[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for The Suicide Squad.]

Young Cleo: “Why rats, Papa?”

Ratcatcher: “Rats are the lowliest and most despised of all creatures, my love. But they have purpose. So do we all.”

The Suicide Squad features assassins, a crime clown, a man whose superpower is super-powered polka dots, a beach short-wearing shark, and even more characters with checkered pasts who have been set aside by society. As a proven champion for outcasts, writer/director James Gunn gives them all a chance to save the day, earn redemption, and maybe, find a family. But among this whole band of misfits, it’s none other than Sebastian the rat (and his endless wave of furry brethren) who walks away in his adorable little vest as the unmitigated hero of the whole shebang. In a movie with a message about having a place in this world no matter your past or what people think of you, this delightfully heroic and cute little guy and his millions of friends and family – through both sheer kindness, cunning, and epic badassery – reach the film’s conclusion standing tallest as the savior we all needed.

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Image via Warner Bros.

RELATED: 'The Suicide Squad': Daniela Melchior on the Moment When Ratcatcher II Lost All Empathy for Starro

If you’re a passionate fan of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and/or King Shark (Steve Agee/Sylvester Stallone) and are questioning how I could possibly walk away thinking a rat is the clear winner of the whole movie, I dare you to go back to the first introduction of Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and Sebastian (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and then ask yourself, “How could anyone not?” Affixed with his perfect satchel and vest combo, Sebastian is a loving figure offering his hand in friendship to the team, only to hang his head in sadness when a rat-fearing Bloodsport refuses to extend the same. From then on, Sebastian is a constant beacon of light, shining through to the core of everyone he meets to expose the goodness underneath. He extends an olive branch – in the form of a “pretty leaf” – to Bloodsport, waves a welcome hello to freedom fighter Sol Soria (Alice Braga), and offers Bloodsport some of the jerky he’s nom-nomming on. “He always wants to be near you. I think he senses good in you,” Ratcatcher 2 says to Bloodsport, all before he slams the door in poor Sebastian's face. Sebastian is heroic in how unwavering his drive to be the good he sees in the world remains, even if no one else wants to take the time to see it in him.

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Image via Warner Bros.

RELATED: King Shark Is Your FriendThis fortitude of character sets the stage for his and other rats’ bravery in the face of chaos. As the walls of Jotunheim begin falling, Sebastian is the one to quickly find a way for him and Ratcatcher 2 to escape the rubble. As the monstrous Starro demolishes the town, and all the bullets and shark-munching can’t seem to stop him, the horde of rats living mostly unseen answer Ratcatcher 2’s call. “It’s not your planet. It’s not ours. It’s theirs,” she says, as the rats band together like a fuzzy wave to work their way up the massive extraterrestrial and—thanks to some javelin work by Quinn—devour Starro from the inside. Without the teamwork and sharp little teeth of the rats, Earth would be a wasteland of starfish-wearing, zombie-fied humans.

But Sebastian is one of a pair, and Ratcatcher 2 not only uses her father’s invention to control the rats and bring them together, but she’s very much the beating heart of the movie. Gunn does the work to ensure they’re both sides of the same coin. When one is saving the day, so is the other. Whimsically sleep-deprived, there is nary a chip on Ratcatcher 2’s shoulder; she is always working to bring out the best in much of the Squad. Even after being almost eaten by King Shark, she extends a friendly hand to him; she’s the warmth that thaws his icy exterior. Melchior is fantastic in the role, able to steal the show from big personalities like Elba, Robbie, and John Cena by tapping into her vulnerability and sweetness, realizing her true power is in living up to what her father told her on that rooftop years before: Rats have a purpose, and so do the rest of us.

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Image via Warner Bros.

At the end of the movie, Sebastian is seen curling up on Bloodsport’s leg, ready to take a well-earned nap while basking in the sun shining through the window. From the start, both he and Ratcatcher 2 have seen the good in Bloodsport that even he didn’t know was there. The rats, and in turn the Ratcatcher, embody the film’s ultimate thesis, ending the day as the top heroes by being the best version of themselves in the face of demonization and, as a result, bringing out the best in those around them. In a sense, we are all Bloodsport in that moment: No matter what your opinion about rats at the start of the movie, by the end, you won’t be able to help yourself from scratching the little hero’s ear.

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