The BOP Staff doesn’t argue any category as intensely as Best Character. It’s always the most divisive subject. The power of art exists in the emotional reactions it triggers. Not all of these sensations are positive. In the case of movie characters, someone that a lot of people might love such as Alien from Spring Breakers might feel like nails on the chalkboard to others. Choosing the selections for this category has proven so combative that a voter once suggested that people should have the ability to vote against characters if they’re performing uncomfortably well. That’s how passionate our collective responses are in Best Character. Fortunately, this year wasn’t quite so inflammatory. In the end, we all settled on female empowerment as the optimal result.

As you’re about to read, four out of the top six nominees in Best Character are female. All of them embody inner strength and emotional complexity, even the robot. Given how emphatic our voting celebrates the ladies this year, the choice for the category winner is obvious.

Imperator Furiosa has one arm, one purpose, one rifle, one frenemy, and Five Wives. Technically, the wives are married to someone else, but Furiosa embraces the responsibility of taking these unwilling brides into the sand storm, hoping that they’ll find a better fate on the other side. Along the way she meets a madman named Max, and the two of them work together surprisingly well even as they act totally indifferent to one another. It’s a refreshing change of pace from Hollywood conventions about the male and female protagonist eventually falling in love. We never learn for sure whether Furiosa is even into dudes, but if she is, Max ain’t one of them.

The Imperator’s intended destination is the Green Place, which is presumably what passes for Heaven in this barren wasteland. Along the way, she unintentionally makes her way back home before determining to go full circle, leading her female friends back where they started. At no point does she show fear or remorse. She is a battle-hardened survivalist of singular purpose. Her unflappable ferocity in the face of anti-feminine animosity is the foundation of Mad Max: Fury Road. What it proves is that nobody needed a Furious Seven last year, just a Furiosa. She’s the clear choice as Best Character of the year.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now the most popular domestic release of all-time. And the source of its popularity rests on a pair of petite shoulders. Slender Rey, the Jakku scavenger, may not look like much, but don’t mistake her nondescript appearance as an indication of fragility. This babe is chockfull of Midichlorians, and she’s a quick learner to boot. All Rey needs to do is watch another (whiny, villainous) dude use The Force once before she can perform the same tricks even better.

The joy of The Force Awakens is right there in the title. The movie hinges on Rey’s quick evolution from unknowing Jedi neophyte into terrifying light saber slayer. George Lucas never received enough credit for his strong female character in Star Wars, but J.J. Abrams paid careful attention to his tutor. What he learned then is on full display in the most popular movie ever. We don’t know anything about Rey’s history yet (our money’s on Captain Phasma as the baby mama), but we do know she was one of the two best characters of the year.

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