With the Empire we're shown how an oppressive system works on a large scale, the propaganda, the censorship, the genocidal violence, and why no freedom can exist if such a system endures. Bix as a character represents the consequences of that evil on an intimate, human scale🧵

We see an entire planet be slaughtered and destroyed by the Empire. Bix was destroyed as a human being. What was done to her stripped of her sense of safety, of normalcy, and they really highlighted her struggle and desperation to rebuild herself and stop feeling so broken🧵

On Mina-Rau, it's about trying to move on and forget. She has Cassian's love, she can sleep when she's with him, she has her Ferrixian family, she can work. Maybe it's enough... Except it's not. The Empire arrives, re-traumatizes her, and takes away everything again🧵

On Coruscant, it's about finding purpose and reclaiming her agency. But she keeps hitting her head against her own pain and trauma. She's so aching to make it stop and to be "healthy" that she becomes an addict, which is counteractive to her need to be useful in the Rebellion🧵

She's stuck in a box or being sent on inconsequential missions, plagued by nightmares and hallucinating, being reminded daily by the man she loves that she is not ok and needs protection. What Cassian perceives as "at least we're safe", to her is suffocating. It's unbearable🧵

But Coruscant is also when we see for the first time the difference in Cassian and Bix's ideologies. Cassian fights for what's close to his heart: Bix. He fights so she can be safe and they can have a future. Bix wants that future but thinks the fight is bigger than them🧵

Then she kills Dr. Gorst and that helps her move past her own personal trauma, but her feelings about the Empire and the importance of the Rebellion have not changed. If anything, they took root in her once she was truly healthy again. And that's how we find her on Yavin🧵

Why does she feel this so deeply though? Given what she's been through, shouldn't she, out of all people, be the one to most want a peaceful life with the man she loves? And that's the thing. It's precisely what she's been through that makes her so committed to the Rebellion🧵

There is this beautiful exchange when Bix tries to convince Cassian to see the Force healer. They're talking about his physical wound, but it's so indicative of their different approach to the fight against the Empire.🧵

It echoes Maarva's speech in 112. The wound that Cassian is ignoring is the Empire. After witnessing all the atrocities they are capable of, he's at a point where he wants to turn away and treasure what matters to him. Bix can't ignore that wound because she carries it on her🧵

Let's remember the first step of her journey this season, on Mina-Rau. She was trying to do exactly what Cassian wants to do now: ignore the pain and move on. What happened? An Imperial almost raped her, Brasso was killed, and they had to run away once again🧵

After the SA scene, Tony Gilroy said he was "trying to make a path for Bix that would ultimately lead to clarity". Some people took it like he was saying she needed to be abused to find her strength, but that's not it. Bix's clarity is about something else entirely🧵

There is no peace as long as the Empire exists. The quiet Cass wants is always going to be temporary. And even if it's not them, it's gonna be someone else to be tortured, and abused, and killed. Her happiness cannot rest on someone else's suffering. She NEEDS the Empire gone🧵

If there is one character who should be allowed to be selfish and put her own happiness first, that's Bix. But she doesn't. Cassian was the light in her darkest moments. He is her love, and her home, and her salvation. He's everything she wants. And she lets him go🧵

They built Bix to be this fascinating mix of pragmatism and pure conviction. She believes that they can beat the Empire and she wants to be part of it. But she is also aware of her own limitations in the same way she believes that Cassian can bring about real change🧵

This isn't to say she's useless, like some ppl have argued, and yes I'd have loved more screentime of her role in the Rebellion. But I also don't believe a female character is only empowered if she's a warrior or a "badass" or goes around ruthlessly killing people🧵

The first time Bix killed was to save herself from being raped. When Cassian killed the Imperial boy who saw her, she had nightmares about him. This isn't a character who is empowered by violence. She didn't let what happened to her kill her soul. It takes just as much courage🧵

Maybe this is where her strength of conviction comes from. Some could say she may be Force Sensitive. Idk. I don't think it really matters. What matters is that she believes Cassian has a role to play in defeating the Empire. And she cannot be the thing that stands in the way🧵

Also by leaving with Cassian, she'd be giving up her own place in the Rebellion, and she doesn't want to do that. She's not a warrior, she's not a leader, but she is part of this. She doesn't want to run away or be the reason Cassian runs from something she feels is important 🧵

This isn't a woman who has shut down her feelings to focus on the fight. She loves with every fiber of her being. That's what's so devastating. She wants nothing more than to be the place Cassian needs to be. But she knows she isn't. So she rips her heart out🧵

And she knows. Deep down she probably knows that she's never going to see Cassian again. She still makes the selfless choice. The sunrise Luthen spoke about, she gives up her own so others can see theirs. 🧵

It's Bix's quiet sacrifice that ultimately leads to the defeat of the Empire. It takes courage to give up your life for a Cause. But to willingly give up, after enduring unspeakable suffering, your one chance at true happiness? That's a type of bravery that is rarely found.