Star Wars 5 Ways Poe Was An Underrated Character (& 5 He Was Overrated)

Star Wars: 5 Ways Poe Was An Underrated Character (& 5 He Was Overrated)

Poe had some good traits but much like the rest of the sequel trilogy’s cast, he was mishandled by the writers.

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Now that the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy is over, fans can spend the rest of time debating endlessly about its merits. Time and perspective always adjust one’s way of thinking about a subject, and with just a little bit of distance from The Rise of Skywalker, maybe it’s time to consider Poe Dameron.

Poe Dameron is one of the main heroes in the sequels, but his place in the story fluctuates, to the point he only interacted with the main trio of heroes in the last film. Oscar Issac is great, but what about Poe? Does he hold up? Here are five ways Poe Dameron was underrated and overrated.

10 Underrated: Pilot

Poe Dameron enters the story sold as one of the Resistance’s best pilot, and he doesn’t disappoint. His maneuvers in the first major dogfight in The Force Awakens with the First Order underline his ability. Even then, people tend to sleep on his skills. Enough TIE Fighter Pilots do that they keep dying even with a trail of debris signaling that they should turn back. His piloting skills at Starkiller Base, against the Dreadnaught, and at Exegol show he might be the best pilot the good guys ever had.

9 Overrated: Smuggler

The revelation in The Rise of Skywalker that Poe had been a smuggler earlier in life is a bit of a retcon. The books and comics – all of which are canon – established Poe as essentially a lifer in the New Republic and then the Resistance. His backstory as a spice runner with Zorri Bliss seems a last-minute device to make him cooler or edgier than he already was. It doesn’t. It’s not the worst thing, but it doesn’t make sense within the context of what had been established.

8 Underrated: Fashion Sense

One area Poe Dameron didn’t need any help in being cooler in was his fashion sense. Jackets work in Star Wars, and he got a couple of great ones in the first two sequel movies. His tendency toward the leather jacket definitely fits the Han Solo mode, but Poe proved a bit more charitable than the old rogue by giving up his jacket to Finn (or at least letting him keep it). Poe goes without a jacket in the last movie, but Finn gets a cool new vest, and fans maybe kind of wonder where it came from.

7 Overrated: Tactician

Poe Dameron’s entire arc in the sequels essentially boils down to his becoming a leader. That’s why it’s so problematic that he struggles with the qualities necessary to be one. One of the most critical attributes of being a good leader is being a good tactician and in The Last Jedi, he fails miserably.

He makes a unilateral decision to take on a First Order Dreadnought, and loses an entire fleet of Resistance bombers and who knows how many crew to take out a ship that held no tactical value in the moment (whether or not it was a fleet killer was irrelevant – the objective was to escape).

6 Underrated: Endurance

His head might not always be in the right place, but his body rarely lets him down. Poe Dameron proved his endurance a few times in the sequels. First, he endured physical and mental torture from Kylo Ren. Then, he survived the crash of a TIE Fighter (which Imperial pilots really never do). His stamina gets him through several backbreaking defeats, including the crash of an old Rebel skimmer on Crait, and a skiff on Pasana. Basically, Poe crashes a lot. Maybe he’s not the best pilot after all.

5 Overrated: Judgement

Following on from his tactical sensibility, Poe’s judgment, particularly in The Last Jedi, showed extreme flaws. The dreadnought mistake was as much a failure of judgment as it was tactics and his dogged rebuke of Vice Admiral Holdo’s authority – to the point he commits mutiny – shows issues with respecting the chain of command that basically torpedo his own candidacy. Holdo had no obligation to tell him her plan, and Poe had no reason to challenge her as he did.

4 Underrated: Reliable

While Poe occasionally renders himself completely irresponsible, he is usually reliable. General Leia Organa depends on him a great deal, evidenced in her choice to send him to Lor San Tekka in The Force Awakens. She also keeps her stock in him after the disastrous chain of events in The Last Jedi, and he ultimately comes through, helping to lead the remainder of the Resistance to safety. He shoulders the burden of leadership after Leia dies, and doesn’t let her down.

3 Overrated: BB-8 Bond

The Force Awakens makes a big deal out of Poe’s bond with BB-8, but he actually spends very little time with the droid over the course of the trilogy. In fact, he tends to be pretty liberal in lending him out. The first time isn’t exactly a choice, but at the end of The Force Awakens, he lets BB-8 go with Rey.

He then lets the droid go with Finn and Rose in The Last Jedi, and then again – in the critical final battle at Exegol – when BB-8 accompanies Finn on the assault on the First Order flagship. It seems odd that Poe would let his best little buddy out of his sight so much.

2 Underrated: Good Catch

Romance isn’t nearly as prominent in the sequels as it is the first two Star Wars trilogies. The only real hint of any relationship for Poe comes in the last movie, with Zorri Bliss, and she succeeds where countless TIE pilots failed by shooting him down. Still, Poe is a pretty good catch no one seems to appreciate. He’s handsome, roguish, the leader of the Resistance, and it seems odd that even though everyone in the new movies, Finn included, has possibilities, nothing comes of it.

1 Overrated: Leader

Issues with tactical know-how and judgment combine to compromise Poe’s overall leadership ability. Though he ascends to the rank of general and leads a successful raid against the Sith fleet at Exegol, it’s hard to imagine that everyone who went through the experiences of all three films with him would have complete confidence in him as a leader. He’s often wrong, and often bailed out by someone else (in The Rise of Skywalker, it’s Lando Calrissian with the calvary). Not a ringing endorsement.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-poe-underrated-overrated-character/

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