poe dameron and disability
Although it's far from explicitly canon in the source material, I believe Poe Dameron of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, is coded (intentionally) as a disabled man. Here is my thoughts on how he is multiply disabled, broken down by headcanon and extrapolated from canon.
hard of hearing
I think a good case can be made that Poe is hard of hearing, with a few instances that could point to this fact, primarily the very beginning of the Rise of Skywalker. Even though Chewie is sitting right beside Poe, Poe does not understand what Chewie has said, because his head is turned (at no other point does Poe have any problem understanding Chewbacca, so we know it is not a linguistics issue).
It’s only when he turns towards Chewie and Chewie repeats what he said that Poe understands what was said. There’s also the frankly adorable moment in The Last Jedi that’s extremely easy to miss, because it’s a far away shot and we just barely catch what Poe says.
BB-8 is beeping so fast trying to catch Poe up that Poe has to request that he slow down so Poe can understand him. Other possible evidence of him being HoH (beyond the comical amount of explosions he’s constantly caught in) is that there are several shots where we see Poe carefully watching the lips of the person he’s speaking to as they’re talking, as if that might help him keep up.
And when Poe gets shot in The Rise of Skywalker, my partner pointed out that it could be evidence he didn't hear the approaching stormtroopers when he turned to look the other way. My other partner has also pointed out that his line at the beginning of The Force Awakens whilst snarking at Kylo Ren, is further potential evidence: it's hard to understand Ren with his voice modulator (and masked face).
essential hand tremor
Another fact pointed out to me by my partner (thanks Braigwen) is that when Poe goes to cover Leia’s hand with his own in the Last Jedi, we see that his hand is shaking:
I later noticed that this isn’t the only time that we see Poe do this, we see it again in the Rise of Skywalker, where he cannot keep his blaster steady as Rey approaches the serpent at all.
These are the only two circumstances I can find of his hands trembling in the movies, though, and we know from plenty of other scenes that Poe ordinarily can keep a blaster extremely steady:
autism & adhd
I genuinely believe that Poe was coded intentionally by Oscar Isaac to be a neurodivergent man.
Oscar portraying Poe as something that is never explicitly confirmed by Disney is far from new: Poe is coded as a bisexual (or pansexual) man, because that’s how Oscar Isaac saw Poe and chose to play him, and even if we weren’t gifted with it being made explicit, it’s still there in his performance with multiple examples in his interactions with men and women. If you happen to be a fan of Oscar Isaac, or simply a Marvel fan, then you'll know in 2022 he was the star in Moon Knight. Following the premiere of the first episode, Isaac confirmed in an interview that while he was trying to sound out Steven Grant's characterization, he had the idea that Steven might be on the Autism spectrum. He approached Marvel with the idea, and it was green-lit.
While there's plenty of confusion and misconstrued interpretations of his statement about this (such as the idea that it's "left up in the air" if the rest of the Lunar System is also autistic), Oscar Isaac's performance makes it clear that Steven and Marc are both autistic (Jake would be too, but given his limited screentime I shan't go into it, but wearing gloves to avoid contact is pretty 'tistic). To date, the Lunar system is the best and most genuine intentional Autistic representation I've seen, right down to the most minor details that resonate not only with myself, but many of my autistic friends that also see their experiences reflected back to them through Oscar Isaac's performance.
Another thing about Oscar Isaac is that he is incredibly deliberate, and something of a chameleon. He disappears into his roles so thoroughly, there is rarely overlap in how he portrays characters. Except...the way that he portrays the Lunar System, particularly with their Autistic traits, overlap strongly with his performance as Poe Dameron. Most notably, Poe and Marc have incredibly similar meltdowns:
There’s plenty more overlap (Poe does the same anxious stim Steven does, of rubbing the inside of his index finger with his thumb) but there’s so much there I’m not sure where all to begin, but I'll include some moments where we see him stimming that I have evidence of:
(he also does this same hand thing when he starts to leave BB-8 and promises to come back at the beginning of The Force Awakens.)
