"Who the fuck is that?" you ask.
This man. The captain of the Lightmaker, aka "Corvette Five," a Sphyrna-class corvette (Hammerhead cruiser). AKA the ship that did this:
Imagine you're this guy. You have just jumped headfirst into a battle for the fate of the galaxy, with no warning, planning or preparation. You receive word from Admiral Raddus that there is exactly one way to take down the shield gate to receive the plans for the Death Star. Do you hesitate? No. Is there fear in your heart? Fuck no. Did you make sure to evacuate all non-essential personnel via escape pods, and dedicate your some of your final words to making sure that your remaining crew will take their last act on their feet? Absolutely.
Sure, Luke and Lando destroyed Death Stars. Who hasn't? But this guy, Kado Oquoné, pulled off the sickest space maneuver in Star Wars History. In doing so, he set the stage for all that came after. If Holdo is in the starship captain hall of fame, this guy founded it.
May his giant oversized helmet and chinstrap be an inspiration to us all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Realtalk, I just watched the last third of Rogue One again, and the Battle of Scarif is a top-3 Star Wars sequence for me. It might even be my favorite. And even as a fanboy who's seen the last 8 movies on opening night (for better and worse), the Hammerhead thing might be my single favorite moment in any of them. I don't know why. It doesn't feature any important characters, and is just some CGI running into some other CGI. And there's no trope more played out than the 'valiant sacrifice'. But I grew up loving the ships of Star Wars via the movies, toys, lego and books, and something about this just clicked hard.
Rogue One is good. Go ahead and boot it up to 1:27:45 and just chill on Scarif for 40 minutes. Treat yourself. And raise a glass to Kado Oquoné.
This man. The captain of the Lightmaker, aka "Corvette Five," a Sphyrna-class corvette (Hammerhead cruiser). AKA the ship that did this:
Imagine you're this guy. You have just jumped headfirst into a battle for the fate of the galaxy, with no warning, planning or preparation. You receive word from Admiral Raddus that there is exactly one way to take down the shield gate to receive the plans for the Death Star. Do you hesitate? No. Is there fear in your heart? Fuck no. Did you make sure to evacuate all non-essential personnel via escape pods, and dedicate your some of your final words to making sure that your remaining crew will take their last act on their feet? Absolutely.
Sure, Luke and Lando destroyed Death Stars. Who hasn't? But this guy, Kado Oquoné, pulled off the sickest space maneuver in Star Wars History. In doing so, he set the stage for all that came after. If Holdo is in the starship captain hall of fame, this guy founded it.
May his giant oversized helmet and chinstrap be an inspiration to us all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Realtalk, I just watched the last third of Rogue One again, and the Battle of Scarif is a top-3 Star Wars sequence for me. It might even be my favorite. And even as a fanboy who's seen the last 8 movies on opening night (for better and worse), the Hammerhead thing might be my single favorite moment in any of them. I don't know why. It doesn't feature any important characters, and is just some CGI running into some other CGI. And there's no trope more played out than the 'valiant sacrifice'. But I grew up loving the ships of Star Wars via the movies, toys, lego and books, and something about this just clicked hard.
Rogue One is good. Go ahead and boot it up to 1:27:45 and just chill on Scarif for 40 minutes. Treat yourself. And raise a glass to Kado Oquoné.
