How Finn and the Force Are Connected in 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'
This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power," says Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) in the original Star Wars. "It's an energy field created by all living things, that surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
Later installments in the franchise have expanded on and further complicated exactly how Jedi are able to tap into the Force; The Phantom Menace introduced microscopic organisms called midichlorians, and throughout the entire nine movie saga, being strong in the Force has been shown to be a primarily genetic trait, as evidenced by three generations of the Skywalker family. This was also the reason why so many fans were convinced Rey (Daisy Ridley) must be descended from Jedi warriors; they assumed her powers had been passed down to her (and The Rise of Skywalker proved them right).
But the story of Finn (John Boyega), the character whose perspective the audience first shared when the franchise returned in 2015's The Force Awakens, suggests that there is more to the Force than bloodlines.
Finn is able to break through the conditioning of his stormtrooper training: how? Stormtroopers, mentally compliant as they are due to years of brainwashing, have been notoriously susceptible to Jedi mind tricks since the very start of the series, but Finn is able to transcend his narrow outlook and gain a wider perspective.
He is also a gifted pilot and gunner, like Anakin and Luke Skywalker before him: watched in isolation, the adrenaline-fueled chase scene in which he and Rey use their respective instincts to evade pursuers on Jakku aboard the Millennium Falcon in The Force Awakens leaves it ambiguous as to which of these two new characters is in tune with the Force.
That movie eventually makes it clear that Rey is the character who fits into the Chosen One archetype, while Finn's role becomes that of the member of the group ruled by a moral compass and loyalty to his friends — something which also drives his storyline with Rose Tico in The Last Jedi.
But in franchise finale The Rise of Skywalker, those noble but relatively ordinary traits are hinted to be something more: a sensitivity to the Force. Speaking to Jannah, another self-liberated stormtrooper, Finn speaks about being compelled to do the right thing by a feeling, something more than mere conscience. This intuition is then demonstrated on-screen during the final battle sequence, when he is shown to sense that Rey is near death (just as Leia was able to sense Luke in The Empire Strikes Back).
Unlike Rey, Finn's origins have never been a mystery; he doesn't come from space royalty. He and Jannah and countless others were deemed expendable and raised to be foot soldiers, but they chose a different path for themselves — a path shaped by their connection to others and a sense of being part of something greater. Part of a rebellion. Part of a family. Part of that mysterious and plot-handy energy field that binds the galaxy together, even.
As the Skywalker saga draws to a close after more than 40 years, Finn's story is a nice reminder that you don't have to be the Chosen One to make a difference in the universe.
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