We also see him fidgeting anxiously with his hands following the briefing in The Last Jedi:
Poe also has a habit of running his tongue along his bottom lip while he’s stressed or thinking something through. Here’s three examples from across the trilogy (there are plenty more):
Poe's conflict with Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo in The Last Jedi also speaks volumes to him being Autistic. He is lost without his routine after a jarring experience (almost losing their leader and his surrogate mother), and in the heat of crisis, forgets that he's been demoted and only remembers after he's tried leaping back into his normal routine of being whoever's in charge's right hand man, and he's shot down (and dressed down) by the Vice Admiral. He states the obvious as a conversation starter, only to be stonewalled for it. And the heart of the conflict between Poe and Holdo comes down to a communication's failure, an experience most autistic people can resonate with, as it is difficult to understand allistic people and their language of withholding information they think should be obvious to everyone else, and refraining from saying things clearly instead of (what appears to us as) riddles.
In The Last Jedi, we also see that on occasion Poe requires clarification (needs Finn to slow down and break up Rose's plan for him), implying some difficulties with processing information on occasion - such as when Finn describes the Battering Ram Cannon. Although it's unclear if this is Poe simply being touch averse generally due to sensory as an autistic man, or a traumatic response, Poe has an interesting relationship with touch in the final two films: often jumping when he's touched unexpectedly, or even pushing the other person away. He's also clearly uncomfortable with Finn's urging that they all hold hands, although whether that has to do with touch or not wanting to emote is also unclear. But when he is the one initiating, Poe can be extremely tactile.
As for adhd, Poe is a man who cannot stay still. Obviously, this is apparent in his constant need for action, that is tempered in the Last Jedi, but even physically, Poe Dameron is always wiggling. Even if he's standing in one spot, he is moving in some capacity: bouncing on his heels, swaying slightly, or even talking with his hands.
Beyond that, Poe oftentimes has a tendency to not be able to fully see the potential of negative outcomes to his decisions. He sees Point A and then he sees Point B, and ruthlessly hyperfocuses on reaching that goal, often missing out entirely what that will cost him (see: wanting to take down the dreadnought, but not realizing how much it would cost the fleet to do so). Poe is also repeatedly characterized through his impulsiveness, a trait that repeatedly causes Poe problems in the trilogy, beginning with his rash decision to stay behind on the village in Jakku, and to attack Kylo Ren.
adhd is also characterized by short tempers, and a low tolerance for frustration: which we see Poe experience in spades. Although it's subtle in The Force Awakens, we see him snap at Finn in the TIE Fighter escape when Finn states that BB-8 could be that important. The more time we get with Poe, the more obvious it becomes that his threshold for frustration can be short, best illustrated in The Rise of Skywalker with his frequent bickering with Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey. Just as quickly, though, we see him cool off and move on from said arguments.
mental health
Poe's mental health is the only thing that is ever touched on canonically. In the 2020 novel, Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura, the topic of Poe's mental health is a core part of the novel. He is a grieving teenage boy, in conflict with his father who cannot be there for him emotionally in the way Poe needs him to be. The result is the novel beginning with Poe taking a jaunt in his mother's A-Wing, and being shot down by planetary defense forces. When Poe later awakes in a cell and discovers the ship (his last link to his mother) had been destroyed, he explicitly wishes he had not survived the crash either.
Beyond that, the entire plot of the novel hinges on a series of catastrophic thoughts that ends with Poe feeling as though he has no other option than to stay with Zorii and her crew, keeping himself in an abusive situation for far longer than he should, because he feels as if he can never return home and has disappointed his father too much to ever be welcomed back with open arms.
Although it is never discussed within the films themselves, it is clear through Poe's reactions and behaviors to his circumstances that following his capture aboard the Finalizer, he is suffering from PTSD. Though often overlooked, the opening of the Last Jedi shows one of Poe's most explicit moments of self-destructive tendencies, with him offering himself up as a distraction to stall for time for the rest of the base to evacuate, taking on a dreadnought and contacting General Hux by himself. The implied notion of noble sacrifice (or suicide) is later made explicit when Poe is the first person in the Resistance to later recognize Holdo and Luke's respective suicides at the end of the film, and when he repeatedly tries to keep Finn from running headlong into almost certain death.
Indeed, most of Poe's actions in the Last Jedi can be summed up as a trauma response: his desire to take out as many threats to the Resistance as possible is understandable when we remember Poe is the first person in the Resistance to discover just how well-equipped the enemy is and how out of their depth the Resistance is (see: his horrified expression when he's first brought aboard the Finalizer). We also see Poe wrangling with guilt over the losses sustained under his command (the camera lingers on his face as Paige's ship is destroyed with the Dreadnought, his anger with Leia for treating the losses as a teaching moment that prompts him into stopping her and emphasizing the heroes they lost on the mission, his devastation on Exegol when it becomes apparent they are, temporarily, outnumbered).
