Like many of you, I saw The Last Jedi this weekend. I liked it a lot. Only after seeing it did I dip my toes into the firestorm raging within our community. I left the theater on a positive note and was surprised how many people felt otherwise.

That said, I had issues with the movie, the majority of which revolved around the story arc for Poe and Finn. I didn’t care much for it and got to thinking about what might have been a better story that would have fit into the movie without disrupting all the great stuff going on with Luke, Rey, and Kylo. And since most of the people in my normal life don’t obsess over Star Wars like I do, I figured I’d share this with some like-minded individuals.

So without further adieu, here is my alternate treatment for Poe and Finn in The Last Jedi. Spoilers abound.

Early on in the movie, Poe approaches Holdo, all hot and bothered about the “do nothing” strategy. Holdo reprimands him, reminds him of his demotion, and the chain of command. She’s wearing appropriate military attire, not a dress (c’mon, she’s an Admiral). Holdo then says something to the effect of “let’s put that reckless bravado to use.” She hasn’t been doing nothing; she’s been planning a boarding action for Snoke’s flagship.

She fills Poe in and taps him to command the mission. He’s the best pilot they’ve got, so it’s up to him to fly the assault shuttle. Nien Nunb is his second-in-command and co-pilot. Call back to RotJ and some fan service. I mean, he’s already there in the background. Use him!

Finn has knowledge of the ship since he has served on it. Erase the whole “Finn tries to jump ship” nonsense. Rose is now introduced as the tech who can disable the tracking device. Poe learns that Rose’s sister was killed aboard a bomber that Poe sacrificed. The responsibilities of leadership begin to weigh on him and he starts the process of maturing (which seems to be the theme of his development). The rest of the team consists of some Resistance marines, kinda like the soldiers featured at the climax of Rogue One.

The cruiser jams the First Order sensors, allowing the strike team to approach undetected. They dock, cut through the hull, and access the flagship using maintenance corridors to sneak through the ship. If Finn is a stupid janitor, might as well make that knowledge relevant.

Meanwhile, the First Order is puzzling out the jamming action and detects the infiltrators. Stormtroopers ambush Poe’s team; some red shirt Resistance marines die and Poe chooses to surrender rather than sacrifice the lives of his whole team. Before they are captured, he sends a burst transmission to the Resistance cruiser, alerting them that the plan has failed. Holdo enacts Plan B. She continues jamming the First Order sensors to cloak the transports.

Phasma finds the transmitter on Poe and realizes the Resistance has been warned. The bridge crew breaks the jamming and detects the fleeing cruisers. They begin shooting them down. Nien Nunb, along with Rose, avoided capture and create a diversion, allowing Poe and the others to turn the tables on the stormtroopers. Finn gets the drop on Phasma and kills her. They don’t trade any ridiculous banter about traitors.

The strike team then commandeers an Imperial shuttle and flees just as Holdo rams the flagship (not at lightspeed). The collision provides cover enough for the transports to effect their escape to the planet’s surface.

The rest of the movie remains as is. All of this happens in place of the Canto Bight jaunt and Poe’s mutiny.

Fin.

Honestly, this would've been great, too. Especially Holdo in appropriate military attire (same for Leia), but that didn't really bother me as much because they both may be diplomat-generals/admirals in the New Republic as well. It would also add tons of depth to the Rose, Poe, and Finn as operatives, but I think the writers might've thought it would've kept the universe a little too restricted. A big part of Star Wars is seeing the many different worlds, imo.

Honestly (also), I still loved the casino arc on Canto Bight. I thought it was hilarious seeing the scumbags in a flashy, lavish surroundings and bourgeois personality while Rose and Finn try to complete their mission. I felt like it was a fresh message critiquing profiteering off of war, something that's been going on for as long as recorded human history can attest for (I think).

I liked Canto Bight as a set piece. It was cool seeing a part of the universe that wouldn’t otherwise get any screen time. That said, I think Canto Bight would be better served in, say, the Han Solo film than this one.

14 minutes ago, SpikeSpiegel said:

I felt like it was a fresh message critiquing profiteering off of war, something that's been going on for as long as recorded human history can attest for (I think).

Wait a minute, is it a metaphor for Cool Stuff Inc.?

