Admiral Holdo - A Toxic Leader

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The fact that the writers thought that Holdo was a likable character is insane to me.

A woman in a position of power doesn't necessarily mean she's a strong woman.

I remember thinking she was a spy or a traitor. Literally nothing she said or did made sense as it seemed like she was trying to ruin everything. But no. She was just beyond incompetent and belitting. So brave. Much stunning.

"Purple-haired space Karen". This guy cracks me a smile each and every time.

"Purple haired space Karen." That is the perfect way to describe her character

“Animals have bright colors to warn others nearby of their toxicity”

She's the difference between being a leader and being bossy.

I love how they were forced to retcon the "Holdo Maneuver" in the next movie by saying it was a one in a million shot. Meaning she gambled the entire resistance on a near impossibility.

I can never get past Holdo's outfit. Is that really an Admiral's uniform? She looks like she's dressed for a gala opening at an art exhibit. Just needs a glass of red wine.

The reason none of these characters act like adults is because they were written by a man-baby.

The contrast between her and Leia is ridiculous. If you look at the briefing Leia gives the X-Wing pilots just before they evacuate Hoth, she does everything right; she's confident and authoritative in her superior position without in any way denigrating theirs, tells them exactly what they need to do, tells them exactly why they need to do it this way, responds to a perfectly reasonable question ("Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?") by calmly showing that command's already thought of that and has measures to stop it being a suicide mission, asks if anyone has any questions, and sends them off with a respectful "good luck" with a tone of "yes, this will be dangerous, but your odds are decent" rather than "we need a miracle." Even the appearance, costume and body language is a contrast; Leia's a head shorter and the only woman there (and a young, pretty one at that), but her eye contact and commanding tone of voice are direct and clear without being overcompensating, she appears confident but not overconfident, and her purely functional clothes and hair broadcast that, even though she has a higher rank and is addressed as "princess", she is very much one of them. Compare this to Holdo; despite being unusually tall and a more believable age to be in command she has absolutely no presence, her facial expression and tone of voice somehow manage to communicate both arrogance and "I'm totally out of my depth" at the same time, and both her coiffure (extra noticeable due to its ridiculous colour) and the floor-length gown that we see she needs to pick up to manage stairs (seriously, what kind of idiot designs a military uniform that will trip its wearer?) broadcast that she is not a soldier, she is a queen, and expects to be treated as such by the peasants.

After 9 years in the army, when I first saw this movie I assumed what any person who had a shitty leader before would assume...that she is working for the enemy. The entire movie I was waiting for the reveal that she was an agent of the bad guys. Imagine my chagrin when it turned out that not only was she one of the "good guys", but that she was also somehow vindicated in her decision making. Wtf?!

I don’t mind Holdo being portrayed as an incompetent leader- I DO mind that her leadership is depicted in the movie as being a strong leadership style

This was just an excuse to talk about crimson tide wasn't it.

She was so terrible that no one mourned her 'sacrifice' in the end. They were just so glad she was gone. Alternatively, if Admiral Akbar was there, and had made such a sacrifice when all else failed, damn, what a massive character boost for him and the franchise. Every kid at Halloween would have been Adm. Akbar! No, they just blew him up with no fanfare, not a word of mourning. Pathetic. They really did try to kill the childhood of millions of adults who loved the first three movies. It's like they hated their own audience.

As a kid watching this, i genuinely thought holdo was going to be a twist villain. That was how she seemed characterized, and i was seriously confused when she turned out to be “the hero”

Worst leadership displayed on screen since Lt. Gorman in "Aliens" Poe asked a simple question: What's the plan?" You fail as a leader if you are unable to communicate with your crew and would rather antagonize and belittle one of the best soldier in your army just to make the point that you are a strong female and won't be mansplained what to do when Poe didn't even challenge her authority at first. He only asked what was the fucking plan. That's the most legitimate question to ask your leader in that situation.

Let's be real here: the ONLY reason any people defend Holdo is because she's a woman. If a male general had treated a female captain with the same disdain, arrogance, and pettiness that Holdo showed to Poe, that general would be rightly called out as a toxic, ineffective bully.

Holdo was a perfect image into how the matriarchy at Disney works, - poisonous and condescending, and both abundantly delivered from behind a smiling mask. Rey is KK's image of herself, Holdo is what she's really like.