Poe's response to Holdo's method of leadership and being pinned down by the First Order also speaks to his PTSD: he struggles with feelings of helplessness (that we see have increased by the time Rise of Skywalker rolls around) and his angry outbursts. His scene on the bridge is explicitly a meltdown, one that is responded by violence (two Resistance guards start to rush forward with their blasters drawn, until Holdo stops them) and then isolation (Holdo has him removed from the bridge; in the novelization, Poe is nearly detained in the brig for his meltdown, but Kaydel prevents this from happening. Many disabled people, I think, understand that segregation and violence is often the response to not behaving in able-bodied/neurotypical manners).
And although Poe is defined by his loyalty (sometimes to his detriment, as we see in Free Fall and in the 2016 Poe Dameron comics by Charles Soule where First Order agent Terex utilizes the fact that he has a mole in Poe's squadron to isolate Poe and drive him to a mental low that isn't seen again until the events of the Last Jedi), we see him repeatedly dealing with trust issues. He's reluctant to trust Holdo due to her secretive and isolated nature (compared to Leia's directness and openness with her people), even if in the novelization, he's equally reluctant to dislike her due to Leia's relationship with her. And though it's played for laughs, Poe questioning if Rey has ever used a Jedi mind trick on himself or Finn, hits differently when you recall the bulk of Poe's trauma comes from being violated mentally by Kylo Ren in the Force Awakens.
He is also shown to be extremely hyper-vigilant: jumping with Finn checks in on him after the hangar on the Raddus is bombed could be one example, but it really leaps out in Rise of Skywalker, with multiple scenes showing Poe being far more wary and cautious than his fellow teammates, often checking if they're being followed, and voicing his concerns over First Order patrols. On Kijimi, when Rey announces Ren's ship has arrived in atmosphere, Poe responds with a fear-laced, "He's here?" and responds far more violently to being detained in this film that he did in the first one.
And although most expanded material seem far more eager to brush aside Poe's mental health - or eagerly call for his death - novels like the Poe Dameron: Flight Log illustrates that Poe has a sense of avoidance when it comes to his trauma as well, outright balking at the idea of giving a debrief of what happened to him aboard the Finalizer, a trait we see in the films as well, with Poe focusing on what they accomplished with the dreadnought to avoid what he's feeling about losing people under his command.
narcissistic personality disorder
narcissistic personality disorder, henceforth known as 'npd', is an incredibly misunderstood and demonized disorder. those with npd are often classified as inherently abusive, with many overlooking that people with npd are often the victims of abuse themselves - it develops in early childhood or adulthood due to trauma, neglect or abuse. Poe certainly meets that criteria: Free Fall heavily implies that Poe watched his mother's ship get shot down from his childhood bedroom window, and his relationship with his father became extremely distant as Kes fell into a heavy depression after his wife's passing. Although he certainly had good intentions with his son, Kes was largely unable to be there for Poe emotionally as he grew up grieving his mother. Poe's surrogate uncle, L'ulo, was also in and out of his life, and beyond his inner familial circle, it is implied that Poe is quite isolated on Yavin IV: it's mentioned that he's had relationships before Zorii and had his heart broken, and there's a flashback of Poe standing up to bullies to protect another child, but by the time the book begins, there is no one his age present in his immediate surroundings, and Poe is the subject of ire and scolding from Yavin's Defense Corps, the very same people his mother used to fly with. The Defense Corps is very open with the fact that they believe Kes will give up on Poe and his impulsive behaviors soon enough and Poe is lonely enough that he immediately latches onto Zorii Wynn when they meet, due to their similar ages, and his belief that she's a similar soul to him.
