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Poe Dameron is Either an Idiot or a Saboteur

By Genevieve Burgess | Star Wars | December 18, 2017 |

By Genevieve Burgess | Star Wars | December 18, 2017 |


Over this past weekend I, like may of you, went to see The Last Jedi, and this is your official warning that I will be spoiling significant plot points in this piece. I have complex feelings about the movie, particularly the B-plot which seemed to get away from them, but I had a good time and that’s what really matters. However, the more I think about it the more I wonder what we’re setting up for the next movie, and specifically if we’re ever going to get a proper reckoning with the fact that Poe Dameron is responsible for the destruction of practically the entire Rebellion fleet.

Look, it brings me no joy to say this because I, like any other human being with eyes, find Oscar Issac delightful. He is delightful! He’s a delightful human being who oozes charm and charisma to the point where I think he actually has sexual chemistry with inanimate objects. But the fact remains is that the single most devastating thing to happen to the Rebellion in The Last Jedi is Poe Dameron. To the point where I might start to suspect it was deliberate sabotage rather than just stubborn incompetence if these were the sort of movies where that thing happened. I mean, Poe is responsible for:

— The loss of the entire bomber squad in a battle that didn’t have to happen.
— The loss of almost the entire Rebellion high command in that same battle.
— The loss of over half the X-Wings in that same battle, so when the First Order tracked the carrier through hyperspace the squadron couldn’t be scrambled quickly enough to respond, resulting in the loss of the REST of the X-Wings.
— Sending two wildly unqualified mechanics on a secret mission to disable a device on the First Order Star Destroyer with a plan so flimsy it sounds fake. “Oh yeah, look for a dude with a flower pin on his label in this casino and he’ll break you into the First Order ship. Why would he do that? Why not!”
— Immediately telling the two unqualified mechanics on the secret mission ON A FIRST ORDER SHIP what the secret Rebellion escape plan is so that when they’re captured (duh) the plan is revealed leading to:
- The First Order shooting down half the transport ships and taking the entire Rebellion down to like, a few dozen people with no working ships.

Hux should really send the guy a festive fruit basket before blasting him out of the sky. The sequence of events that Poe is responsible for is either a run of some of the worst judgement exhibited in these movies outside of Obi-Wan ignoring Anakin’s obvious murderiness, or he’s trying to find a way to deliberately put the Rebellion in harm’s way without being obvious about it. Poe Dameron is either a great pilot AND saboteur or a great pilot and a lousy strategist. Will the last movie settle this issue for us? Absolutely not. Don’t be ridiculous.