2. The History of the galaxy
Many have likened Doctor Aphra to the Indiana Jones of the Star Wars galaxy, and that’s pretty apt. All of her misadventures are based in her discovering old and, naturally, deadly artifacts that she wants to sell to make a nice living for herself.
One of the delectable side effects of this primary plot drive is that we get to learn a lot about the history of the Star Wars universe that isn’t just exposition. Aphra’s personality is a stroke of brilliance, so to mash her questionable morality with her fantastic intelligence is a tremendous way to shed light on a massive galaxy full of rich history and not make it feel like a history lesson.
Even more than Indiana Jones did.
Everything Aphra finds, she has to go through history to get to. And more than that, she has to elaborate on why there is so much value placed on this one item, which could have been used a thousand years ago in the Jedi-Sith Wars, which inevitably leads to her geeking out over the Jedi-Sith Wars.
For the History buffs out there who also happen to live in the Star Wars universe, you need Aphra. And Aphra can help educate even the most passive of Star Wars fans in just how deep and diverse this universe is.
Finally, No. 1.