Joining Zorii's crew - against his will, after being lied to that they were simple smugglers, and not high-ranking members of one of the galaxy's most dangerous syndicates - increases the amount of trauma Poe faces at a young age. He's thrust into a team that consistently puts him down for his beliefs and personality, and despite her romantic inclinations towards him, Zorii is no better. At one point in the novel, Poe nearly begins to infodump about a Y-Wing, before stifling himself as he realizes Zorii wouldn't care enough about his interests to listen. He's nearly killed on multiple occasions, and is forced to watch a mentor be violently killed in front of him, and loses a droid he became close to in the year and a half/two years he's with Zorii, and his relationship with her is also incredibly unhealthy: they dance around their feelings and never name their relationship as anything, she frequently puts him down for his idealism (calling him a "silly romantic"), and it ends with her attempting to kill Poe after he refuses to help her and her mother massacre their competition.
a trait of npd is having a grandiose sense of self-importance: in the Poe Dameron comics by Charles Soule, Poe's enemy Terex notes that Poe can't resist playing hero (indeed, Poe's hero complex is one consistent trait throughout most media he's featured in) and often uses this to his advantage. In the Rise of Skywalker, we discover that Poe believes it is up to him and him alone to lead the Resistance to victory, putting the weight of the entire galaxy on his shoulders, and crumbling under the weight when he believes he cannot succeed the way that his idol, Leia Organa, did.
other traits include a "preoccupation with with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love" and "believing that they are "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)" — a huge point of contention between Poe and his father in Free Fall is that Poe wants to follow in his mother's footsteps and join the New Republic as a pilot; it's this belief that has Poe leaping at the first chance to get off Yavin (Zorii's crew), and quickly has to prove to them (and himself) that he is as good as he says he is (which he is, being a practical child prodigy in flight).
As Zorii notes, Poe is a romantic, and he daydreams of being a soldier for a cause like his parents: he wishes to turn things around with the Spice Runners, and be able to call the shots with Zorii and help people. by the end of the novel, Poe overhears one of Senator Leia Organa's speeches, and has a bone-deep conviction that he's meant to fight alongside her, for her cause. After joining the New Republic as a pilot, graduating from the Flight Academy a year early and put in command of his own squadron, Poe is still noted to feel just as restless as he was on Yavin, stagnant in his position within the Defense Fleet, and craving more. That comes in the form of the Resistance, which Poe quickly joins after being offered it by Leia Organa, and he's noted to feel as though it was where he belonged all along. Being part of the Resistance becomes a critical part of Poe's identity, that he can't unravel from himself.
Once it becomes clear Leia has plans for him to become more than just her best pilot, he initially balks at the idea, believing he's just a pilot and nothing more. But by the time the Last Jedi rolls around, Poe is braced for his name to be called as the defacto leader while Leia is unconscious, and he's neither certain if he's relieved or disappointed when Holdo is named instead. As for daydreams of ideal love, we see in Free Fall that Poe craves someone who he can travel the galaxy and have adventures with, while doing the right thing, and fantasizes frequently about doing so with Zorii. Later in life, Poe still wears his mother's wedding ring around his neck, in the hopes of someday finding the right partner to give it to.
People with npd often need frequent praise or reassurance, something that even the visual dictionary for Rise of Skywalker notes Poe has a habit of, referring to his back and forth with Rey and Finn when they return to Ajan Kloss at the beginning of the film, as Poe seeking praise for his endeavors of bringing the intel and his crew-members back safely from the mission. Due to the beating that the Falcon takes on the mission, he is instead met with criticism, which he reacts badly to, both with Rey and with Chewbacca earlier in the film. His initial meeting with Holdo, where she dresses him down, also clouds his opinion of her for the rest of the film, until it's too late.
Poe is noted after the Last Jedi to be terrified of ever disappointing Leia again, and in the short story Through the Turbulence, we discover that his and Rey's friendship is frayed by Poe feeling afraid that Leia has replaced him with Rey, and because he feels as if she's "stolen" his mentor, and he's been butting heads with Rey ever since for it. He panics when he lets this slip, and the plot takes over, so this particular topic is not broached again in the story, but we see Poe's sense of envy and low self-esteem in Rise of Skywalker, with him often showing signs of jealousy of how close Finn and Rey are, and how he doesn't understand what Rey's going through with the Force. He feels so neglected by those around him (and he's seemed to have distanced himself from his initial support system that he had in the comics), that he immediately opens up with Zorii and begins flirting with her again as soon as she shows interest in being with him, and when she actually listens to how he's been feeling.
