Do We Need Finn Going Forward

Well JJ made him and Rey close but RJ killed that too. So, unless he is going to be Chewy’s side kick I’d say nope. RJ pretty much ruined the ST.

 

Yes! Finn provides a much-needed grounded view. Han provided this in the OT (I'm not saying Finn is the ST's Han per-se, but that they provided similar roles). Padme was this for the AOTC and ROTS (Obi-Wan was this in TPM). And despite the backlash to Rose, Finn's arc and with her tried something new. Finn, despite the opinions of him after TLJ, is still the character that has the most potential because of the lack of role.

Yes, he could be a ground soldier while Poe takes the sky battle or is in the command center.
Yes, he could still incite that Stormtrooper rebellion.
And yes, I still believe he could have something to do with the Force.

JJ created Finn and gave him a great arc in TFA. I have faith he can do the character justice in Ep IX.

Finn's also my favorite ST character, so I'll be sad if he goes.

 

This is a great question and the clarification makes it even better. I think we both know the logical answer to that question. I would really like to say 'yes' but I can't. To do that would mean that I would have to tie his importance to something that either (1) so far hasn't been shown or (2) something that just hasn't been given enough importance throughout this entire saga.

I can't really justify continuing to follow the story of a defected stormtrooper when that stormtrooper's history is pretty much rendered meaningless the moment he defects. If the Resistance was nearly wiped and completely untrained in combat against the First Order and so desperately needed his knowledge as a combatant, then he would be needed. But we know that's not the case. This is a prime example of number 1: justification based on something that hasn't been shown.

I could try to make the case that he could be a general for the Resistance. But again I can't justify that based on the fact that being a general has never really meant anything in Star Wars. Literally every main human character in the OT was designated as one and all that accomplished essentially was......designating them as the main human characters. See number 2

Looking at how he's been handled so far I can't really justify continuing to follow his story. He hasn't been designated as anything special by the actual movies. They took Han Solo's awesome piloting skills and Leia's being the face of the military arm and gave them both to Poe so I don't how Finn as a character given his current state can compete with that.

Look, I love Finn for what he could be or could have been, but I can't ignore what he is.

That's why I say the way he's currently constructed, no Finn isn't needed.

 

Luckily JJ is back he will extend Finn's arc and complete it. If RJ was still in charge the answer would have been no. He should be important he was the male and true co-lead TFA. He is needed, whether the story group or KK agree is an entirely different question.

 

Yes, we need Finn. There's a variety of different directions they could go with Finn in the next film. He will obviously be one of leaders of the Rebellion as he's one of it's biggest heroes. He could also serve as a wake up call to peel members of the First Order away with his personal experience as a soldier.

 

And in that occupied space Han helped ground the audience. He didn't really stand for any big ideals like Leia did, nor was he mystical like Luke. Han was a guy who stood up for himself and later his friends. That space right there is where Finn can and should stand.

That's the great part about Finn (and Rose TBH)! We finally get to care about the ground soldiers.

As for 90% percent of Star Wars being aerial, I'll haggle you down to a solid 75% Ever since ROTJ, Star Wars has split its Big Battles between aerial/space, ground, and Jedi. In ROTJ we had Han and Leia on the ground, Lando in space, and Luke doing his Jedi thing. In TPM we had Jar Jar on the ground*, Anakin in space, and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon doing their Jedi thing. AOTS had separate fights for them all, and ROTS pretty much had all three fights with Obi-Wan and Anakin at the beginning. TFA really didn't, but we did get a ground fight at Takodana. And TLJ switched up aspects. Having the aerial fight at the beginning and on Crait, used the intimacy of the Jedi fight for Finn's fight (which is a topic or another time), and then used the "ground fight" in the Throne Room. Kinda.

