Solo Enfys Nest

I wouldn't say great, we hardly saw or heard her. And she is a little ridiculous, but that's Star Wars. Her character served a purpose for the film's plot twist.

 

I didn't expect her to have a bigger or significant role other than looking cool, Phasma-style. But I was delighted how much potential she has. She's a good example of a well-executed secondary character. I enjoyed her scenes and she left me interested enough to want to know more about her.

 

This was one of the worst parts of a movie that had plenty. The whole charm of Solo was that it was an exploration of the Star Wars universe away from the big conflicts that we have been watching for the last few decades. This character, while otherwise cool and fun, ended up dragging us right back to the familiar Empire vs Rebels dynamic we were trying to get away from. What was the point, then?

 

I thought she was pretty intriguing. Didn't get to see much of her, but I definitely expected her to be one of the baddies of the film.

 

It actually admirably demonstrated a lot of complexity in the world-building. There’s not a big, artificial wall between the underworld and the political goings-on in the galaxy. Pirates can be Rebels, Rebels can be pirates, criminals cavort with Imperials, but also double-cross them, and some pirates are in conflict with big crime syndicates, etc. It’s a messy galaxy, and Enfys Nest is indicative of that.

 

That's not really profound or new to the universe. Han Solo was both a pirate and a rebel in literally the first Star Wars film. This was just a tired retread.

 

I wonder any chance of a Force & Destiny episode set around her like they did for Q'ira and the others?

 

I'd love to see her in a FOD episode.

 

No. Han Solo was a pirate who rejected his smuggler past to become a Rebel. Enfys Nest, who predates a more organized Rebellion, is both a pirate and a proto-Rebel due to the nature of her piracy (which was stealing for a good cause). Han Solo, in his piracy days, never stole for a good cause. He stole for money. And during his time with the Rebellion, we never saw him actually stealing for it. So though we can imagine he did, he was shown on screen as a straight Rebel.

And there's nothing necessarily "profound" about this. It just adds another layer to the world-building.

Without a doubt.

 

I understand this frustration. It was the frustration I had with TFA and then doubly with TLJ. Disney has an almighty algorithm that requires strong ontological tie ins to present property. Cannot be simply referential, reverential, oblique, inside or offhand tie ins. Has to connect to the success of how the OT swallowed box office and childhoods whole and how Kenner toys sold as a vital eternal contest between iconic forces. Your wish for SOLO:ASWS is likely my wish for TFA and TLJ.

I could have preferred a set of events that were 'a long decade ago, in a system far, far away' from any of the core selling points of Star Wars, the underdog rebel faction against the dominant fascist paradigm. I could have handled that. Instead I got something that shows a great deal of attention to detail and some intuitive understanding of that dynamic. So I'm ok.
I keep wandering back to Qira as some kind of signature conflict between the Han that Disney says is the true Han, the one in TFA, and the fake Han that Lucas would have us believe truly set aside his ways and ran the course. Of course I damn Disney to hell for a great number of choices, but the complexity does not go unappreciated. I appreciate *how (not *that) defenders of TLJ savor the juices and texture of Luke's many ways of being human.

 

She shouldn't have removed her helmet.

Much like Kylo Ren, Phasma, and Boba Fett, they give a character an interesting design and then spend more time than necessary ogling her pretty face

Should've kept her as a mercenary/pirate, because screw the tired old Rebels vs Empire shlock they keep shoving into our faces

 

Actually, her rebellion was a lot more complicated than that, as it included opposition to the Crimson Dawn, who seems to have been allied with the Empire in an unofficial way. Her piratical rebellion was quite unique in the series (leaving aside the cartoons), so I’m pleased we got it, rather than the more simple hard distinction between criminals and do-gooders.

 

Enfys Nest was a great character, nice to see another strong woman in the films. I really liked how they kept her identity a secret for nearly the whole film - I thought there was a man behind the mask. How young she is could possibly show how the wars draw in many young people to fight for a cause. I'd love to see more of her in other films, or even books; her character has a lot of potential, imo.

 

Disney Streaming series starring Enfys Nest and the Cloudriders please!

 

Disney could Joan of Arc this up and not veer greatly from what is laid out in SOLO:ASWS.

 

So much of the focus on the character is after when she takes off the mask, you almost forget how good she is when she has the mask on. Just her voice is crazy "Release the cables OR DIE!" and the way she's able to emote menacingly even behind the mask with just body language and head movements.

 

Well I said the same back on page three. Casting a young mixed race girl (or light skinned black girl) immediately hinted at her possibly being the daughter of Beckett and Val. Not sure if that would have been a good twist or not BUT the casting was tricksy as it does hint at the possibility.

 

The character would have been better if—as someone elsewhere on this forum suggested—Han found out she was lying about being a Rebel Alliance type, and used the fuel to buy her way in to Black Sun or some other rival criminal organization to Crimson Dawn.

Would contribute towards his cynicism regarding "noble rebel causes" demonstrated in the OT. Would also avoid Han being significant to the Rebel Alliance before ANH, which I wasn't a fan of in Legends and I'm not a fan of now.

 

That's getting to an in-universe realistic cynicism that would be pushing better R-rated suspense / thriller / espionage. Sicario comes to mind. Han discovers he was marked, set up, played, hung out to dry - by both women! Definitely a step away from the innocence of Flash Gordon serials. Of course, with what they did with Luke in TLJ, there is now no barrier to taking extremely very long steps away from the innocence of Flash Gordon serials. Your scheme would mean that Disney's 2018 film presents no women that represent stance and strength against evil for greater good and no personal gain.

 

Yah I think Han getting completely bailed on by Qi'Ra is a decent enough dose of cynicism building that you don't need Enfys being a turncoat ontop of that as well.

 

The novelization confirms that the Rebels she's giving the fuel to are Saw Gerrara's group, and not one of the precursors to the "mainstream" Rebel Alliance, like Bail Organa's group.

 

@Iron_lord Can you give a crude sketch of the differences in methodology between Saw Gerrara's group and Bail Organa's group? Without watching any modern non-film SW, my picture of Saw's group from RO is non-state actors not even pretending to be a state, quasi-state or para military state, and are not all that opposed to collateral casualties. Whereas Bail and Mon Mothma have never abandoned a high moral road of seeking out that perfect silver bullet that will nip evil in the bud, and are very loathe to take liberties with high collateral casualties. In order to swing public opinion and garner contracts for supplies and armaments of consistently high quality and quantity, the Bail and Mothma group have to present some kind of state-like continuity and gravitas. That the Rebels in SW77 are wearing uniforms with insignia signifies a state-like actor with state-like demands of its volunteer subjects.

 

That's a fair summary of the differences as portrayed in tie-in media, yes.

 

At one point, though, Saw’s group was part of the Alliance/ allied with them. Before they became too militant. In the timeline, did Enfys give the coaxium to Saw and his crew before they split with the Alliance? Or was it before the Alliance had even been formed? We need to remember that Saw’s methods got more extremist as time went on. So Enfys may have been fueling a more ethical man.