Star Wars Rogue One: 12 Most Awesome Moments

In a way, Rogue One feels like an old-fashioned war movie, where a ragtag group of soldiers lead a charge on an enemy base and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. The third act, in particular, reinforces this, with the characters we’ve grown attached to dying one at a time.

Some early fan theories speculated that Jyn would somehow survive the events of the story, and even go on to become Rey’s mother. Rogue One’s finale undermines that theory in a fairly major big way, because unless she has some awesome sunscreen she won’t be appearing in a future adventure.

The bittersweet climax has Jyn and Cassian, fresh from broadcasting the Death Star plans, walking out onto a beach as the planet is being nuked. The two embrace as the fireball approaches, but instead of being a depressing moment at least their sacrifices give hope to the rest of the galaxy, making it an uplifting downer.