Star Wars has never been lacking in the romance department. (All’s fair in love and Star Wars, we guess?) But Rogue One, the latest cinematic installment in the Star Wars universe is different.
Though the stories are about so much more than just love, the original trilogy gave us the iconic “I love you” / “I know” exchange between Princess Leia and Han Solo. The prequels brought us the doomed relationship between Anakin and Padmé Amidala. Even The Force Awakens gave us a shippable duo in the form of Poe Dameron and Finn, although we’ll have to wait until Episode VIII to see how that actually plays out.
Rogue One is different in a lot of ways from its predecessors — gone are the campy, feel-good moments like those light-hearted scenes between Han and Chewie. Those are replaced by darker scenes that feel simultaneously heavy and realistic, despite the fact that the film takes place in another galaxy (far, far away).
But Rogue One sets itself apart from the other movies, not just because of its female protagonist Jyn Erso (who follows in The Force Awakens’s Rey’s footsteps, though this film happens before the original trilogy of Star Wars films). In this new film, the need for romance simply does not exist. And honestly, it’s pretty refreshing.
Jyn, who spends most of the film alongside Rebel officer Cassian Andor, is focused on the end goal of stealing the plans for the Death Star and removing those plans from the planet Scarif. The film ends with Princess Leia receiving the plans for the Death Star, which is, of course, the catalyst for the beginning of Episode IV, A New Hope.
In a way, Rogue One is a vessel for the events that spark the entire original Star Wars story as we know it. The mission clearly carries much more weight than anything else – including the actual lives of Jyn and Cassian, and therefore, anything that might have existed between them. They are rebels, but with a cause — and shoehorning a romantic sideplot would not only distract from the story, but potentially detract from the jobs to which they are devoted.
And while it’s common to try to look for signs of flirtation or tension between two characters playing opposite one another, it’s important to recognize when those things simply aren’t there. Just because there’s two characters sharing a lot of screen time together in a movie does not automatically signify a romance (just like when two celebrities share a meal together, it doesn’t mean they are dating).
However, the significance of Jyn and Cassian’s lack of romance goes beyond plot structure and the Death Star; it’s a huge part of what makes Jyn a feminist hero we’ve needed for so long. While Star Wars has brought us strong female characters before – it would be wrong to dismiss the strength of Leia, Padmé, and Rey – this is truly the first time we’ve seen a strong female character independently at the center of a Star Wars film.
Heroines are not hard to come by. We’ve grown up with them; after all, every Disney princess is a heroine in her own way. But for most of our lives, we’ve watched those Disney princesses claim her (because up until now, it’s always been a her) happily ever after with Prince Charming, reinforcing the idea that love is the end goal. And we still see this today in movies that have undeniably strong female characters; for every Katniss, there is a Peeta (or Gale, or both!). And we’ve become so accustomed to seeing romance on screen, to being told that “love conquers all,” to believing that love is more important than anything else. Romantic love is sometimes not the end goal, and it should not necessarily be the thing that outweighs all other desires. Because Jyn does not have a romantic trope, she’s able to define the movie on her own terms. Rogue One is her story; and she doesn’t need to “have it all” to be a hero. And the fact that the creators of Rogue One deliberately did not introduce a romantic story into the plot tells us loud and clear that there’s much more to life than needing a relationship.
Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t been sitting well with some people. Rogue One has been receiving sexist backlash since the early days of its production, and since its release, the comments laden with sexist double-standards haven’t stopped. For example, The Hollywood Reporter points out , “What the film really lacks is a strong and vigorous male lead (such as Han Solo or John Boyega's Finn in The Force Awakens) to balance more equally with Jyn and supply a sparring partner. None of the men here has real physical or vocal stature, nor any scenes in which they can decisively emerge from the pack in a way that engages audience enthusiasm.”
But that’s just it – Jyn doesn’t need a sparring partner. And THR’s critique of the lack of “strong and vigorous” male representation is exactly the kind of thing women have been feeling about Hollywood — and heck, about their own lives — for decades, and still feel today. In fact, a recent study from the University of California showed that of 800 films surveyed, only 12% of them had balanced casts comprised of male and female characters — and only 31% of those films showcased women in speaking roles. Moreover, women were found to be severely underrepresented in action movies, making Jyn Erso all the more significant. The study didn’t examine how many of those speaking roles were of “girlfriend” or “wife”-type roles, but we have a feeling that the percentage would be pretty high.
Ultimately, Jyn’s biggest impact is going to rest with the next generation. Star Wars undoubtedly appeals to all ages, but there’s no denying that children and young people are drawn to its story. And since the release of A New Hope in 1977, young people have been able to look up to Luke Skywalker and Han Solo and think, “I want to save the world one day.” And now, Jyn is giving that same feeling to audiences, whether they’re discovering the series for the first time or revisiting a beloved galaxy for another epic adventure.
Jyn Erso taught us that we make our own happily ever after — that sometimes, happily ever after doesn’t look like happiness at all. She taught us that we don’t need to fall in love in order to be fulfilled, and that sometimes the fight against something bigger than yourself requires extreme sacrifice. Jyn loved people, sure, but she loved her coworkers and her friends, and her planet. That in itself is a love story worth telling.
Related: Rogue One's Felicity Jones Says Beyoncé Influenced Her Star Wars Role
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