Finn was not deserting. He can’t desert. The Resistance is a volunteer organization that’s not recognized by any government. And not only that, it’s a volunteer organization that Finn didn’t even enlist with. Yes, he led them to victory against Starkiller Base, but that doesn’t mean he is beholden to them. It’s actually the other way around.
In short, there’s no defense for Rose assaulting Finn, shocking him so hard his recently injured back slammed into a hard surface, and knocking him unconscious. It’s not a “she didn’t let him explain” situation. It’s a “she was completely wrong and RJ did a bad job introducing her character” situation.
You are technically right. But Rose should be given some leeway. She is probably not thinking straight, going through grief, about the technicalities of Finn’s allegiance. Secondly, she implied Finn is not the first person to try to run. I think it was a great way to introduce her character.
So grief now justifies violent assault and re-injury of an already injured person. Rose knew that Finn had been gravely injured and was only barely recovered yet chose to stun him hard enough for him to fly several meters and re-injure his back.
Sorry, no grief justifies that kind of violence. Ever. From anyone.
What’s more, Rose never once listens to anything Finn says. Not when he corrects her about being a hero, nor when he begins to explain what he’s doing with the escape pod (which is when she viciously stuns him instead.)
She has no right to foist her own expectations on a man who just happens to be there because she needs someone to look up to and then punish him when he fails to meet her expectation. Finn is not her support network and owe her nothing at all.
But I’m not at all surprised that people will justify Rose’s actions to hell and back while completely ignoring Finn’s injuries and his trauma. Why aren’t you talking about how frightened Finn was when Rose aggressively waved the charged taser in his face? Is it that that doesn’t matter in this situation? That Finn’s fears and worries counts for nothing at all in this, or at least a lot less than Rose’s because who cares about a Black man’s feelings?
Especially a Black man who days ago escaped a regime who would have executed him for disobeying orders? Yet here now is a woman threatening violence against him if he doesn’t comply? Can you imagine how terrified he must have been? Does that matters so little?
And Finn’s grief and guilt? At Slip’s death? The survivor’s guilt he must carry from Jakku and after Han’s murder? (No, none of that was his fault but survivor’s guilt is never logical.) But his grief doesn’t count here, only Rose’s.
How was Finn supposed to handle this in your opinion? Just ignore his own pain and fear and carry on like nothing happened, because a Black man can’t be traumatized? Can’t afford to have fears and grief without constantly catering to others who’s feelings are worth more consideration than his.
No, nothing Rose did in that scene is remotely justified in any way. Grief does not in any way account for such vicious violence against a person who constitutes no harm to her.
But yeah, brutal violence against a Black man is a great way to introduce a character. If that character is meant to be seen as an abusive asshole.
Edit: Only just now read you tags.
You found that scene funny? You racist asshole of a bastard. Because yes, that’s exactly what you are you bitch if you could laugh at that scene. If violence towards a Black person is “funny” to you, you’re racist. End of story.
Finn can see the beauty of what would once have been.
Jedha, once majestic, and galactic center of spirituality, first forgotten by an apathetic galaxy that no longer cared, then occupied and stripped by the Empire, only to finally be reduced to a broken shadow of its former self by those who had already robbed it of its heart.
the one pro to come out of this trash movie is confirmed genius finn….like long before the rebels knew what the fuck was happening, finn had already realized that the first order was tracking them through hyperspace and how they were doing it….ivy league babes
So, I’ve seen it be argued that in TLJ Finn had to learn to think about the collective rather than the personal. More specifically, at the beginning of TLJ he’s ready to abandon ship, because he doesn’t think the Resistance is worth Rey’s (and maybe his) life. However, by the end he understands the meaning of self-sacrificing for the greater good, that the resistance and what they’re fighting for is more important than his personal feelings or even life.
And while that’s not really the arc I think Finn should’ve had in this movie, I can see why its valid.
However, there is one big problem (there’s actually a couple problems, but one big one) that I had with this arc in the movie: the execution. I still have no idea how he exactly went from point A (the individual) to point B (the collective). Join me under the cut (sorry it got long).
how can you look at finn and have the first word come to your mind be ‘selfish’? his entire storyline in tfa was built around the fact that he chooses over and over again to be selfless. finn lays down his weapon in the village in the opening sequence because he doesn’t want to kill for the first order even in the face of serious repercussions; even in deleted scenes from the village we see finn let a villager go and escape. just that ten-minute sequence alone sets up who finn is at his core: which is someone who time and time again acts selflessly in order to help others, someone who not only is selfless but chooses to be selfless.
Yes, but the fear of what the First Order would do with him if they catch him made him selfish enough to always want to run for himself (or with Rey) instead of keeping fighting for a greater cause. He needed this arc to let go his fear and Finn x Phasma fighting is the climax when he finally assumes himself as “rebel scum”.
@skywalkerstruelegacy That is such bs, and a directly harmful narrative to abuse survivors to say “you have to stay and fight or you’re selfish and a bad person”
In fact, giving Finn an arc that allowed him to be “selfish” and protect himself. Who allowed him to choose what he wanted to do instead of abusing him yet again into fighting would have been a good story. Instead we have yet another predictable and harmful story about an abuse survivor being offered no real choice, but assaulted and forced into a situation that they didn’t want to be in.
Finn didn’t need this. No abuse survivor “needs” this and oyu need to cut it with your bs
there’s no way finn isn’t torn apart inside every time he or anyone else has to kill a stormtrooper—someone who he may know, another child soldier kidnapped and brainwashed by a war machine. and if we don’t get finn leading a stormtrooper rebellion or even an *acknowledgement* of his reality and how fucking tragic it is then i’m!!!!!!
Yes! I mean if rian wanted his freaking moral ambiguity, then Finn dealing with himself and the resistance killing stormtroopers (you know the people who were once his comrades, who were also child slaves that perhaps have a chance of breaking free of the brainwashing like he did) would’ve been his prime opportunity.
Both JJ and RJ dropped the ball on this massively. JJ you get one (1) more chance, don’t screw it up!!
L.J.'s Obsessions 