If it’s true that the Force belongs to everyone, then why not have the other main heroes in addition to Rey–Finn, Poe, Rose, and “Caro”–Force-sensitive as well? They can be Rey’s first pupils (though it’s more a mutual teaching/study group situation) and, going off the books Rey got from the Jedi Temple, develop their own theory and practice of the Force. Here’s how I envision their respective specialties and powers.
Rey
Summary: The generalist Jedi and melee combat specialist
Description: Rey has the most obvious and familiar, seemingly supernatural Jedi powers. She has impressive Force telekinesis, Force telepathy, has had Force visions and dreams, and the mind trick. She is a force, or should we say Force, in melee combat. She is the tank of the party and all-purpose Force powerhouse, not to mention a potent symbol to revive hope when the Jedi seemed all lost or fallen.
Rey still has limitations, however. While her abilities are very strong, they are generally obvious and one-off in nature. She can use the Force mind trick to get a Stormtrooper to take her shackles off her, but trying to use the mind trick in negotiation, for instance, would be noticeable and end up breeding distrust. Similarly, she can be a whirlwind of destruction in combat but can’t turn the tide of a large-scale battle on her own. She needs a team, and having trusted friends can in turn help her resist the lure of the Dark Side, which can be strong for a Force user as powerful as she is.
Finn
Summary: Empath, death sense, Battle Meditation
Description: A Force user on par with Rey, Finn has the ability to sense life and, less pleasantly, the ending of life. We saw him go into a panic attack at Slip’s death, seemingly sensing him die. We saw this ability again on a larger scale with the destruction of the Hosnia system, when he sensed the mass deaths much like Obi-Wan did. Highly trained and talented at both long-distance and melee combat, he has probably been unconsciously powering his military prowess with the Force all his life. He knows how to read a situation and people instantly and use this knowledge to great effect. Particularly skilled in small unit combat, he is the undisputed tactician of their group.
His tactical genius and empath abilities intersect for devastating effect in the form of Battle Meditation. He senses the battlefield and the combatants and, with a mental nudge here and a tug there aided by his own extensive strategic training, shapes the battle like a sculpture or a Rubix cube. The Resistance/Rebellion pulls off victories out of all proportion with their resources this way, especially with Finn’s extensive knowledge of the enemy. His strong empathy can be a liability as well as an asset, however, and sensing the deaths of so many people could result in trauma and burnout. He needs emotional support from a caring network of people, and fortunately he is no longer alone.
This is what the Force was all about! Not just a fist fight who gets the force or not. This is some Kotor 2 level of thinking and I love this idea @lj-writes !
Yeah that Force elitist bullshit was what drove me to finally finish this post. I forgot to add Finn’s Force immunity/wound in the Force stuff because I had completed Rey and Finn’s parts before I even thought of the Force immunity meta, and when I came back to this post I had three more characters to flesh out >.< Still, Finn is the Exile and he awakened the Force in all of them!
So there’s precedent for it in the franchise. If Force-immune Finn is true I wonder if Finn did something similar due to his own trauma and the suffering he felt all around him. Phasma also heavily discouraged from exercising his natural empathy, and in his attempt to cut it off he may also have unconsciously cut off his connection to the Force. Perhaps the Force reawakened in him when Slip died and his Force sense abilities returned, but the Force immunity remained as a defensive reaction. Such a setup would certainly be in line with Finn’s story of turning trauma to strength.
If you’ve never played Kotor 2, I’d pick it up if I was you. It’s probably the best written Star Wars story out of both canons. Just make sure to download the restoration cut too.
The Jedi Exile’s cut off from the force is interesting. It happened sometime near the Mandalorian war after the activation of a weapon that killed millions of people. After the war the exile(you choose the gender) became an echo in the force, which they believed cut them off from the force, but in actuality it just made their connection to it so much more stronger, only they didn’t know it. It is believed that the mass loss of life around the exile is what created that echo.
Many years later while in exile, the exile meets a force user named Kreia who opens them back up to the force, though the exile was still unaware of the force. This echo influences the people around the exile, creating bonds between them and their companions. Throughout the exile’s journey they awaken the force potential within people they journey with. This echo would also be called a wound in the force because of how other force users couldn’t always use their force powers on the exile. They could hurt the exile of course, but even powerful force users like Darth Nihilus found that their powers weren’t as effective against the exile.
Now from reading your meta, I don’t think anymore that Finn is immune to force. Instead I think Finn might be an echo in the force, a wound in it.
Finn awakened the force within him in battle.
The Exile awakened the force within them in battle.
Finn’s Force Awakening had been felt by Kylo and Snoke.
The Exile’d Awakening had been felt by Visa and Nihilus.
Finn meets a woman (Rey) with seemingly no connection to the force, then after traveling together, she finds her own connection to the force, which she rejects at first them accepts to help the exile later in the story.
The same thing happens between the Exile and Brianna.
Finn could have become an echo/wound in the force during his abduction, especially if there was mass amounts of death around him, and his battle on Jakku could have awakened it.
The difference between them would be The Exile found a teacher through Kreia and Finn wasn’t able to find one yet thanks to Johnson. Alll Force users need at least a teacher to show them the Force.
Bonus: The Exile and Finn are both chased by high waisted pants wearing dark side users who are obsessed with their old masters.
Doesn’t Darth Sion look like Boldo Ren? BTW he didn’t look like this before the Dark side.
Holy shit, so many parallels. I really need to play KOTOR 2. Roundhead Jerk may not have put Finn with a master, but maybe Finn and Rey can teach each other with an assist from Force Ghost Luke. Maybe not so much an academy or a master-disciple relationship as a study group because it’s past time to try some new approaches.
Also that last image will haunt me forever 😂 The resemblance is uncanny lmao.
L.J.'s Obsessions 