#swlb

if the person in charge insults you and demeans you at every opportunity, if the person in charge does literally nothing to earn your trust - and actually goes out of their way to sabotage it by being needlessly cryptic instead of saying ‘yes, I do have a plan, trust me’ for at least AN ATTEMPT at reassurance - just put your life in their hands because they’re in charge and hope is like the sun or whatever. like come on, it’s not about hope. it’s about leadership.

people can make the argument that, maybe holdo doesn’t want to take the time to actually connect with the people she’s leading, because either they trust her, or they don’t. that’s still pretty garbage leadership. you know what would be better leadership? listening to concerns, and actually responding to them without dismissing them entirely.

this is such an incongruous payoff for a series that supposedly revolves around taking down space fascism, a series that should probably take a harder stance against legitimizing leadership that’s uncomfortably close to authoritarian. and maybe that’s a reoccuring problem in star wars writing, I wouldn’t know because I’m not familiar with the series.

holdo has a great design, an incredible moment with leia, and by far the coolest scene in the entire movie. if there was a payoff that was about how communication and trust is important - in both directions, not just a one-way bias in favor of leadership - the resistance subplot could’ve been a lot more meaningful.