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Finn is here to save Rey
Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens
Writer: J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt
Director: J.J. Abrams
Let’s give Finn some credit.
He is one loyal friend. A true-blue buddy. The kind that is going to do everything he can to make sure you are ok. In the Young Guns movies, Emilio Estevez’s Billy The Kid talks about the importance of pals and says there isn’t anything he won’t do for a friend he loves (yes, I did manage to work a reference about Young Guns I & II into a Star Wars book. Feeling pretty good about that, actually). Finn understands the importance of a good pal. It’s on full, inspirational display when he heads back to Starkiller Base to save Rey.
The reason we need to give Finn credit for this moment, the reason to celebrate it, is that often the conversation around Finn is about the big-picture journey he is on. His lessons to learn center around connecting with bigger causes beyond your own goals and choosing a side when the easier thing to do is, as Benicio Del Toro’s DJ tells him, “Don’t join.” And we should talk about that. Finn’s journey from stormtrooper to committed Rebel is a valuable lesson for the Star Wars story and the real world. It’s also similar to Han Solo’s lifelong struggle to put aside the scoundrel and stay the good guy. Which is why it’s fitting that Finn AND Han (and Chewbacca of course!) go back to Starkiller Base together. It’s there that Han discovers Finn has no true plan to disable the shields. He just wants to save Rey.
Han is understandably a bit mad. This leads to him blurting out his pitch-perfect “That’s not how the Force works” line. It’s a moment that is also used in dissertations or, rather, podcast monologues, to show that Finn’s motivations are only about Rey. And that’s true. But before we all travel too far down that line of Finn’s overall growth and journey, he deserves a lot of credit for what he’s doing here, in this moment, on Starkiller Base.
Finn was willing to sacrifice so much, most importantly himself, to save Rey. The Resistance needed to destroy this base, but, from their point of view at that moment, they didn’t exactly need to save Rey. So, Finn flubbed a bit. He acted as if he knew more than he did and got himself to the planet’s surface to save his friend. That has to be worth something.
It is worth something.
Finn’s powerful devotion to friendship is a Star Wars statement on connections, relationships, support, and loyalty. Finn grew up as FN-2187. A nameless number in a growing war machine. First Order classmates, bunkmates, and squad mates did exist. Finn wasn’t alone. But none of those connections had any warmth to them or any real depth. Numbering your troopers and scrubbing them of personality does not speak of a healthy environment to build connections in. Sterile isolation and staying behind your walls are not the building blocks of a healthy spirit.
Finn starts to fall away from the First Order because of fear and a sense of survival. That’s what causes him to run. But what makes him stay in his new life are the connections he soon makes. Poe first, then Rey. Finn’s early moments with them are most likely the first time he’s felt noticed, encouraged, supported, and, even, hugged. It’s his first experience with human connection (or alien connection…or Droid connection—big galaxy for sure) and it’s opened up his world. It’s opened him up even if it frightened him at the same time. This new connection seemed to overwhelm him by the time he reached Takodana. Yet, when danger arrived in the form of the First Order, he turned right around for Rey.
Rey, of course, actually frees herself and she runs into Finn, Han, and Chewie. That’s not actually the point. Finn came back to save her. That’s powerful enough for Rey, someone who was abandoned, but it is equally as powerful for Finn. He risked everything to go and save her because, for the first time in his life, he had a reason to go back. That’s why it’s a driving force for him going forward as well. FN-2187 lived most of his life without any connections, no true friendships, and definitely no romance (spawning a solid group of fans rooting for a Rey-and-Finn romance or maybe even more for Finn and Poe). However, now, Finn has friends. And now that he has friends, he’s never going to let them go. No matter the cost.
Finn deserves credit.
He understands the importance of the word pals.