Yup. I am a Kai apologist. Sorry if that’s disappointing, but are we really expected to take in those blue eyes and smarmy smile (decked out in grillz that shouldn’t work, but absolutely do) and not be utterly charmed by him? You could argue that his last-minute betrayal carries such a sting because Kai is so damned charming. Even if you saw it coming from a mile away, you were probably rooting for him to prove your inner cynic wrong — and that’s entirely by design.
From the moment he’s introduced (in Snyder’s riff on the infamous cantina scene from “A New Hope,” no less), Kai is positioned as the Han Solo of the team. The swaggering bounty hunter is a little too eager to lend a hand (and lease his ship!) to a group of farmers with relatively little to offer in the form of payment. It defies all logic, but you want to believe it’s possible anyway. You want to believe he’s on an earnest path to redemption.
Alas, Kai is not nearly so honorable as Han, and it’s not too long before the rug’s pulled out from under us all. His last-act betrayal isn’t ideal, but it’s one of the things that makes “Rebel Moon” such an effective subversion of “Star Wars.” Kai might be the most realized character in the film: he’s the rare hero that Snyder actually takes a show, don’t tell approach with, and “Rebel Moon” is all the better with him around.
“Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire” is currently streaming on Netflix. “Part Two: The Scargiver” premieres April 19, 2024.