Indeed, Poe's scenes with Zorii - whom he hasn't seen since he was seventeen, and who tried to kill him in their last interaction - take on another shade when you remember that Poe is canonically starved for positive attention. Holdo's initial scene is a dressing down that Poe is visibly affected by, though he quickly tries to put on a brave face so she can't see it. Later, Leia's comment about how Holdo cared less about being seen as a hero and more about doing the right thing, also seems to hurt Poe, as if he's wondering if she thinks that lowly of him. And although they're meant to be family, Finn and Rey both consistently take their own fears out on Poe, and undercut his accomplishments (such as focusing more on the ship needing repairs, than the lives he saved, Finn snapping at him when they're about to be executed, Finn emphasizing that Poe is "for damn sure" not like Leia). He's also shown to respond to many of these slights and criticism with anger, snapping at Chewbacca, arguing with Leia over his demotion, and his fights with Rey and Finn.
People with npd also struggle with feelings of shame and worthlessness, despite their exterior of confidence in their abilities/personality. We see this in spades with Poe: in the Flight Log and the novelization for the Force Awakens, it's noted that in his cell, Poe was caught in a spiral of self-loathing and guilt, feeling as though he'd doomed the galaxy because Kylo Ren managed to pry the location of the map out of his head, but he's quick to defend his abilities to Finn, boasting (correctly) that he can fly anything, with a lot of indignation at the implication that he couldn't. Most of Poe's reluctance and fear towards leadership, stems from shame and worthlessness, that he isn't worthy to follow in Leia's footsteps. It even shines through with the revelation that he's kept his smuggler past a secret from Rey and Finn, not wanting their image of him to be shattered and them discover who he is underneath "Commander Poe Dameron, hero of the Resistance."
interdependence and workplace ableism
Poe's character arc is often the subject of ire, with knee-jerk claims that he is written "out of character" in everything after his meager amount of screentime in the Force Awakens, or accusations that he does not have one (stemming, often, from frustration that a relationship between Poe and Finn never came to fruition). But Poe has one of the clearest character arcs in the trilogy, after its protagonist Rey Skywalker: Poe's story follows that of a soldier ready to be martyred for his cause, to a man learning that he wants to live instead, and that he doesn't have to save the day on his own: that he can rely on others to help him reach his goals.
To put simply, Poe's arc is about a disabled man learning that he wants to live in the face of fascism, genocide and a rise in ideology steeped in eugenics; he unlearns the unhealthy mindset that you have to do everything independently and on your own, and that it is through interdependence that you can thrive. Both of these are sentiments rife with disability theory (something that Oscar Isaac is no stranger with, having a filmography that frequently tackles the topic), and are strong facets of every day living as a disabled person.
Many disabled people often internalize feelings of worthlessness for what they are unable to do, and death is something often pushed upon us. People would rather us die, than exist as an alternative to the acceptable able-bodied, neurotypical norm. It is something we have to unlearn, and it is a radical revolutionary act to decide to live instead: it is this decision we see Poe wrangling with in the Last Jedi. The film opens with a psuedo suicide run on a dreadnought, and his punishment is that he survives rather than die with the rest of his comrades. Leia demotes him for his disobeying orders, and informs him that he can't jump into an X-Wing like he has been to solve every problem, and makes it clear that he has two option: be another dead hero, or become a leader.
The fact that Poe is pushed into deciding whether he wants to live or die by one of the trilogy's other disabled characters, speaks volumes. Although we see Poe mulling over this conversation, his first instinct is to do as he's always done when the Raddus falls under attack, and the narrative re-emphasizes that he is not to be another martyr (or dead hero), and he is again the sole survivor of a First Order attack. The rest of the film we see him take Leia's reprimand to heart, with his decision to remain behind while Finn and Rose undertake their mission to Canto Bight.
It is also where we begin to see the ableism Poe faces.
In his first interaction with Vice Admiral Holdo, she ostensibly dresses him down for his disobedience that led to the loss of their bombing squadrons (conveniently leaving out the part where taking out the dreadnought guaranteed their survival during the ambush they just barely survived) — and the way that she dresses him down immediately leapt out to a friend of mine, who is well-versed in disability theory and activism: it is rife with adhd centric ableism.
Of course you do. I understand. I've dealt with plenty of trigger happy flyboys like you...you're impulsive. Dangerous. And the last thing we need right now. So stick to your post... and follow my orders.
