The early scenes of The Last Jedi introduce the sisters Paige and Rose Tico, members of the Resistance against the First Order. Their names reflect their contrasting bents, Paige being led by her ideals and Rose being led by her feelings.
Paige sounds like “page,” suggesting both the pages of a book and pages who do the bidding of their superiors. Both connotations reflect how Paige is led by her ideals. Many written pages – like the collection of ancient Jedi texts seen elsewhere in The Last Jedi – exist to communicate the writer’s ideals to the reader, just as Paige communicates her ideals to Rose before she dies: “Know right from wrong and don’t run away when it gets hard.” Like a faithful human page, Paige follows orders as a Resistance bomber, even though it leads to her death. In obediently sacrificing herself for the Resistance and for Rose, Paige practices the ideals she preaches: she is not led by the feeling of fear to run away from hardship; instead, she stands firm on what she believes to be right.
Rose is named for the flower that is popularly associated with romantic love, reflecting how she is led by her feelings. Whereas her sister’s guiding principle is “Know right from wrong,” Rose’s guiding principle is “not … fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.” The problem with this principle is that it can lead to making wrong decisions, since “What we love” is not always what is right. The film cheekily implies that Rose is too much under the sway of her feelings when she swivels around in a chair and says, “Do it!” The gesture and the phrase both suggest Rose has something in common with Emperor Palpatine, someone who is entirely controlled by the feelings of fear and anger.
Paige and Rose have matching pendants hanging around their necks. If the pendants were put together, they would form the yin and yang symbol, which represents opposites that complement each other. The matching pendants signify that Paige and Rose need each other, just as balance requires harmonizing right ideals and healthy feelings.
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Characters: Paige Tico / Rose Tico
Films: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
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Influences: yin and yang
Interpretive Tools: Tripartite Soul Theory
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