Right in the middle of Rogue One, Felicity Jones' no-nonsense fugitive Jyn Erso is being ushered through Jedha, a powder-keg of a city, by rebel officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). The audience has already seen the ultra-focused Cassian impatiently take a life in the name of the rebellion, and he seems truly put upon by being tethered to Jyn. Yet, as the empire's agents descend on Jedha, Jyn ignores his directions and takes matters into her own hands. She pulls out her batons and blaster and takes down a bunch of stormtroopers and a malignant droid, while he just stands there, gawping.
Cassian reacts like many Star Wars heroes—and like so many of the critics who wrote about the seemingly unique agency of Rey (Daisy Ridley) in 2015's The Force Awakens—standing there in utter shock while their female counterpart doesn't just save the collective butts of the good guys, but does so with stylish aplomb. A disbelieving Cassian is a perfect audience surrogate: Yes, Jyn kicks ass, but why is he surprised? This is Star Wars, and almost every woman we've grown to know in these worlds is a true warrior. (Indeed, there is no room for shrinking violets in the Galactic Rebellion, even if you are royalty.)
Granted, the very first Star Wars entry was literally about rescuing a princess from the clutches of her evil father (spoiler alert, if you have been under a rock for the last 30 years). But Leia wasn't helpless: She was plucky, one of the leaders of the rebellion, and the best shot in the entire film. Sure, she needed rescuing once or twice, but she also did her fair share of nick-of-timing-it as well. (Plus, she also ended up being strong with the Force and ditching royalty to become a general.)
Even Natalie Portman's Padme was pretty capable with a blaster, despite being an impeccably raised queen with senate experience and an unending sense of honor. (And, also a good lock picker?) While The Force Awakens marks the first time we see a woman pick up a lightsaber, Rey uses it to promptly destroy the Darth-aspiring Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)—who might also be her cousin.
Although they're just as strong as their male counterparts, Rey, Leia, and even Padme are also buoyed by fate and the power of the Force. But the first time we see Jyn, she's in jail for being bad and surly. She isn't a "special princess," blessed with Force-kissed powers; she doesn't have any royal heritage; and, compared to her predecessors, she doesn't even get any cool elaborate hair situations. Jyn is an old-fashioned morally ambiguous rogue, cut from the same cloth as Han Solo. (It is no coincidence that their outfits are similar.) Jyn is not some hallowed chosen one, walking the sacred path of Jedi before her. She's just a scrappy warrior, though sharp with a blaster and superb with batons—a first for a woman in the Star Wars universe.
In fact, it's in this everydayness, this lack of some larger, Force-driven purpose, that Jyn and Rogue One set themselves apart. Unlike the clear paths of Star Wars' first heroes, Luke and Leia, or The Force Awakens' duo, Rey and Finn, Jyn's role in the larger Star Wars universe has been heretofore obscured (the biggest technical flaw in the Star Wars canon actually became the driving force of Rogue One's plot). In her normalcy (well, in the Star Wars sense of the word), Jyn is a particularly effective heroine, like a Boba Fett for girls: A cog in the machine who suddenly makes a giant impact on the intergalactic space battle at large, with no pull from the Force or a mystical guru to guide her. (Spoiler: For those who love the mind-control woo woo of the Force—this is the first Star Wars movie in which the main characters could care less about that particular source of power.)
As Jyn moves through the universe, with both the rebels and Imperials hostile towards her, she is alone. Leia had the entire rebellion at her back; Padme had Jar Jar (ugh) and a boyfriend, and even Rey got tiny BB-8. All Jyn has on her side is a gun and K-2S0, a smart-ass robot who makes C-3PO look like a saint. But even without a cosmic purpose dictated by the Force, she still finds herself saving the galaxy—initially reluctant, then determined, like any chaotic good character. She proves that roguishness isn't just a male trait. Jyn Erso is the driver of this vehicle, just like Rey was before her—and for any dedicated Star Wars fan, that shouldn't be surprising at all.
