Now that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has hit theaters, I can talk about my favorite dynamic in the movie—and no, it is not a romantic pairing. In fact, it is the beautiful exploration of two friends who found each other when they needed someone the most and who decided to band together for the betterment of a child. I’m talking about Edgin and Holga.
Played beautifully by Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez respectively, the characters are never in a romantic setting. In fact, they mock the idea that they would ever be together because they’re best friends who make sure their goals are met and their quests completed before they think about their love lives. But what really just clicks with Edgin and Holga as a pair is that they understand each other in the way that friends do.
Yes, I recognize that romantic couples can also have this element to them, but it is rarely the same as when two friends find themselves in a Dungeons & Dragons-level situation. Edgin knows what Holga’s next move will be without ever having to say it, and the same goes for Holga to Edgin. They can work together seamlessly, and it just works. But their back and forth also includes a shared love for Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman), who Holga affectionately calls Bug.
They could have very easily kept Kira’s mother alive and made Holga just Edgin’s best friend, but their relationship works because she’s been a part of this “family” since Kira was a baby. And Kira does look up to her as a mother figure. It’s not the most understanding of a situations, but they do all care for each other, and it makes for a fascinating relationship to watch.
They’re a family
Holga meets Edgin after she’s left her own marriage and she finds him drunk and a mess, which isn’t the best for his daughter. Through time, Holga helps Edgin get his life back on track after the death of his wife while she is also helping to raise Kira. And for a while, they all have a nice life together. Kira loves being with them, and Edgin is just trying to provide the best life he can for his daughter. It’s how they get in the mess they find themselves trapped in.
He’s just trying to be a good dad and he’s not great at it, but he does eventually come up with a plan to help Kira get her mother back. What he doesn’t know is that it’s destined to fail because of Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) and his evil plan.
Edgin and Holga end up in jail for two years on their quest to get the Tablet of Reawakening. Edgin asks Forge to protect Kira, which he does, but it is revealed that Forge has been consistently lying to her while Edgin and Holga were away—all because he had a nefarious plan from the start that involved both of them gone.
Getting Kira back
Forge’s lies make it so that Kira doesn’t instantly want to be back with her father. Holga, she still loves, but there is a pain there, too, and the dynamic of their family must be brought back together in order for their unit to work like it did before. And it makes for my favorite parts of this movie. When Edgin is trying to talk with his daughter and win her back, he bares his heart to her, and it also gives us the softer side of Holga.
All to eventually have Holga, Edgin, and Kira going off together by the end. That core trio is part of the larger group of the movie’s cast, and they seem to love being part of the larger team, but I just really love to see how they grow and work through their issues as a family throughout the movie.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
Published: Mar 31, 2023 04:58 pm