We <3 Kelly Marie Tran
Friday, December 22, 2017 at 8:00AM 
Chris here. No matter where you fall in your thoughts about The Last Jedi, you have to admit that Kelly Marie Tran's Rose is the single most joyful addition to the galaxy far, far away. And that's not just because of her touching show of emotion on the Star Wars red carpet or that she also wants some gay action between Finn and Poe. No, it's that she provides the newest saga's emotional epicenter and embodies its timely moral thesis: "That's how we're going to win: not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love."
If the new Star Wars films have taken the lead towards representation that other films still fail to make (or even attempt), then Tran and her lovable Rose are one of its most meaningful steps towards servicing a whole set of fans that deserve to see themselves among this universe. As the actress told Variety:
I remember what it felt like to not see anyone like myself in books or on film or TV. When you’re really young, you tend to fall in love with characters. If you start seeing the same type of character everywhere and realize that they don’t look like you, or they don’t speak like you, you start wanting to change who you are...
A lot of Star Wars fans who are specifically Asian never had a character they could dress up like, or they would and people would always call them “Asian Rey” or “Asian fill-in-the-blank.” I get very emotional when I see people who are able to identify with this character. That means a lot to me and I don’t think it will ever get old.
I’m always thinking about that little girl that never saw herself in things.
In so many ways, Rose is a hero for our times and Tran is one of the breakout stars of the year. Who needs porgs and fish nuns to bring some levity to Last Jedi's gloominess when Tran's easy wit and charisma are so bright. What awaits Tran next is one of the biggest points of excitement in the franchise galaxy, and outside it. Get this gal a romantic comedy, stat!
Reader Comments (3)
I found the actress enjoyable in the role... but am I the only one that left that movie feeling like at some point in development Rose might have been a lesbian?
To me, if you removed the dialogue calling her her sister... I would have thought Rose and that bomber pilot were lovers.
Rose's love for Finn never really felt romantic to me. There was no sexual tension between them. *SPOILER ALERT*... the ending still could have worked with her saving Finn and saying she was saving someone she loved. But that could just be because of their friendship at that point.
Something felt they got a little scared somewhere in development and backtracked, making the bomber pilot just a sister and adding a romantic element between Rose & Finn.
Personally, I didn't feel like that was needed... and I feel like they missed an opportunity to be even more inclusive with this character.
More like the most pointless addition to the saga. Her character added nothing other than putting the rebels in even further damage . I'm pretty sure that who was raised the storm trooper who was raised as a child soldier didn't need slavery explained to him.
I liked her character in the film as it was something different as she also kind of represented the idea of what needs to be done as we understand her reasons for hating the world of the casino as I hope to see her again in the next film.