I, too, liked her character. She's inept and out of her element early on, but it's because she's a rookie who's used to much hotter climates, not because she's a woman. Her character is important to the story because she's the outsider, the one that we're meant to relate to. It was refreshing because it feels to me like movies often try too hard to avoid unflattering stereotypes by writing female characters that are free of any faults. I wrote last week about how Rey starts the new Star Wars trilogy as resourceful, skilled, confident and mature beyond her years, so she has no growing to do by the end like Luke did. How do you relate to a main character that has no faults and ends the film/trilogy essentially the same way that he/she started it? Writers have to be willing to give characters, including female characters, faults in order for them to have something to overcome and grow from. Having a female character, especially, overcome hers and become a strong character before our eyes sends a more inspiring message than one who just seems to be naturally strong, IMO.
