I do wonder how Poe might have been used in TFA if they hadn't written it originally with the idea that he was going to get killed in the first twenty minutes.
At minimum he would have needed some kind of personal challenge, character arc/growth, other than -
hey he's back he didn't die! Which was all very thrilling, but not enough.
-On a personal level Rey obviously goes from being someone who is waiting for someone to define her path (who she is), stumbling upon it, running away from it, to finally taking it into her own hands, (literally when the saber flies into her hands) and she tracks down
her father demanding to be trained.
(that is the story people, the entire internet need to stop deluding themselves.)
-Finn is actually more personally active in pursuit of his own identity from the get go, willingly breaking rank and changing his situation by any means necessary, his choices come in what he is going to do with that freedom and identity, jump ship again or belong to something bigger.
-Poe has none of that, other than a few physical obstacles, who he is is never challenged, he is who he is from start to end.(and we love him for it
)
But with more time he likely wold have had a more personal antagonist, and at minimum a more personal challenge growth arc.
With what little he got though, he managed to snag allot of attention.
t:
his role in the second half of the film made perfect sense. He's the best pilot of the Resistance. Why wouldn't the best pilot of the Resistance lead the battle at Maz's castle and the assault on Starkiller base?
