Why Captain Phasma obeyed Fin’s order to unlock the shield?

I rent Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to watch it again on my Nexus 7. My impression of this film has not changed since I wrote the review previously. It is a marvelous but not supreme.

My past entry: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, too respecting E4

By the way, I had a question on this story line. In the latter part, Fin and Han Solo intruded into the Star Killer base developed by First Order. Their purpose was to rescue Rey, captured by Kylo Ren, as well as to weaken the protection of the base for supporting their allies to destroy the base. They found Captain Phasma, and caught her successively with a sneak attack. Then, Fin ordered her to unlock the electric shield guarding the base.

Phasma obeyed the order, being threatened by a laser gun. She disarmed the protecting shield. It enabled resistance troops to attack the base with a limited number of firearms. Finally, the Star Killer base was destroyed by the bombing of resistance air-force.

Thus, Phasma’s act brought a critical damage on First Order. Why did she easily accept the request of Fin?

Phasma is a brave and talented soldier, described in the film and other relevant works. It seems a little strange that she was compromised by the resistant without any resistance. She definitely knew that unlocking the barrier would lead to fatality for First Order. If she is coerced to do so, she must sacrifice herself instead of accepting the order, don’t she? I do not think she is coward to be afraid of being killed by traitors.

So, what did she think? There are some possibilities.

First, she might believe First Order would not be defeated even if the shield was crippled. Indeed, she said so to the intruders. However, in this case, Phasma would be accused of the betrayal after the battle. It is certain that she exposed the base in peril with her act. First Order seems to have very strict legislation. She would be executed.

Otherwise, in the First Order’s law, are coerced acts not punished? I hardly believe such a tolerant rule is adopted there.

Another possibility is that Phasma believed that the fact she disarmed the barrier would not be clarified after resistance was defeated. But, this perspective is too optimistic, I think. First Order is governed by tyranny. The supreme leader must have a complete system of supervision. Any traitors are easily detected and deleted.

On the contrary, did Phasma believe the victory of resistance? Did she want to betray First Order? In this case, she would be killed by the explosion of the base. She could prospect that the resistance would attack the base to destroy it. If she really attempted to betray First Order, she should request the safety of her own life to Fin and Han Solo.

After all, she did not believe the victory of First Order. She did not want to support the resistance, either. So, what? There is the last hypothesis.

Phasma was attracted, or at least curious about Fin’s behavior. She was aware of Fin’s unique character previously. When Fin appeared in front of Phasma as an enemy, she must be interested in what Fin was going to do. And she obeyed him, to watch the sequencing event.

It is not sure whether Phasma expected the defeat of First Order. But, it is sure she sensed something in Fin’s act. Phasma was thrown into a dust shoot in the base. However, she could escape from there on her own. Phasma is promised to appear the next episode of Star Wars. I expect she will become on the side of Fin.