FN-2187 gave audiences something to consider. What if stormtroopers were not really on the evil side? By defecting from the First Order, Finn sparked a new direction and announced a compelling character.
Finn was one of the most captivating characters and had so much potential, but did not live up to these expectations. Read on to find out why.
Table of Contents
Finn’s Potential
We didn’t know it was him, but we first saw FN-2187 or Finn with a smeared blood streak on his helmet.
This was the scene with Kylo Renn’s grand entrance, but we sensed that something was different about this stormtrooper, especially when he refused to fire on the villagers.
Soon afterward, Finn removed his helmet and showed fear and bewilderment.
Part of what made Finn so appealing was that he showed how stormtroopers could be “traumatized” by what they had done and had emotions after all.
Diving into the psychological side of being a stormtrooper was an interesting terrain. Like most stormtroopers, Finn was taken at a young age from his family to serve the First Order.
We may wonder if all of these abductions and brainwashings were fully realized.
Likewise, when Finn met Poe provided an exciting moment of a First Order Trooper and a Resistance pilot coming together. T
heir mutual escape, as this article indicates, could be their top scene, along with their bonding under TIE Fighter fire afterward.
In the complete scene here, we notice the turnaround from enemy to friend is quick but convincing. In a very direct way, Finn responds to Poe’s question about why he is helping him by saying “because it’s the right thing to do.”
It’s an explanation that fans of Star Wars are accustomed to since A New Hope.
That sincere moment was followed by the excitement we expect from Star Wars too.
Even after their stolen TIE was shot down and crashed on Jakku, Finn had much potential.
We saw him find Poe’s jacket before the ship sank and exploded. Poe was presumed dead (as originally intended) and Finn was left bewildered but determined to push on.
Finn’s Lost Potential
It was still exciting when Finn met Rey on Jakku and the two escaped to the Millenium Falcon. They bonded as Rey flew the Graveyard of Giants while Finn blasted away at the pursuing TIE Fighters.
Yet, the character seemed to devolve from there, or at least after the first film.
One article captures a range of reasons why we may think that the character ultimately did not live up to his potential.
Among the most compelling are how Finn became lost behind the story of Rey and Kylo Ren, how he did not materialize into a Jedi, and how he had uncompelling action scenes like the fight scene with Kylo Ren.
Another article on Star Wars characters that “took a wrong turn” agrees that Finn lost his potential as a character.
After The Force Awakens, with Rey moving into the spotlight, “Finn’s entire force arc faded into the background,” and he arguably became “an annoying side character” that popped up from time to time.
Some fans think that the character was flawed from the start. Finn was “a likable character” but “wasn’t in the First Order long enough to have brutal PTSD.”
Finn’s dialogue and actions may have faltered from the beginning, and not as the films progressed.
Yet, it seems more accurate that Finn had potential and then lost it. This video provides a breakdown of Finn’s “journey in the sequel trilogy” and “The Rise of Skywalker brutally let this character down.”
As with other assessments, Finn could have been the most promising character, but this “stormtrooper with a conscience” did not truly develop along those lines.
By the last sequel, Finn did not even reveal what he wanted to tell Rey and appeared to remain relatively the same as he was in the first movie.
As the above video conveys, perhaps Finn could have taken a lead role with the band of former stormtroopers and potentially recruited more to the side of the Resistance.
Finn As a Captivating Character
Finn was initially a captivating character but declined in that role. This character may have devolved during or after The Force Awakens or by the last film.
Yet, Finn did not seem to live up to his potential as a stormtrooper who broke from the First Order. He just seemed to trail off.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.