ST Poe Dameron/Oscar Isaac Discussion Thread

Eh, I read Jyn Erso YA and Leia YA and they were terrible. Didn't bother with Padme's decoy for I've heard it's even worse which doesn't surprise me given how bad the other 2 were.

Poe YA book is desperate "please accept me as your new Han, please, I'm begging you". LFL likes to put this character into any media for some reason so no wonder they invented this retcon of his background. partly in hope to finally get him acceptance as new Han (lol) and partly because they milked his Rebel years dry and need new content.

 

I like the new background info. According to some who read previews they did a good job of making the timelines work and relate into the death of his mom and issues he develops with his father after that time period.

There’s plenty of room for Han, Lando, Wedge and Poe content. Just because they’re all great pilots and have some bravado doesn’t mean they’re the same to me.

 

I’m not a huge fan of Poe, but I’ve actually liked a lot of the ancillary material he’s been in, I really liked his comic series and I’ve enjoyed his appearances in the Resistance animation. And yeah the recent young adult literature has been excellent so I’m looking forward to the Poe and Zorri book.

 

I have really enjoyed a lot of the new YA books, but this one doesn't appeal to me at all. I just don't like Poe's rewritten backstory. I don't want to read about Poe as a smuggler. I liked him as the ace pilot, the glorified Wedge, the idealistic child of Rebel fighters. This feels very artificial to me. It's too much of a change, like because OI is so cool, and Poe survived, they have to make him a rogue because rogue characters are the cool ones. It's too cliche.

 

Lost Stars is shockingly good, and that comes from someone who rarely enjoys romance books. I was thoroughly impressed by it! I kind of want to reread it now that you brought it up as it's been a few years.

 

Wedge was a smuggler before he joined the Rebellion (in Legends, which gave him a much more interesting backstory than new Canon). Wedge stuck to the principles learned from his parents, refused to smuggle spice and ended up smuggling guns for the rebellion before joining up as a pilot. But his trading/smuggling mentor, Booster Terrik, was a spice smuggler.
The smuggler background gives a character a good reason to have a more rounded set of skills than simply being a red-hot pilot, which in turn opens up more possibilities for them. In TROS, the revelation of Poe's background put some ambiguity to his character and could have led to some interesting reactions/repurcussions from the other characters (but there wasn't time for that in the film as presented). Poe's role with the Resistance could be read not just as a simple hero, doing what is good for the galaxy, but as his own personal redemption for his past.
Of course, as the film was primarily about the Jedi characters, there was no time to go into all that. It's an option that could be explored in books or comics.

 

The main issue is that all of the new canon around Poe says that he was born and bred New Republic and they just change it for TROS and mainly for shock value. It could have been something worth adding to his story but ultimately just feels tacked on and needless

 

I tried getting into the tie in material earlier in the ST at the height of my interest and pretty much failed. I enjoyed some of the "Legends" books back in the day, but the tie in stuff tends to be limited by its very nature. I do have some exceptions, like I have Supernatural tie in books, but they work as stand alone, "monster of the week" stories that work with the show as long as you don't expect anything important in them. I tried reading Lost Stars because the concept enticed me, but it (and its characters) didn't really capture me. Half-heartedly tried the Leia book, but ended up getting distracted by another book and never went back to it. I thought about reading Bloodline initially because of it's info of pre-TFA, but didn't. I was like, do I really want to waste my reading time for this?

I've pretty much given up on the tie in stuff with Disney Star Wars, especially post TROS. No interest in reading any before the trilogy/between the trilogy Poe stuff. It kind of baffles me how much spin off material Poe has in general. Now even more with a totally different backstory! But I have no interest in any Rey or Finn stuff, either, now. There's really only one ST character I would've followed in future ancillary materials, and it's the character they killed off.

 

I feel the same. I read new canon books between TFA and TLJ because they were hyped as important to the movies. But turned out they really weren't and I had to admit I didn't enjpoy them much. I liked Lost Stars because the Imperial angle was interesting to me. However, the characters were insufferable as it's the custom with YA books. Obnoxious female and bland male. The surviving ST characters are uninteresting to me because they had 3 movies to be interesting and they weren't. So no way they'll somehow get better in less important stories than in larger than life one.

I think that there's Poe overkill because they feel more relaxed about writing stories around characters who are not Jedi/Sith (whom they save for the big screen). So since he is a pilot, they can always write mission type of stories.

 

Poe may have been born and raised within the New Republic, but that's no guarantee he's going to remain un upstanding citizen all his life. He didn't really live with his parents until he was six, and he lost his mother only a couple of years after that, which altogether is pretty traumatising for a child. He wouldn't be the first person to go a bit wild in adolescence, and make mistakes. It makes him more realistic as a character.

 

It makes him a bargain bin copy of Han which is all they were going for.

 

I don’t want to blame JJ without proof.

But this might be one of the cases where Bad Robot said we’re doing this. The Story Group said “well we’ve already established it this other way.”

And Bad Robot kicked the Story Group out and said “we’re doing it our way.”

 

Feel like the Story Group was kicked out of the way a lot during the making off this trilogy

 

That scene actually felt like a reshoot to me. It came completely out of nowhere, but it was also the only good Poe-centric scene in the film. Amazing that Oscar had to suggest it.

By the time this scene came along, I'd completely forgotten that Poe was apparently the leader of the Resistance.

 

He even got his Han-lite scene as <cough> captain of the Millennium Falcon

 

Oscar isaac suggested to take Poe out of the cockpit and send him on an adventure with Finn and Rey because they never had scenes together. Which automatically meant he wouldn't be doing any leadership but hanging out with minions like a minion. And then he's like, oops, I forgot I was the leader, maybe we should include a scene where I remind everyone? My takeaway, Oscar, please stick to acting and leave writing to writers, and JJ, please stick to your guns instead of trying to please any senseless demand.

 

To be fair, Leia was still alive at that point.

And immediately after he hears she’s died, he steps up and the rest of the film that’s with him, is about him now being THE leader of the Resistance.

 

they already followed him at the ned of TLJ becase leia said so. but to acccomodate the trio quest for 1000 MacGuffins, they reverted Leia into the leader again. Nothing was gained.

 

I wish they wouldn't keep spewing out behind the scenes information and explanations for everything. Let us enjoy it and use our imaginations, please--at least for a while. The age of the social medium can be really annoying at times. At least I think social media "suck" this flow of tidbits out because the official source people feel like they always have to dribble out new stuff, or correct an impression, or whatever.

 

I think Poe had the most complete arc of the big 3. It may not have been the best arc, but it was complete. He went from brash flyboy, to leader who struggles to balance his brashness with his leadership role, to leader who finally finds humility and propels himself, and embraces his role as leader. Poe has reached his final ascension. He is the leader of the Resistance. He can go no higher. I personally enjoyed his story line, and felt Oscar Isaac was excellent across all three movies of playing that cocky, overconfident, hotshot pilot. Even to the point of making Poe out to be an ass in TLJ. Overly cocksure and arrogant and with his promotion, the whole I know everything and can do anything attitude comes out, even as it bites him in the backside. And then to eventually seeing that not everything is as simple as jumping in an X-Wing and blowing stuff up. By the time we get to TROS, we see Poe still being cocky and arrogant, but understanding there is a time and a place for it.

 

And as a spice smuggler which is yet another addition that came completely out of left field.