The Force Awakens Character Studies: Poe Dameron

SPOILERS

SO MANY SPOILERS

Still here?

Okay.

One of the things I’ve been seeing over the last week is that a: Rey is able to use the force in ways that she shouldn’t be able to, therefore making her a Mary Sue, b: that Finn isn’t a jedi because he almost died at the hands of Kylo Ren and c: Poe isn’t important enough to the overall storyline.

So, let’s break this down by character and how each of the new trio is a direct link to not only the original trio but the Prequels crew as well.

Starting with Poe, for those who think that Poe didn’t play enough of a part in the story to justify being the third lead of the movie I’d like to remind you that it is his choice early on, to spare a certain Stormtrooper, that allows everything that follows to go down.

Poe is sent on his mission to find Luke Skywalker by General Leia and come hell or high water he is determined to fulfill it. He gets the information, puts it in BB-8 and then stays behind to make himself a target, allowing BB-8 to get away. He is then tortured by the First Order for the information which they are unable to extract from him, no matter what they do.

All of the above marks him as being just like his mentor Leia in A New Hope.

Now here is where things get interesting, once the FO realize that they’re not going to pull anything out of Poe the old fashioned way, especially as it’s more than likely that Leia taught Poe her shielding techniques, they send in the heavy. One Kylo Ren. Who we find out is Obi-Wan “Ben” Solo, the son of Leia and Han Solo. Even in the face of Kylo Ren’s crazy Poe doesn’t give up shite. So Kylo mind rapes Poe, who fights him for far longer than he should’ve been able to, to get the information.

Which is what happened to his other mentor, Han Solo, in The Empire Strikes Back.

What makes this scene even more upsetting? It’s more than likely that Poe grew up with Ben Solo. That they played together. Their parents were in the Rebellion together: Shara Bey, Poe’s mom was an A-Wing pilot who flew several missions with Luke, his dad Kes Dameron was in Han’s special forces team. These two men would’ve been friends their entire lives which is why I’m sure JJ Abrams cast Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver as they’re only 3 years apart in age but look to be around the same age in the film.

Having your lifelong friend not only turn to the dark side but come after you personally? Seems like something Obi-Wan Kenobi would know about.

And it’s here that the second of our trio gets involved as that stormtrooper that Poe spared earlier comes to his rescue, getting them both out of the FO hands. Poe instantly becomes, if not smitten, intrigued by the handsome young man who is clearly in way over his head but is brave enough and empathetic enough to try and get away from the people who’ve been brainwashing him his entire life once he sees what they’re really about. Poe is charmed by his sheer determination and his shooting skills, much like Han was charmed by the out of his depth Luke and the brave and bold Leia, no matter how much he didn’t want to be.

After their crash Poe takes a backseat to Finn and Rey’s story but he comes back with a vengeance when he unknowingly comes to their rescue at Maz Kanata’s. His reunion with Finn is one of the most joyful things to happen in any Star Wars movie and lays the groundwork for a Finn/Poe romance down the line as their epic bromance has pretty much been solidified by this point.

Will Star Wars go there? Who knows. Personally, I hope they do, or at least play the relationship between the main crew the same way they did Luke, Leia and Han’s in Empire, where it could honestly have gone either way, were it not for that pesky blood relation thing, with Finn being the Leia of this group, but honestly? It doesn’t matter.

Poe is essential to the new trio, as the older, wiser anchor to the two dreamers who, despite their respective power levels and importance, which I will get into in the next character study, do need protection, no matter what they think. Poe has Han’s sass and practicality, Leia and Luke’s flying skills, wisdom and ability to see the good in everyone and Obi-Wan’s joy of life and need to nurture.

Poe made a huge impact on The Force Awakens and while his scenes were brief, compared to Rey and Finn’s, they were important, anyone who thinks otherwise isn’t paying attention.

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