Since itâs Finn Appreciation Week hereâs my small contribution.
In TFA, I always got the impression that Kylo believed Finn to be Force sensitive. People have used this scene as evidence of that for years now:
Kylo sensed SOMETHING from Finn. And then later, as we know, he knew immediately that it was Finn who had defected. People like to talk a lot about how Kylo was fixated on Rey, and I suppose he was, but they ignore how focused he was on Finn as well.
Itâs my opinion that in Kyloâs scene with Snoke where they talk about an âawakeningâ in the Force that Kylo was referring to Finn, specifically the scene at the beginning where they looked at each other on Jakku. That, I think, was the awakening Kylo was talking about.
Then, at the end, once again we see Kyloâs fixation on Finn, and I think this stems partially from his belief that Finn is Force sensitive. People like to pretend he was looking at Rey in that bridge scene, but the camera specifically zooms in on Finn. They were the ones making eye contact in this moment, not Kylo and Rey.
SoâŠyeah. Kylo sensed that Finn was Force sensitive and they were the real hero/villain dynamic in this movie thanks for coming to my ted talk.
âYour duty has been and always will be to the First Order.â
There are moments where all Finn can hear is that sentence. Where his surroundings fall away and heâs back with them. Where heâs back in that overly stuffy armor surrounded by a sea of white as Phasma looks at them behind her shiny helmet. There are moments where time stretches endlessly in front of him, where his voice disappears behind terror and rage and nononono that Finn finds himself lost.Â
To the people who says that Finnâs suicide run should have succeeded and the character gone out in a blaze of glory, all I have to say to you is: Bullshit.
Yes Finn should have succeeded in destroying the mini Death Star cannon, but how does that equate with him âhavingâ to die?
Even if we go with the bs arc of him âlearningâ to commit to a greater cause – as if that wasnât what the First Order was trying to brow beat into him for his whole life and his arc in TFA was about learning what he himself stands for – then what purpose does it serve for him, or the story to kill him?
None.
And having the run succeed and keeping Finn alive is dead easy. Just give the damn ski speeder a catapult seat and have Finn eject in the very last minute.
Heck, letâs make a little more tense. Have Finn set the âauto pilotâ on the ski speeder – essentially locking the control stick in position so itâll move straight forward – and then try to eject. Only the ejection function is jammed.
Now what?
He has the choice between aborting or continuing while trying to unjam the ejection, the latter option possibly resulting in his death if he doesnât get it unjammed in time.Â
He does get it unjammed in the very last moment – possibly via Roseâs instructions, that would let her show off her actual abilities even if only by remote instruction – and ejects, but the cannon gets destroyed.
This doesnât really change anything. The First Order still has the fire power to destroy the door, itâll just take them a bit longer. But if reinforcements doesnât arrive theyâll still need the Luke ex machina to get off Crait alive.
Fandom spends so much time making sure that we understand that not only is Kylo the real victim of The Last Jedi (typically because of LUKE, not SNOKE in the wake of The Last Jedi) and a survivor of childhood abuse at that, that they kind of just⊠make shit up in the process in order to make sure that Kylo is seen as a sympathetic character. Even though⊠heâs not really.
Letâs be very real here: This sort of steaming hot take is only possible because heâs a âhandsomeâ white male villain and fandom loves a white male villain they can redeem and claim isnât responsible for his own actions.
Iâm so tired of seeing reylos and Kylo stans claim they care about Finnâs abuse when it is abundantly clear that their concern is entirely conditional on whether or not it can be made to serve Kylo.
Because they demand that Finn as an abuse victim himself be understanding, empathetic and forgiving of Kylo because of Kyloâs alleged abuse, so course Finn must in their eyes. Finnâs past abuse are to them only a tool to make him obviously âPro Benâ and redemption, because they never, ever make the same demand in reverse.
But you do not see comment after comment on posts about Finn, nor meta after meta, espousing how Kylo absolutely have to be sympathetic to Finnâs pain and trauma. That heâs an asshole and utterly heartless and selfish if he doesnât support Finn, if he hates him or wants him hurt.
How a Kylo who wishes Finn dead is a bastard who deserves nothing but misery, because heâs a bad person for not supporting and being empathetic with a fellow abuse victim.
