FB: Penk forgot the *other* important confrontation he needed to deal with. If he’d only seen the end of ROGUE ONE, he would know that Rebels really shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a Hammerhead.

There’s a great little character bit here that I totally forgot about until this reread. Penk clearly did not expect the troll soldiers to size up this situation and say, “the ex-Peacemakers must be our Champions’ prisoners!” Yet he, in turn, weighs the pros and cons of contradicting them on this point and decides not to, for now. Instead, his speech focuses on changing their thinking so that when they do realize no one here is a prisoner, it will go over better.

I’d give Penk 1-in-3 odds against Hammerhead on his own, but despite appearances, he’s not on his own. Magda and Frigg in tandem could probably take Hammerhead, and the PeaceChampions working together definitely could. But this isn’t just about who would win in a fight: Penk can’t be seen to cower behind his new allies,  if his leadership is to be accepted. So he needs to get close enough to Hammerhead to risk his own life.