Why Captain Phasma Is A Huge Letdown In The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been shattering box office records and fulfilling fan dreams around the world. And, yeah, it's pretty awesome. But it does have one serious bellyflop: Captain Phasma is the biggest disappointment since the Apple Watch. Here's a look at exactly why Captain Phasma was such a huge letdown. Spoilers follow, of course.
Gwendoline Christie deserves better
Gwendoline Christie is one of the breakout stars of HBO's acclaimed series Game of Thrones. Why? Because she literally kicks butt on the series, knocking skulls, slaying villains, and dispensing justice throughout the Seven Kingdoms. She's a force of nature. So I was expecting a lot more from her in The Force Awakens, because I know she's capable of a heck of a lot more. It's great that J.J. Abrams recognized her awesomeness enough to put her in the film. Too bad he couldn't find any way to actually showcase her talents.
She looks way more awesome than she actually is
In The Empire Strikes Back, a minor character with only a couple lines of dialogue steals the whole movie pretty much just because he looks awesome: Boba Fett. And before the movie was released, Captain Phasma was totally set up to be Episode VII's Boba Fett—she's not in many scenes, but she looks so cool, fans were sure she was going to be awesome too. But Boba Fett also has the attitude to match the sweet design. Captain Phasma doesn't. Instead, she proves that you need more than just cool looking armor to become a cult favorite. You need personality too.
Where's the Dark Side's Rey?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been rightly praised for embracing diversity, especially in terms of gender, with new Jedi hero Rey as the most prominent of many new female characters. But where's the Dark Side's version of Rey? Think about it: have there really been any evil women in the Star Wars franchise? Captain Phasma would have been the perfect character to show that women aren't just capable of being heroes—they can also be horrible, sinister villains of the worst kind. Instead, it was another wasted opportunity.
She basically doesn't do anything…
So, think about The Force Awakens. Now think about what would be different if Captain Phasma wasn't in the movie. Yeah, bet you pretty much couldn't come up with anything, right? That's because Captain Phasma does absolutely jack-all in the entire movie. She wanders around with other Stormtroopers and watches them try to shoot things. She tells Finn to report to a doctor to get his melon examined. She gets yelled at by General Hux. That's about it. The chessboard on the Millennium Falcon literally does more than she does. What was even the point of her character again?
…And what she did do was idiotic
Oh, but wait, she does have one scene where she does something. And what she does is completely idiotic. First, she gets captured without putting up any kind of fight at all. Then, she meekly does everything Finn tells her to do, directly causing the destruction of Starkiller Base and the defeat of the First Order. Like, what happens if she just refuses to enter the code? The Rebellion is completely annihilated, that's what. If she shows an ounce of gumption and simply does her job, the bad guys win and she's a legend. Instead, she just punches in the code to lower the base's shields on command, because it turns out she's a total weenie. Great job, Phasma. You're terrible.
She goes out like a chump
Man, you thought Boba Fett goes out like a chump in Return of the Jedi when his jetpack is accidentally triggered and it dumps him down the Sarlacc's gullet? That was a hero moment compared to Captain Phasma, who as far as we know is literally tossed into a dumpster like a piece of garbage. How lame is her ending? The filmmakers don't even bother to show it, it just happens offscreen between scenes. What a completely embarrassing character Captain Phasma turned out to be in the end. Rest in peace. You should have been so much cooler.