lj-writes:

sithchirrut:

This line – “[Finn] is in another form of training alongside General Leia” – from John’s interview with Fandango for the D23 Expo, along with the theory @lj-writes​ came up with about Rose and Paige Tico belonging to the remnant of the Republic’s navy and being survivors of the Hosnian genocide and furthermore about the joining together of the Republic Navy and the Resistance, made me think about how the lines would be drawn up and what roles Rose, Finn and Poe could play.

For Finn I could imagine that he might have some issues with the top down authority of organized military even though he knows that the Republic isn’t the First Order, given that he’s been abused by such authorities his whole life. He might be siding squarely with Leia in any power struggle. (Finn as Leia’s protege? Is that what John’s line is hinting at?)

Poe is probably having a massive case of divided loyalties. He’s a Leia fanboy if there ever was one, but he’s also very much a man of the Republic. He only went against them not just because he was convinced that there had to be done something about the First Order, but because if it was Leia Organa who asked him. If it had been anyone else who led the Resistance, I’m not so sure he’d have joined them no matter his issues with the Republic. When the inevitable power struggle between whoever leads the Republic navy (Laura Dern’s character?) and Leia he might not know who to back, he’ll likely argue for joint collaboration, but given how much of the Republic feels about Leia… that might not be possible.

This leads me to Rose Tico. If @lj-writes​ theory is correct and Rose, Paige and Cobalt Squadron are part of the Republic navy, they’d likely fall at the other end of the conflict. I could see Rose as someone young and idealistic, who looks up to Finn because “omg a real living hero!”, but who’s also very firmly on the side of the Republic and who might see the Resistance as dangerously volatile. Not to mention resent them – openly or covertly – for “causing” the Hosnia genocide. Even though she might logically know that the only one who caused that was the First Order when they first built Starkiller Base and then fired it at a civilian system. But logic can mean little when you’re as deeply traumatized as all genocide survivors are.

Is that what Rose and Finn are talking about here?

Rose being passionate about the Republic – and maybe showing some of her pain from the destruction of her home? Finn understand her pain and objectively her position, but still holding his own?

And this scene (from the BTS video)

Is Rose and Poe agreeing on something? Maybe the Republic navy’s stance on something, while Finn is taking Leia’s position?

Thanks goes to @lj-writes for that meta and for subsequent discussion in private about Rose, Finn and Poe. Her’s is half the ideas in this.

I love how you’ve pieced together the different interviews and pics to elaborate on what TLJ might look like in case of a Republic-Resistance conflict! Yeah, the picture of Finn and Rose now that I see it again in that light could be confrontational. At the very least it looks really passionate. FinnRose feels ❤

Finn could fall squarely on Leia’s side, but my guess is she’ll have to give him a lot of freedom if she wants to keep him that way. He’ll take a long time to trust authority if he ever does, and he’s likelier to throw in with her if she offers him a path to something he wants (a plan for Stormtrooper liberation, perhaps? Breaking abducted children out of a First Order facility? Finding his family?). My guess is, she’ll need to become a partner rather than an authority figure to him if she wants his trust.

Then there’s the question of whether SHE can trust HIM after his bald-faced lie to her near the end of TFA. I mean he did it for a good cause and delivered on lowering the shields anyway so I doubt she’ll hold it against him, but she should at least know this young man is at least as ruthless and reckless as she is when it comes to doing the right thing. I wonder if she sees in him the young woman she was, with trauma the size of a planet and nothing to lose. I would not be surprised if she trains him as a leader the Resistance needs.

No, Leia won’t hold a grudge, but she should be wary because Finn is a man who smashed his own idols (Jewish hero Jewish hero) and holds nothing and no one sacred except perhaps his friends. On that note, Poe could be the trusted bridge between these two formidable personalities. I mean Leia can cut some slack for her son Poe’s boyfriend, right?

Also! Speaking of planet-sized trauma, can we FINALLY have Leia grapple with being a genocide survivor as she interacts with the Republic refugees? How ironic is it that this may become a conflict between those who have survived the unimaginable, a clash of pain against pain? Will she find common ground with the Admiral and Rose and Paige? Will they find themselves clawing at each others’ bleeding wounds and doing things to each other they couldn’t have imagined? (No that is not meant to be kinky, you perverts. *is a pervert*) And can a Star Wars movie finally do more than squeak by the Bechdel test?

Finally, that last pic to me looks almost conspiratorial. Maybe this isn’t the final shot and they’re adding things like control panels and holos, but for now with that setup and lighting it looks like a clandestine meeting, with too few people and an odd composition of a new recruit, a mechanic, and a pilot to be a formal meeting. Is this where they discuss the mission to the casino planet? Is this the start of their Hail Mary pass out of the Republic-Resistance conflict?

Thanks for liking my addition and the great new thoughts! (I like how it took three tries for Tumblr to tag me.) Thanks to your find about Cobalt Squadron I am suddenly so fired up about this movie.

Reminder that this pre-TLJ speculation still makes for a MUCH better Resistance plot than the one we got. Even more frustratingly, if you squint this is the story told in TLJ except far more meaningful. This was also back when I was actually excited about Finnrose, smh.