2 hours ago, Jadotch said:

Wait a minute, is it a metaphor for Cool Stuff Inc.?

Dang. And I have been buying both Resistance and First Order materiel.

I like your idea.

I’d like to quickly point out how a fan on an X-Wing forum so quickly came up with an easy to achieve edit that’s objectively better than the heap of **** Rian Johnson turned out. You, sir, should be the one working on the next trilogy. Or at least, you’d be more suited to it than him.

That got real bitter real quick. But I just soooo don’t understand how a professional filmmaker could write a script like that, read it, and feel proud putting his name on it. I just....ugh.....

29 minutes ago, Ailowynn said:

I like your idea.

I’d like to quickly point out how a fan on an X-Wing forum so quickly came up with an easy to achieve edit that’s objectively better than the heap of **** Rian Johnson turned out. You, sir, should be the one working on the next trilogy. Or at least, you’d be more suited to it than him.

That got real bitter real quick. But I just soooo don’t understand how a professional filmmaker could write a script like that, read it, and feel proud putting his name on it. I just....ugh.....

Tell this to Disney! I’ve got a great idea for a movie about the Max Rebo Band. It’s basically Pitch Perfect meets Heat, with a dash of Joe Versus the Volcano. I don’t know what’s taking so long for them to get back to me, but it should be any day now...

Yeah, something like that would solve one of the biggest problems with the film for me which is that it 'deconstructs' the heroes journey but only if you're not a force user.

If you can use the force you get a proper arc but if you're a normal person then basically whatever you do is doomed to failure and you should just shut up and listen to your superiors.

I'm actually toying with a "Tragety of Master Skywalker" short story made of headcanon about the fall of luke's academy and the origin of Snoke.

54 minutes ago, KellenC said:

Yeah, something like that would solve one of the biggest problems with the film for me which is that it 'deconstructs' the heroes journey but only if you're not a force user.

If you can use the force you get a proper arc but if you're a normal person then basically whatever you do is doomed to failure and you should just shut up and listen to your superiors.

Even Rey failed in this movie, failed to bring Luke, failed to turn Kylo to the light.

I think Yoda summed it up best:

“failure is the hardest lesson “.

12 minutes ago, FlyingAnchors said:

Even Rey failed in this movie, failed to bring Luke, failed to turn Kylo to the light.

I think Yoda summed it up best:

“failure is the hardest lesson “.

Yes, but her failure served a purpose and was a much better grounded story.

She felt she something in Kylo that pulled her to that confrontation. She couldn't redeem him but they do defeat Snoke and she then escapes and manages to rejoin her friends and is responsible (she brought the falcon) for saving the people on Crait while Luke distracts the FO. Motivation, Action, Resolution.

There's nothing wrong with failure per say, but it should serve a narrative purpose.

Poe in particular could have been much better handled with the same narrative result. The goal is to get him to acknowledge that 'hopping in an x wing and blowing something up' isn't the best plan at all times. That could be easily achieved by having him interact with Rose and reflecting on the actual cost of losing all those bombers, as suggested above.

Alternatively, maybe he could have reached his x wing and immediately charged at Snokes ship or the Star Destroyers trying to do something stupid. By being focussed on that, he misses Kylo and friends and doesn't stop them blowing up the bridge, nearly causing Leias death.

Instead we have a bunch of narrative cheats that just beat the tar out of him and make both him and the Resistance look like idiots.

1) The Admiral refuses to tell the Number 3 ranked officer on the ship the plan, even in private or at the point where he asks again and sees the transports being fuelled

2) He leads a charge of lightly armed (possibly even unarmed) skiffs that has 0 chance of success against the walkers or the gun. Seriously, they're basically flying straight into a firing squad

3)He sends a guy who's never lived a normal life (seriously, Finn has been out of the FO for what? A week at this point?) and a tech woman with no espionage skills to an enemy planet to maybe, possibly find one dude with no links to the resistance. Shocked this doesn't work out.

Again, failing is fine (Empire is the best Star Wars film after all) but you need to build a strong narrative, not just force people to act like idiots.

For me, if you take a minute or two to think about it, it's strange that Poe has been put in a position of a commander, who NOW have to learn about loss of soldiers during war.

