This article containsStar Wars: The Force Awakensspoilers.
This article originally ran on Jan. 4, 2016.
In fact, women headline the first two big screen entries in the post-George Lucas era.
Star Warshas sometimes shot itself in the foot when it comes to female characters.
Thats not to say the franchise hasnt had its share of powerful women.
Princess Leia was revolutionary for her time.
However, the male characters have always been in the spotlight.
That changes inThe Force Awakens, in which Rey takes her place as the hero of the Sequel Trilogy.
Weve seen evidence of this shift in the last year.
you’re able to hear more about her in the short story The Perfect Weapon.
So how were these characters used, and did they live up to expectations?
Head below for a spoiler-y breakdown of each one.
As fans had guessed, Rey is the everyman hero ofThe Force Awakens.
With the movie riding on her shoulders, Daisy Ridley had a big job.
Luckily, she succeeds, creating a character who is tough, charismatic, and humorous.
She expresses uncertainty as to whether she can fly the Millennium Falcon, but does it anyway.
Maybe hes starved for human contact himself, they say.
Maybe stormtroopers dont have much of a concept of personal space.
(I like that oneit reminds me of the brotherhood of the clone troopers.)
And even while she fights, Finn watches her in awe.
All the scenes did were re-establish Reys abilities, which we had already seen for ourselves minutes before.
A questionable beginning lead to an enpowering story, though.
But as Rey grows, the inevitable Mary Sue topic comes up.
Rey is strong, but she isnt perfect.
And Luke, too, showed extraordinary leaps in talent inA New Hope.
He outright states that hes going from shooting womp rats to taking down the Death Star.
Not to mention that he grasps the first hints of his Force abilities about an hour into the movie.
Therefore, she isnt a Mary Sue.
But for now, her role in the films finale is a triumph.
She is often spotted in a control room similar to that on Hoth inThe Empire Strikes Back.
She takes a back seat from there, though.
She presumably coordinates the attack on Starkiller Base, but we dont see much of her there.
When did they become close?
What might Leia know about Rey?
Shes also critical as a member of the Skywalker-Solo extended family.
(Concept art shows Rey and Leia having a conversation alone in the Rebel base.)
Perhaps that is a weakness in her arc itself.
We never see the weight of the war on her except during Hans death.
However, Leias advice to Han presents an interesting parallel to the Original Trilogy.
She tells Han to believe in his family ties, to go rescue the one he loves.
Leias reaction is to tell Luke to run away from Vader.
Its an interesting juxtaposition, one that shows clear growth in Leias character.
(This, also, rests on Leias conscious.)
She lost Han because he trusted her.
What doesthatmean for a generally optimistic series?
I hope that this plays out somehow inEpisode VIIIand beyond.
Let Leia take on a larger role now that Han is gone.
Lets see what she thinks of Rey, of the new, darker Ben.
Her sons fate might be in her hands one day, after all.
Captain Phasma
EveryStar Warsmovie has its high-profile, one-off villain.
These usually dont get out of the movie alive.
Where those villains had Darth Sidious, Captain Phasma has Supreme Leader Snoke and General Hux.
This villainous role is one that has never been filled by a female character in aStar Warsfilm before.
Im glad that her gender didntmatter, that it could have been anyone in that suit.
On the other hand, seeing the imposing Gwendoline Christie in a fight scene would have been awesome.
Gwendoline Christies towering chrome trooper didnt have a huge role in the movie.
Phasma is a big, scary den mother, but she doesnt actually get to really demonstrate this.
With her buzzing, filtered voice and imposing presence, Phasma was a colorful character.
At best, shell have her own set piece fight, and maybe her own special weapon.
Id root for Phasma with a jet pack.
Maz Kanata
Lupita Nyongo plays Maz Kanata, a pirate and keeper of Luke Skywalkers lightsaber.
This is another jot down of role which weve never seen a female character play.
She has the ability to read people and can identify their connections to one another through their eyes.
Maz Kanata is a bit of both.
Nyongo brings a warm, commanding voice to the little alien.
She was originally intended to have more scenes in the film.
Even showing her once would have answered the question of where she went after her castle was destroyed.
As presented, Maz is delightfully quirky, and I think that Abrams and Kasdan did her character justice.
Yoda, after all, never went back with Luke to the Rebellion.
However, it would be nice to see more of Maz in a mentor role going forward.
The plot treats her as a character first, regardless of gender, with her own oddities.
Megan Crouse is a staff writer.
