes across these three sequel trilogy films, much as it was Luke, Han, and Leia in the originals, and Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme in the prequel films.In these other trilogies, the heroes had clear arcs. Luke grew from a farm boy to a Jedi Knight; Han was a Rebel hero instead of a smuggler by the end of the original trilogy; and Leia went from a young senator to the leader of the Rebels, as well as a Force user and sister of Luke. In the prequels, Anakin Skywalker was a slave that, eventually, became Darth Vader after manipulation by Palpatine and the crumbling of the Jedi order. Obi-Wan was a young Jedi padawan inThe Phantom Menace,but by trilogy’s end was a lonely man exiled on Tatooine. Padme was a young queen on Naboo, and by the end ofRevenge of the Sithhad married Anakin, watched him fall to the dark side, passed away, and given birth to twins. The characters are ultimately the heart of this franchise, and the arcs that these main heroes receive add to them significantly.
The sequel trilogy has some of the strongest character arcs in the franchise’s long history, with Kylo Ren proving to be one of the most emotionally complex people inStar Wars. Similarly,Rey had a truly unexpected and unique journey that ended with her being a Palpatine, something that most did not see coming. Despite the success with these two characters, some of the other leads were victims of improper character development, as much more could have been done with them.
One of these is Finn, who had a clear arc inThe Force Awakensand a subtle one inThe Last Jedi, albeit not as strong in the latter. Finn has animmense amount of screen time inThe Rise of Skywalker, but doesn’t change much at all besides the extremely subtle introduction of his force powers, something that was already hinted at in 2015. Rose Tico is an even more extreme example, as she was introduced inThe Last Jediand played a massive role (even bigger than that of Finn and Poe), but had mere seconds of screen time in the follow-up film.
Unlike Rose, Poe Dameron did indeed have a substantial amount of screen time inThe Rise of Skywalker,as the three heroes were paired together on a mission for the first time. He’s there almost from the first scene, and even as the film pivots focus towards the Jedi-versus-Sith battle unfolding on Exegol, Poe still appears frequently as he fights Imperial Star destroyers while in his X-Wing.Despite the amount of time he has on screen, Poe doesn’t make all that much of an impact, and as great as Oscar Isaac is in the role, it seems a shame that the character didn’t have more of a journey in the final film.
Whether or not one likedThe Last Jedi, Poe had a deep and personal journey throughout and was a changed man by the end. Poe could have used a journey similar in change and revelations in the trilogy’s final film, as his only real point of uniqueness inThe Rise of Skywalkeris his spice runner past.Poe could have instead dealt with the pressuresof being a Resistance leader, continuing his arc fromThe Last Jedi,or could have been shown battling with inner demons of some kind, as has known to be the case with Star Wars heroes like Anakin.
Many expected Poe to die in Episode IX, which again would have proven to be a more substantial impact on the film than what he ultimately had. Poe sacrificing himselfwould have been truly tragic, almost heartbreaking. It would also have paid homage to what Harrison Ford wanted to do inReturn of the Jediwith Han Solo, a character that shares many similarities with Isaac’s hero. As the leader of the Resistance come the third act of the film, Poe could have sacrificed himself in order to defeat Palpatine and the First Order in a show of leading by example, something that Leia often urged him to do inThe Last Jedi. This would have brought his character full circle and shown that he’d truly learned from the best in Leia, his mentor in the three films.
The sequel trilogy is still widely debated amongstStar Warsfans, but there’s no doubt that they have some of the best characters in the entire franchise. From Rey to Kylo Ren, Rose Tico to Finn, these characters are unique, interesting, and great additions to the galaxy. Among these, Poe Dameron arguably did not receive a fitting ending but still had a major impact on the trilogy, and might just show up again at some point.