First of all - Poe Dameron is leader of a squadron. He couldn't have achieved it immediately. It is certain, that he earned his position in the Resistance and didn't receive his rank for nothing. During the process, surely he had to face loss of soldiers, that he was entrusted with. Not only nameless soldiers, but certainly also friends. If you read the "Rogue Squadron" series by Michael A. Stackpole, you know what I mean. Surely there were bounds of friendship between Poe and his wingmates. I'm certain that he had lost many of his friends before we saw him in The Force Awakens. Moreover, he lost almost entire squadron during the attack on Starkiller Base.

If he hadn't learn how to be a responsible leader by then, it's kind of strange that he learned it only because Leia had smacked him on the face and together with admiral Holdo had told him some bitter words of truth.

All I want to say is that he should have been a responsible leader for his wingmates earlier - before we saw him in TFA. If his commanders didn't notice, that he is reckless and even though they let him command other people, the responsibility for loss of his wingmates blames them more than Poe.

Also, Atticus,I like your scenario better, than the original

Poe and Finn’s character arcs in Last Jedi are learning when not to fight and what to fight for. I honestly think the movie as is does an incredible job of directing these character arcs with actions that make sense for the characters given their motivations and knowledge. Having Vice Admiral Holdo order a suicide mission when she knows that safety is a few hours away makes very little sense. And she does not have to tell Poe anything. She’s his commanding officer, he had been demoted (however cheekily), and he’s the captain of a starfighter squadron without any fighters. Leia/Holdo’s plan would’ve actually worked, had it not been for Poe and Finn’s (which doesn’t make their plan illogical, as they made do with the knowledge and resources at their disposal).

Poe has suffered losses, close losses, under his command against the first order (see the Poe Dameron comic series). He knows the stakes, but he’s unwilling to let those he loses die “in vain,” without doing violence to the First Order in turn. Through the events of the movie he learns that violence does not need to be met with violence, that so long as they survive they offer hope to the galaxy that peace is possible.

Finn has only known the First Order, and then the freedom of individuality. He does not have anything to define himself for (even his friendship with Rey is rather selfish...). Rose helps him see that he need not define himself by what he opposes. Canto Bight is essential to this development.

The whole point of the movie is about breaking the cycle of violence. Whereas most “edits” to the movie would say “those hot headed men who want to solve everything by violence were right,” missing the point.

39 minutes ago, WAC47 said:

Poe and Finn’s character arcs in Last Jedi are learning when not to fight and what to fight for. I honestly think the movie as is does an incredible job of directing these character arcs with actions that make sense for the characters given their motivations and knowledge. Having Vice Admiral Holdo order a suicide mission when she knows that safety is a few hours away makes very little sense. And she does not have to tell Poe anything. She’s his commanding officer, he had been demoted (however cheekily), and he’s the captain of a starfighter squadron without any fighters. Leia/Holdo’s plan would’ve actually worked, had it not been for Poe and Finn’s (which doesn’t make their plan illogical, as they made do with the knowledge and resources at their disposal).

Poe has suffered losses, close losses, under his command against the first order (see the Poe Dameron comic series). He knows the stakes, but he’s unwilling to let those he loses die “in vain,” without doing violence to the First Order in turn. Through the events of the movie he learns that violence does not need to be met with violence, that so long as they survive they offer hope to the galaxy that peace is possible.

Finn has only known the First Order, and then the freedom of individuality. He does not have anything to define himself for (even his friendship with Rey is rather selfish...). Rose helps him see that he need not define himself by what he opposes. Canto Bight is essential to this development.

The whole point of the movie is about breaking the cycle of violence. Whereas most “edits” to the movie would say “those hot headed men who want to solve everything by violence were right,” missing the point.

I have to say, I really liked this post and it did make me go away and think about it for a while.

I think this is a valid defence of the Poe/Finn arc. It's not one I agree with, but I can see the logic at least. However, I don't think it can be said it's a theme for the whole movie. After all, Rey tries to turn Kylo without violence and he ends up going fully to the Dark Side. This would seem to mean that he'll need to be met with violence at some point, unless we're in for another emotional dialogue scene in Ep 9 which would seem a waste at this point.

I think this is the problem, it very much feels like two movies whose themes don't fit together.

