Vice-Admiral Holdo

In Claudia Gray's novel and comic stories, Amilyn Holdo is depicted as an eccentric yet highly intelligent and competent member of the Rebel Alliance who is often underestimated because of her quirks. She is knowledgeable of the esoteric and spiritual practices of her home planet Gatalenta, such as astrology and skyfaring (a type of meditation),[1] and often speaks in riddles and strange metaphors. (Leia refers to her distinctive speech patterns as "Holdo speak".)[2] In terms of appearance, Holdo dyes her hair exotic colors, habitually going barefoot,[3] and often dressing in flamboyant clothing.[4] Gray said:

She's somebody who's a bit off-kilter, who sees the world through a prism most others don't understand. At first Leia thinks she's pleasant but weird, but as time goes on, it becomes apparent that there's much more to Holdo than you might guess when you first met her. We don't really have a lot of true oddballs in Star Wars, so it was fun to introduce one![5]

The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson described the character to actress Laura Dern as "someone who is so steadfast that you don't know what side they're on because they don't need the rest of the world to know their plans."[6] Initially, the movie version of Holdo was intended to be very close to her description in the book, described by Johnson as "hippy-dippy";[7] Dern also compared Holdo to a hippie.[8] However, the director thought that Dern's portrayal was "too spacy", so her character's eccentricities were significantly toned down in the final version of the script.[7]

In a 2018 interview, Dern revealed that Holdo is Force-sensitive.[8]

The book version of Holdo received critical acclaim, and readers compared her to Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series.[2][13] Her character was analyzed from a feminist perspective, with Valerie Estelle Frankel noting that Holdo possesses "a very different nonlinear [feminine] type of strength".[7]

In regards to the movie version of Holdo, Arkady Martine wrote that "women who look like Holdo — femme fatales, even in their middle age, women who… like frivolous things, jewels and bright hair and makeup even in the darkest moments — we are primed to read women like that as women who will betray", and that this "old trope" is eventually subverted when Holdo turns out to be a skilled strategist with "impeccable military credentials" who sacrifices herself for the Resistance.[14] Caitlyn Busch described Dern's character as "a stern, beautiful female character who audiences have never seen before; she swoops in, takes control of the situation, and shames a favorite male character like he’s an insolent child".[15] However, critics also noted that the movie depiction of Holdo appears very dissimilar from the quirky book character created by Claudia Gray, and basically seems "like a different person".[13]

• Amilyn Holdo in the StarWars.com Databank
• Amilyn Holdo on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Amilyn Holdo on IMDb