Holy shit, I didnât even think of it that way. Here they go on about how Finn must be pro-abuse unless he understands and sympathizes with Kyle, meanwhile they choose to ignore the fact that their fave is an actual abuser. (At least one of them didnât even remember the part where Kilo stared at Finn before startling him by hitting a structure near him with a blaster beamâwhich forgetfulness is in itself telling.) The double standard is absolutely staggering.
Iâve seen some galaxy-brained Kylo fans who claim that him being aware of Finnâs trauma but not reporting him was a hint of Kyloâs âgoodnessâ – guess they must have missed out on him literally ordering the deaths of helpless civilians. Thatâs an easy mistake to make, since âkill them allâ is such an ambiguous phrase. đ
Also, those same people will say that him calling Finn a âtraitorâ and injuring him is actually Kylo talking about his own angst against the Order – because displacing your own flaws onto a black man is sympathetic and understandable and something we can all relate to, right?
Talk about low bars, yaigh. I do think Kyle projects his doubts onto Finn and was trying to destroy his own vestiges of conscience by hurting and killing him, but that makes Kyle… like, even more evil? In what universe is it sympathetic to treat others like extensions of your own psyche that you are entitled to hurt? Holy shit.
A story before bed with daddy.
Itâs a pretty interesting story, although as you can see, Elsa fell asleep. Luka will have to talk to her about listening for storytime.
If Kylo truly had a abusive childhood then wouldnât he feel more empathy and sympathy for Finn who was kidnapped from his family and was forced to be raised with the first order to do their evil bidding. Wouldnât Kylo understand Finn wanting to escape the side which stole his childhood away from him and mentally/emotionally abusing him by forcing him from a loving family. And raising him under the brutality of the first order.
Instead what does Kylo do to Finn knowing that the first order kidnaps babies and forces them to be stormtroopers. He calls Finn a traitor and slices him down the back with his light sabor to punish Finn for t trying to protect Rey(Something that Kylo should appreciate Finn doing if he truly cared for Rey like Reylos says that he does.)Â
So for someone who went through a so called abusive childhood. Kylo Ren nor Reylos take into account the childhood that Finn suffered through. They donât care about the neglect that Finn went through. Both Kylo Ren and some Stans completely disregard Finnâs suffering and pain. When Kylo calls him a traitor and wants him dead. And when Reylos demonize Finn, attempt to make Finn the bad guy, attack Finn and when they celebrate Kylo slicing Finn down the back.
Then they want everyone to take Kyloâs feelings and pain into account and spare him judgment for the evil acts and murders that he choose to commit as an adult man. But, if they only care about the white manâs pain and suffering and ignores everyone elseâs, then why should we have to consider Kyloâs childhood when we are calling him out for his wrong doings?
Itâs also really telling how this type of Stan are usually the same ones asking why Finn doesnât have sympathy for Kylo since they are supposedly in the same boat (they arenât).
They expect the Black man to have expend the emotional labor it would take to have empathy for someone like Kylo but they sure as hell donât expect Kyle to do the same. Awfully convenient isnât it?
Iâm so tired of seeing reylos and Kylo stans claim they care about Finnâs abuse when it is abundantly clear that their concern is entirely conditional on whether or not it can be made to serve Kylo.
Because they demand that Finn as an abuse victim himself be understanding, empathetic and forgiving of Kylo because of Kyloâs alleged abuse, so course Finn must in their eyes. Finnâs past abuse are to them only a tool to make him obviously âPro Benâ and redemption, because they never, ever make the same demand in reverse.
But you do not see comment after comment on posts about Finn, nor meta after meta, espousing how Kylo absolutely have to be sympathetic to Finnâs pain and trauma. That heâs an asshole and utterly heartless and selfish if he doesnât support Finn, if he hates him or wants him hurt.
How a Kylo who wishes Finn dead is a bastard who deserves nothing but misery, because heâs a bad person for not supporting and being empathetic with a fellow abuse victim.
Holy shit, I didn’t even think of it that way. Here they go on about how Finn must be pro-abuse unless he understands and sympathizes with Kyle, meanwhile they choose to ignore the fact that their fave is an actual abuser. (At least one of them didn’t even remember the part where Kilo stared at Finn before startling him by hitting a structure near him with a blaster beam–which forgetfulness is in itself telling.) The double standard is absolutely staggering.
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