Poe/Finn arc could be considered to 'deconstruct the heroes journey' but this doesn't fit Rey/Luke scene.

Same with the anti-violence message.

Also, the 'anyone can be a hero themes' are also undermined by this dichotomy as the message ends up being 'only the people with force powers succeed'.

I don’t mind at all Poe’s story. He is a commander of a squadron... nowhere close to the chain of command for the captial ship. As for uniforms, they aren’t exactly a military. They are organized gorillas wanting to be a military. Hence why Poe wasn’t thrown into the brig for his insubordination with Leia AND Holdo.

The casino bit, ok. As much as I love this movie, that was a little out of place.

5 hours ago, KellenC said:

Yes, but her failure served a purpose and was a much better grounded story.

She felt she something in Kylo that pulled her to that confrontation. She couldn't redeem him but they do defeat Snoke and she then escapes and manages to rejoin her friends and is responsible (she brought the falcon) for saving the people on Crait while Luke distracts the FO. Motivation, Action, Resolution.

There's nothing wrong with failure per say, but it should serve a narrative purpose.

Poe in particular could have been much better handled with the same narrative result. The goal is to get him to acknowledge that 'hopping in an x wing and blowing something up' isn't the best plan at all times. That could be easily achieved by having him interact with Rose and reflecting on the actual cost of losing all those bombers, as suggested above.

Alternatively, maybe he could have reached his x wing and immediately charged at Snokes ship or the Star Destroyers trying to do something stupid. By being focussed on that, he misses Kylo and friends and doesn't stop them blowing up the bridge, nearly causing Leias death.

Instead we have a bunch of narrative cheats that just beat the tar out of him and make both him and the Resistance look like idiots.

1) The Admiral refuses to tell the Number 3 ranked officer on the ship the plan, even in private or at the point where he asks again and sees the transports being fuelled

2) He leads a charge of lightly armed (possibly even unarmed) skiffs that has 0 chance of success against the walkers or the gun. Seriously, they're basically flying straight into a firing squad

3)He sends a guy who's never lived a normal life (seriously, Finn has been out of the FO for what? A week at this point?) and a tech woman with no espionage skills to an enemy planet to maybe, possibly find one dude with no links to the resistance. Shocked this doesn't work out.

Again, failing is fine (Empire is the best Star Wars film after all) but you need to build a strong narrative, not just force people to act like idiots.

I agree the Poe arc is pretty dumb, especially after the way he lead during the Star killer base attack. I feel like they did this just to make Holdo a strong character. (Which is really sad that Han is gone, it would have been funny to have him tear Holdo a new one for not explaining things during the meeting.)

4) from the guidebook, apparently he had some sort of crush on Paige which makes it really weird he sacrifices her for the sake of getting a dreadnought and isn’t torn up about it at least a little bit like Leia is about losing an entire squadron.

8 minutes ago, FlyingAnchors said:

I agree the Poe arc is pretty dumb, especially after the way he lead during the Star killer base attack. I feel like they did this just to make Holdo a strong character. (Which is really sad that Han is gone, it would have been funny to have him tear Holdo a new one for not explaining things during the meeting.)

4) from the guidebook, apparently he had some sort of crush on Paige which makes it really weird he sacrifices her for the sake of getting a dreadnought and isn’t torn up about it at least a little bit like Leia is about losing an entire squadron.

Yeah, I thought that was pretty weird at the time, like there was a weird sad glance out his cockpit when her bomber blew up but then...nothing.

12 hours ago, Ailowynn said:

I like your idea.

I’d like to quickly point out how a fan on an X-Wing forum so quickly came up with an easy to achieve edit that’s objectively better than the heap of **** Rian Johnson turned out. You, sir, should be the one working on the next trilogy. Or at least, you’d be more suited to it than him.

That got real bitter real quick. But I just soooo don’t understand how a professional filmmaker could write a script like that, read it, and feel proud putting his name on it. I just....ugh.....

I'm curious, what are your thoughts on Rogue One?

9 hours ago, SpikeSpiegel said:

I'm curious, what are your thoughts on Rogue One?

It’s in competition for my favorite Star Wars. Not sure if that’ll make your mind melt or make you go “I knew it” but that’s my opinion.