SPECULATION Will we see Finn's awakening in the Force?

I agree he was the best part of episode 7

 

Agreed.

 

Or it could be that he is a lead character in a major blockbuster so it's a fair bet that you are going to survive.

 

Compare film making to chess.

My opinion: people who want Finn to be force sensitive and want him to go from stormtrooper to jedi make one move in the chess game without thinking about the consequences of that move. An experienced chess player wont make a move without making numerous calculations first. A move that looks good in short term might be disastrous in the long term. You are just shouting for Finn to be force sensitive but have no idea what that will do to the story and the movies. It's impossible to squeeze that into the movies without becoming lame. You have no knowledge of film making if you think that going from stormtrooper to jedi is a good arc. ESPECIALLY now after seeing the first movie, it's just not where his character is going.

 

I agree that, after Episode VII, it wouldn't make much sense to make Finn a Jedi. I believe he will morph though into a great warrior, as Maz saw in the novelization (but the line didn't make to the movie itself).

To put it in rather simple terms, why turn Finn into Superman when he can be Batman ?

 

I am confident that the storywriters did not want to crowd the main hero so much that they limited Luke Skywalker to less than a minute screen time in an Episode titled THE FORCE AWAKENS. And in that said episode, only one character experienced an awakening--that is, the scavenger, Rey, who personified a younger Luke Skywalker. Her character plot completely mirrored that of Luke's in A NEW HOPE. Again, there was never any indication of anyone else awakening in the Force. Certainly not in Finn on Jakku. Kylo definitely senses him, but did you forget that Kylo reads minds and thoughts? Kylo knew his heart at that moment. Certainly not in Finn on Takodana. Where was the Force awakening within Finn after Maz gives him the lightsaber, you know, the part where the riot trooper beats him down? Why didnt the Force give Finn the serenity and the ability to simply perform a mind trick on Phasma, rather a silly Kevin Hart routine in her face about how he is now in charge?

All I am saying is, Finn is a wonderful character, in so many ways. We all loved him. But its just not looking like anyone else is going to be a Jedi, and it certainly does not look like Finn is even Force sensitive. If I am wrong and you are right, then we do know this: he will need a major character overhaul to become one-I just don't see a big demand for slapstick comic Jedis in this trilogy.

 

'Will we see Finn's awakening in the Force?'
Nope. Here's why:

 

All of this is presumption on your part, and not real answers. You presume that Rey's path is going to follow Luke's as a "lone Jedi" without understanding why Luke was the only Jedi in the OT, and why that won't work in the ST.

The people that were capable of spreading the religion at that time had no support from government and were in hiding. In fact, the government actively tried to suppress them. Luke was the "new hope" not because he had special genes, but because he was a force strong individual attracted to the rebellion, and capable of getting access to the remnants of the Jedi in Yoda. Now that there is no empire the idea that Luke need be relegated to a single student makes no sense, especially considering that having as many students as possible is his best hope from ridding the galaxy of the First Order and the Knights of Ren, according to EVERY CHARACTER THAT SPEAKS ON THE SUBJECT. And this time he has Leia's help and the help of whatever is left of the republic. The FO isn't powerful enough to stop him from recruiting.


And Kylo does read minds, but this wasn't one of the those times. It was Finn that drew Kylo's attention, who, right before then, wasn't thinking about him one bit. If Kylo read Finn's mind, then he did it with much less effort it took for him to read Poe's or Rey's. No, he sensed Finn. I think, whether you believe he has the Force or not, that's not debatable.

And Finn isn't Rey. The lightsaber wasn't his, yet even so Maz wanted him to test it out, for whatever reason. The real question is why was Rey so precocious when Luke had to LEARN EVERYTHING like Finn, if he has the force, would probably have to LEARN EVERYTHING. Yet, even The VD recognizes that Finn had an Awakening of his own. They don't use the word Force, but that makes sense considering the movies have yet to reveal anything definitive about that one way or another.

And that fits what John Boyega said on CNet. He likened Finn's arc as a origin story of superheroes. He says they never start off that way.

