Finn’s Star Wars Force Story Is Doomed To End Badly – Theory

The much-maligned Star Wars sequels hinted that Finn possesses a certain level of Force-sensitivity, but if this plot thread is ever pursued, his story is doomed to end badly. Finn was introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) as a new trio for a new generation of Star Wars films and fans. Taken at a young age, Finn was raised specifically to be one of the First Order’s stormtroopers—a process made complete with indoctrination to their Galactic Empire-like ideals).

In both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Finn is shown to be Force-sensitive through a few small moments that hint at the character’s much greater potential. Both films effectively wasted Finn’s Force story, focusing instead on rushing the Skywalker saga to a conclusion that left Finn’s Force story as a hanging plot thread. As Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker didn’t rule out any potential further sequels, it’s entirely possible that Finn’s Force story will be picked back up at a later date, paying off the sequel trilogy’s tease of his Force-sensitivity.

While his role as a heroic figure in the sequel trilogy has led many to believe this story would see Finn become a Jedi, it’s more likely that his Force journey would lead him to the dark side. Based on Finn’s own characterization and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s ending, it’s entirely possible that he’d be corrupted by his own power. In fact, there’s evidence that while Finn’s intentions are often noble, his emotions and his childhood training would lead him down the darker path once walked by the likes of Anakin Skywalker and Ben Solo.

Finn’s Force Sensitivity Was A Key Part Of The Sequels

While Finn’s Force-sensitivity is a genuine plot point at multiple instances in the sequel trilogy, the films’ lack of exploration of the subject makes it seem relatively inconsequential. However, it actually comes into play at pivotal moments in the trilogy’s story, making it far more important than it may seem at a glance. It’s one of the most obvious ways in which the Star Wars sequel trilogy failed Finn, as it teased his importance only to leave it unexplored.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Finn is shown holding his own with a lightsaber against the much more experienced Kylo Ren. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Finn miraculously survived what appeared to be a suicide run on Crait into the line of First Order troops. Most explicitly, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Finn is shown using the Force on a subconscious level to lead the group in the right direction and to learn of Rey’s death. It was also revealed that Finn was going to share his knowledge of his Force-sensitivity with Rey when their lives were in danger. Combined, this means that Finn’s Force-sensitivity in Star Wars‘ sequel trilogy was actually far more important than it initially seemed.

Finn’s First Order Stormtrooper Past Sets Up A Villain Twist

Finn’s past itself is one of the reasons for his potential fall to the dark side. While much of the Skywalker saga is built around redemption, Finn’s story in the sequel trilogy begins as he fights against his indoctrination, meaning that the films never really explore the reality of his former existence. It’s touched upon in places, but outside of the opening scenes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Finn is never shown to have a darker side. However, in disclosing that he was trained from childhood as a stormtrooper, the seeds for a future Star Wars villain twist have already been sown.

While Finn’s stormtrooper rebellion is the character’s first defining moment within the sequel trilogy, it represents a struggle within him. Much like Luke and Rey were both forced to confront their own respective dark lineages, Finn may one day have to reconcile more fully with the actions of his life as a stormtrooper. That inner conflict alone is akin to that of Anakin in the prequel trilogy, and, combined with his Force-sensitive nature, could prove to be a turning point for the character.

Finn’s Emotions Will Lead Him To The Dark Side

It’s not just Finn’s past that points towards a deep inner conflict in his future – there’s also his emotions, which come into play numerous times throughout the sequel trilogy. Finn’s relationships with Poe, Rose, and Rey are all particularly significant as they all provide him with some form of conflict. On multiple occasions, he’s willing to risk doing the safe or sensible thing in favor of optimistic or opportunistic ideals, and he’s often overcome with emotion in a way that seems to override his ability to think rationally.

Not only does this set up an emotional similarity to both Anakin Skywalker and Ben Solo, but there’s more to the idea of Finn’s emotions leading him to the dark side. His conscience also plays a major role in the sequel trilogy. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Finn defects from the first order due to an emotional response to their actions – something which ultimately results in Finn’s part in the First Order’s destruction. The journey Finn’s conscience takes him on is remarkably similar to Yoda’s warning to Anakin in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering,” ultimately teasing his potential turn to the dark side.

Rey’s Skywalker Saga Ending Betrays Finn

While the Star Wars sequel trilogy may have generally disappointed fans, it was able to wrap up the Skywalker saga in a fairly definitive fashion. However, the implication that Rey has balanced the Force and will reject the old ways by taking a more neutral stance is both unearned and potentially problematic. In theory, there’s a reasonable basis for this idea, but in practice, all of Star Wars‘ Force-sensitive villains have in some way been corrupted by their use of the dark side.

The twist of Rey’s Palpatine heritage may have given her a deep-seated conflict of her own, but while she arguably earned her right to eschew tradition with regards to the Force, the implication that she won’t teach its pitfalls could spell disaster. If Star Wars decides to explore Finn’s Force-sensitivity further, which the character certainly deserves, he’ll need to be appropriately trained, and Rey’s ending indicates that she’s too naive to take on that responsibility. Rey’s Skywalker saga ending implies that Finn will simply find his own way with the Force, which is something that previous movies have proved to be categorically untrue.

The Sequels Secretly Set Up Finn As A Future Villain

While many believe that Finn’s story deserved to be better, he was ultimately given a heroic arc that made him a worthy protagonist for the sequel trilogy. However, his part in the sequels’ story, as well as his general character development point to his role as a potential villain in future stories. Of the three heroes introduced for the sequels, Finn is shown to have the weakest resolve, and he regularly makes the wrong decisions for the right reasons. This puts him very much in line with Anakin in the prequels, which of course ended with his transformation into Darth Vader.

Not only is there a precedent to Finn’s potential turn as a villain, but his Force-sensitivity increases the chances that his perceived weakness can be exploited. The combination of these factors makes a fall to the dark side a very real possibility for Finn’s Star Wars future, with his fall – and potential redemption – being a logical development for a subsequent trilogy. Exactly how, or even if, Star Wars will address Finn’s sensitivity to the Force remains to be seen, but the most plausible outcome is his fall to the dark side.

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