We see how this affects Poe: interestingly, he doesn't look the least bit surprised to hear this, as if it's a spiel he's heard countless times before in his life. Out of universe, Poe's expression here is not dissimilar to one Oscar Isaac makes as Steven Grant in the first episode of the 2022 series Moon Knight, wherein he does face workplace ableism while talking to his boss, Donna.
The novelization by Jason Fry, also worsens Vice Holdo's characterization, and has her dress Poe down again in a scene that isn't shown in the film:
“I just want to know the plan,” Poe said helplessly. “I think we all do.”
“And at the appropriate time, you will,” Holdo said. “But just so we’re clear: There will be no idiot heroics, daring plans, or showy bombing runs on my watch.”
Poe’s frustrations boiled over. “You’re going to destroy everything Leia has built.”
“Captain Dameron. If you’re here to serve a princess, I’ll assign you to bedpan duty,” Holdo replied. “If you’re here to serve the Resistance, follow my orders. Somebody has to save this fleet from its heroes.”
And with that she turned back to her monitor, dismissing him. Poe, stunned, looked around the auxiliary bridge and found no other officer would meet his gaze.
The use of "idiot" is obviously ableist (and interesting when the sequels do an impressive job of toning down George Lucas's casual ableism. If you wanted to take a shot every time an ableist term or slur is used in any of the original or prequel trilogy, you would end up with alcohol poisoning; indeed, the only times casual ableism is displayed in the Sequels, it is often from the Neo-Nazi expy characters, or characters like Zorii who operate in a morally ambiguous world as a criminal, and Rose who - coincidentally - served under Holdo before being transferred). But then there is the even more disgusting use of Holdo demeaning both Poe and Leia, with her comment about "bedpan duty". It is so casually cruel, that the idea that we're meant to root for her is laughable when she's reinforcing harmful ableist ideas, and weaponizing them against two disabled characters (Poe may be coded as disabled, but Leia is quite canonically disabled).
Unfortunately, the conflict between Poe and Holdo is often watered down to performative discourse. Depending on what side of the internet you're on, it's either steeped with sexism towards Holdo, or more commonly, racism towards Poe, so discussions about the casual ableism Holdo displays toward him is non-existent. The internet is often too busy discussing how Poe should have been killed, or court martialed, for his actions of "not trusting the suspicious white woman", for meaningful discussions to be had about disability theory in his character arc.
Rise of Skywalker is also explicitly about interdependence, which is defined as such by leavingevidence:
Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others. If this pandemic has done nothing else, it has illuminated how horrible our society is at valuing and practicing interdependence. Interdependence is the only way out of most of the most pressing issues we face today. If we do not understand that we are interdependent with the planet we as a species will not survive.
As mentioned previously, in the final installment of the trilogy features Poe struggling with the weight of the Resistance on his shoulders, believing he has to go through it alone like Leia (notably, the stress of doing so, implicitly exacerbates the injuries she sustained from her being jettisoned into space in the last film, and leads to her death), and it takes until a conversation with Lando Calrissian (a cane user in this film) that Poe internalizes the best way forward is through interdependence, and he asks Finn for his help.
It's also something we see Poe beginning to process and learn in expanded material following the events of Crait. In the final issue of the Poe Dameron comics, Poe echoes the sentiment that we see in leavingevidence's quote on interdependence:
You know, I've been thinking about all of this. Thinking about the fight. I don't think it's about heroes. I used to. Got that idea burned right out of me. It's not about Jedi, or the best pilots in the galaxy winning against impossible odds. It's not about saving the galaxy. It's about saving your galaxy. The one within your reach. You choose right over wrong. When it's dark, you try to bring some light. You end your journey knowing you made things brighter. If everyone made that choice...well...I think they can. Maybe they just need to see how you do it. I think that's the fight.
By the time the Resistance returns to Ajan Kloss, after Poe has fully embraced interdependence and has been rewarded for it by the galaxy answering their call for help, we see him the most at peace he's been since the story began. He's no longer weary, more boyish and joyful, flirts with Zorii from across the field, and eagerly reunites with his friends, all while draped in the sunlight of a galaxy newly free once again. He also ends his story, visibly disabled: his arm still in a sling from where he was shot earlier in the film.
Poe ends the trilogy alive, with a community that shares the same ideals as he does, and disabled. It is framed as a happy ending, and that is revolutionary.