WhyweloveStarWars

The cost of fighting evil
in The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi

Writer: Rian Johnson

Director: Rian Johnson

There has always been death in Star Wars and not just on the bad guys team. The good side pays a price as well. A New Hope starts with Rebel soldiers being gunned down in a hallway and ends with Luke Skywalker’s childhood friend Biggs Darklighter being blown out of the sky by the villain later revealed to be his father. (Yes, many died on the Death Star, but at the time it was a fist-pumping moment because the good side won.) Death has absolutely been ingrained into every Star Wars story, but for the most part the focus was those losses being part of the battle. An almost celebrated red badge of courage. Then The Last Jedi, the eighth chapter of the saga, arrived and taught us how to feel a little deeper for the losses. There are faces connected to this death. Bright souls and valuable minds laying down their lives for the greater good, yes, but often needlessly. Saving what you love is a theme Rose Tico helps learn in the end, but there are deaths along the way that teach us why that’s important. (Her sister’s death being one that requires a deeper look later on.) The death of Tallie Lintra is a signpost of the tragedy to come.

We meet A-wing pilot Tallisan Lintra in the opening moments of the movie as Poe Dameron recklessly leads an assault on the First Order’s Dreadnought the Fulminatrix. British actor Hermione Corfield brings the character to life in an immediately engaging way. ForceCenter podcast host Joseph Scrimshaw once said that Hermione should teach classes on How to Act in the Cockpit of a Spaceship and he’s very right. Tallie Lintra jumps off the screen and into the story as she leads the Resistance Bombers of the Cobalt Squadron into battle. She’s in command, but charmingly excited to fight back. We instantly like Tallie Lintra.

And as we should. The character of Tallie Lintra represents the new face of the Resistance in this part of the Star Wars saga. General Leia brought some of her oldest and most trusted allies into her new cause. Veterans like Admiral Ackbar, Commander Larma D’Acy, Major Ematt, and Admiral Amilyn Holdo rushed to Leia’s side to fight back, but they all knew the cause needed to be built from the strengths and passions of new heroes. Tallie Lintra is a poster child for that movement.

Hers is a story not unfamiliar in the Star Wars saga. Raised by a farmer on a faraway planet, Tallie longed to be a pilot and dreamed of being part of the bigger galaxy. But her quest for adventure turned to a role in a rebellion. She could have kept her head down and not gotten involved, but, like Luke Skywalker before her, Tallie Lintra entered the fight.

She was a natural and quickly impressed the top brass of the Resistance. She was still young and bright eyed, but she was a leader and a fighter. Soon she was given command of the Blue Squadron. Grizzled vets and young upstarts alike looked to her for guidance in the heat of battle and this was very much on display during the Resistance’s escape from D’Qar and counterattack on the dreadnought. Yes, there were great losses, but, you see, we’re used to that in Star Wars. It’s part of the story. It’s what’s expected. The “good folks” win, but some die in the process. Our heroes remain, though, and Tallie Lintra is clearly one of the new heroes.

However, that was not to be. The First Order strikes back! The Resistance fleet is tracked through hyperspace and an angry (or is it angrier) Kylo Ren personally leads a group of TIE fighters into action. Ace pilot Poe Dameron races toward the hanger. The fight is on. We then find Tallie Lintra in the cockpit of her A-wing. As she readies her ship for battle, she looks to her friend and pilot Stomeroni Starck. She’s serious, focused, but, when he taps on the glass of his X-wing, they make eye contact and Tallie gives a salute and a sly smirk. Pure personality and purpose while seated in a cockpit. It’s a smirk that says this is war, this is tough, but we’re on the right side of this and, like the heroes of yore, we too will survive. Tallie Lintra is ready to fight.

Moments later, Tallie Lintra is dead. So is Starck. So are most of the Resistance’s fighter pilots. Kylo Ren destroys them. The cost isn’t just a group of nameless soldiers and pilots, it’s a bright young woman that left her planet and family to win the day. To be involved. To take up the good fight against a great evil. With one final look, one little smirk, a hero dies, and we know that this chapter of the Star Wars story is going to make the characters and the audience deal with the fallout.

Rest in peace, Tallie Lintra.