Star Wars: The Last Jedi starts off with Poe Dameron tricking Hux before destroying a dreadnought.
Unlike Vader who respected Grand Moff Tarkin, Hux is protected from Kylo Ren’s wrath thanks only to Snoke, who finds him useful.
This moment elicited laughs from the audience, but hearing Domhnall Gleeson’s comments on The IMDb Studio at Sundance, I can totally see his reasoning for wanting Hux to have a moment like that.
It shows that Hux is always a threat and has no qualms about killing a defenseless opponent.