Ways I relate to Finn

[ljwrites]

An incomplete list of the ways I relate to Finn, movies and Before the Awakening canon:

1. Is recovering from emotional abuse with all the messiness the process implies
2. Was a promising and high-achieving student, yet never felt like he belonged
3. Tried to win acceptance and friendship by helping someone
4. Walked away from an abusive situation
5. Ended up throwing away a lot of stability and certainty as a result
6. Fell in love with his best friend
7. Confronted his abuser and threw her in the trash
   (This was only metaphorical in my case)
8. Traumatically bonded with someone who was being toxic to him

Comments

[redrikki]

Looking at this list it took me a minute to realize that number 8 was a reference to Rose. Honestly, watching the film, I really didn't get the sense that he felt romantically inclined towards her at all. Of course, I also never got the sense that she was into him until she was suddenly kissing him.

From a narrative structure perspective, Rose makes sense as a character for Finn to bounce off of during his little adventure, but the whole romance come so far out of left field I was left feeling like she was introduced because too many white fans were upset by the idea of him and Rey and the studio didn't have the balls to go full stormpilot.

[lb_lee]

Wait, Finn gets to LITERALLY throw his abuser in the trash? That sounds awesome! :D

[loopy777]

One of my biggest criticisms of TLJ is around Rose. I like her, but I couldn't prove which of these two scenarios are in play: she went through a development arc over the course of the movie, becoming a slightly different person than she was in the beginning; or she begins as a mysterious figure and over the course of the movie we get to see her full character.

Fortunately, Jason Fry seems just as confused as me about her, so at least I'm not at the bottom of the class.