And I totally get where you're coming from. Honestly, had this been anyone BUT JJ I'd probably side with you. But JJ helped create this character and he did a masterful job with it. I have faith he can take us home. And on the bright side, there's nothing so broken with Finn that an animated show by Dave Filoni can't fix. Seriously, that dude made Anakin likeable and Darth Maul both cool AND menacing. I'd trust him to clean up any potential mess.

He WAS integral in taking out Starkiller Base (helping come up with the plans, disabling the shields, helping put up bombs (though that may have been all Han and Chewie)).




*we were supposed to care about him, but...well...

 

I don't need answers to any of those questions, because I don't care. All I want is a good Star Wars movie thru and thru. The only character that I am interested in is Finn, and that is because I am curious how far Hollywood and America has come or is willing to go backwards. Ever since people wanted to minimize his importance I have decided to study this phenomenon by people who need for him to be lesser than the other characters in the movie. I don't care about the movie anymore. I'm more interested in the response.

Rey has powers, but no purpose. Between her and Finn there is no way she should be the catalyst. She has nothing to be upset about. None of the characters have much purpose. The one that should is Finn. Purpose to escape and find his family. Not the purpose to pick up a weapon and fight in someone else's army.

 

I'll ignore the list of rhetorical questions. However, do you really need to know why Finn is considered a hero by the Resistance? I'm not sure this is a serious question since it's so obvious.

 

The resistance is down to 20 or so people, so he'll be a founder of this new Resistance they build in the anticipated time lapse. So he'll be important, if for no other reason, because he survived the FO's purge of the resistance. He was there when Luke did his thing. He's close friends with both Rey and Poe.

However, I would say he's the least important and could easily be sidelined and be supplementary like Connix at this point. Important in reality, but just not that important on screen and not deserving of screen time.

Remember too, the audience will be expected to assume he's been active and learning through that inevitable time jump between episodes.

I think the truth is that they can go without, but they won't and he will be integral to the story in some way. JJ created him and he'll give him his due. Whether or not after his role in TLJ that feels organic, we'll see after IX. I'm sure it will be subject to much debate.

 

Apply any Storm Trooper skill to what Finn can give to those he trains, and to which he leads. Maybe the resistance takes on different strategies, like boarding vessels instead of all out space warfare.

Beyond that, Finn can also teach his troops to be great janitors, keeping the ship pristine and clean in the aftermath of their assault.

I absolutely get what you're saying, and you're right, he doesn't have quite as big a destiny as the rest and it certainly hasn't been nearly as foreshadowed as the others. That said, stormtroopers I'm assuming are good at demolitions, melee, range, and possibly even gunners, which has all been alluded to in previous films. Then of course there is the possibility to cram in a ST revolt. Now if the next super weapon requires a strike team to board the base, then he will become essential in that task. Think Endor but in space. That's my best guess anyways.

 

I used to love the idea of Finn freeing the other stormtroopers. Now I don't. Especially if their purpose is to help the Resistance. No thank you. The Resistance hasn't done anything in these past two movies for me to want to follow them. They are selfish. Both the FO and the Resistance are incompetent.

 

I always thought it would have been cool if the rebellion sent him straight back to be a stormtrooper again, and turned him into their spy. That’s something we haven’t really seen in a Star Wars movie yet... anything about the stormtroopers from the inside. We could have got to know a few of them, seen a few battles from their side, seen onboard their ships.

 

Might be tough to do that now with what happened with Phasma on the Supremacy. I do like the idea of Finn appealing to worlds about a reason to join the Rebellion. One big part of Finn's role is winning over the hearts and minds of people who are just tired of conflict.

 

Ain't Never Been 'bout what "We Want" ...
Not No Star Wars Story. Not A One of Any of It.
Sure, 'speculation' ...
That's fun'n All ...
then Stuffs like ^up^ There's Gets All Carried Aways ... Causes "I Wants !"

But That There's Yer Down Fall
Can ya SEE ??

...gets TiredSome ...
Not Never Gonna Go just The Way Ya Thinks ...
Not Never Did