At the end of the day, I'm just glad to see that other people have watched and read and thought about the material, even if the general public hasn't. I've been preparing for this film for years, now, and now it's just about upon us. I've most had to come to terms with how the film will deal with Hux because, though I love all these characters, Hux is the one I feel for and relate to the most.
He's just so REAL. He's the guy who's smart and gives 100% to his work. And, his resentful co-workers stand around and just say he only got where he is through nepotism, having no idea what being his father's son actually put Armitage through.
He believes fully in the work he does and even personally checks in on training Stormtroopers (really, he goes and watches Finn's team in the training simulator when he presumably has far more important things to do. Maybe Phasma asked him there, who knows, but after Finn saved Slip, and they succeeded, Hux had nothing but good things to say about them, especially Finn. Phasma, notably, was the one who thought Finn was too compassionate.)
Hux is visibly exhausted when things get rough. He's afraid of forces beyond his comprehension because he doesn't know how to apply it to science. He's young, which the general public (and the ex-Imperial staff) seems to view as a flaw in and of itself. He's passionate and revolutionary (which to back up how the First Order, at least in extra materials does not resemble fascism, terrifies the ex-Imperial officers to the point they call him crazy. Hux is out for blood from a wealthy and corrupt government. His methods, of course, go too far, but he seems to have completely bought into the revolutionary ideas the First Order teaches its youth. Only the older officers think the goal is just "re-establish the Empire.")
Then, yes, there is the matter of him being coded as gay, which has historically been a choice for villains to make the audience see them as pathetic. Thin, little, petty Hux standing right there next to Kylo Ren, who is far larger and more masculine to look at. It almost seems like we're supposed to feel bad for Ren for having to deal with this insignificant little worm. Instead, a bunch of fans took a closer look at the scenes they had together and decided to latch onto them both. Because even if general audiences still buy into stereotypes and tropes, we don't. Instead of looking at a character who's coded gay and saying that means he's a villain, so we can stop looking because we know how this ends... We're willing to look at that character as we would any other character, giving him life in fandom, analyzing his hopes and dreams, and loving him, flaws and all.
Whether we hoped to see him escalate to main villain status, or just see him become a serious threat... Whether we hoped he did one day get his comeuppance or hoped he'd instead start the long path to redemption...
Hux is a brilliant character because he inspired us to look deeper, beyond just what the films say. He has me picking up every Star Wars book that comes out just so I can freak out completely when his name is mentioned once. I think many people in the creative process of Star Wars know that we love Hux and why. But, the more I see of these trailers and learn about the new film, the less it seems this trilogy is going to be about going beyond tropes and defying the expectations of general audiences.
Obviously, I haven't seen the film and am holding onto hope, but I'm realistic, too, and am in that place where I've thought about and pre-mourned my favorite characters (whether they lose their lives or just the potential of the lives they were set up to have.)
I will continue to hope that this film comes out and proves me so wrong I'm humiliated I ever said anything negative about it in the lead-up.
titsay
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
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