"What he will say about the movie is that Finn is on a journey, much like the origin stories of gods and superheroes from other mythologies. 'All the characters we love — Batman, Spider-Man — never ever start off as those guys,'"

Plus I find your worry about a "slapstick Jedi" to be telling. What does his temperament have to do with the evidence of whether or not he is a Jedi?

"I thought."

That's his answer? A guy that's supposedly knows one way or another "thought it was the people outside of Maz's castle"? Sounds like he's being evasive. He didn't even bother to answer if Finn is FS. AND he seems to have deleted the tweet. It's not on his wall anymore.

Anyway, if you watch the scene there ain't no way it's the people at Maz's castle. Hosnian prime hasn't been destroyed yet, and when it was destroyed there was no screaming when Finn came back to talk to Han; probably because that would make NO sense. Who screams at some mysterious sky light?

 

I don't know when John Boyega said that (before or after the movie was released), but I suppose he might be just referring to the fact Finn starts out on TFA as a man who wants to run and ends up as a warrior willing to sacrifice himself against a much more formidable foe to protect/save Rey. I don't think he literally meant Finn would eventually develop superpowers or anything of that sort.

On the Takodana scene, I saw it four times and there is definitely nobody around Finn, much less children (as we seem to hear in the background), but Pablo Hidalgo's words are canon and if he says those were the screams of gawkers outside the castle, then I believe it. Personally, I thought it was just an audio effect to enhance the scene (and Finn was not actually hearing anything), but Hidalgo's version is the official one.

 

Batman doesn't have superpowers; but that's not the point. The premise is that he's going to become great and this is just his "small beginnings" to quote LoA. Whether he has The Force has yet to be seen. Either way, he's not going to stay at this point.

Creative Executive, Lucasfilm Story Group. Duly appointed defender of the Tyrest Accord. Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx. Don't cite tweets as canon.

-Pablo's Twitter Bio

Not only that, but this guy who has been giving yes and no answers to questions people had about the movie only "thought it was the gawkers at Maz's castle"?

Why the uncertainty?

 

About Finn hearing screams through the force (from that script going around):

 

I would argue that the movie enhances this scene a whole lot better. If it's just "The SOUND FROM THE SKY" then why does he hear the screaming of the people? And it's not the people in Maz's castle because when you see them in the next few scenes they aren't screaming for the lives, plus it seems Finn runs a great distance from the ship to get to them, also indicating he's not that close to the castle. Also, Finn heard the noises before the beam hit any planets and when the beam was hitting the planets when Han and everyone came out of the castle, there were no noises in the sky.

 

A lot of people seem to not only think that he won't be a Jedi but seem to have a problem with him being one for whatever reason. I don't know why people think it would take away from Rey she's already good at everything; does her piloting somehow take away from Poe? Finn becoming a Jedi makes a lot of sense when it comes to his story. Why give him a whole story for him to become a regular soldier especially considering the fact that he was supposedly one of the best stormtroopers when he was part of the First Order that would be a lateral move. Add the fact that him wielding the lightsaber in the promos brought a lot of black fans to the theater with the expectation that he would be a Jedi it makes the most sense not only in story but for drawing in more fans.

 

Totally agree with this. One of the problems I've noticed with the division between Finn and Rey fans is most want to regulate the movie as a story about only one of them. This comes mostly from the Rey crowd and those wearing rose colored Rey glasses. The movie is about both of them, it's pretty obvious that it is since they both got equal screen time regardless of their achievements or lack thereof.

Still tho, you make a good point about how keeping him as a soldier would only be a lateral move and kill any potential character development he could have beyond finding his family, discovering more about his past or just overcoming the so-called comedic relief stigma most have put on him. I really consider it a giant double standard the way people allow for all the subtle hints that developed Anakin into a Jedi, Luke into one and now Rey, but those same subtle hints are hand waved away for Finn because a portion of the fan base thinks it should be only a one force user story for some strange reason.

I also agree with you about the promotional campaign and how it pretty much reached out to black fans just as Rey reached out to female fans. I think there's a post somewhere on the Cantina of a guy talking about how he realized this about Rey when he saw some young girls dressing as her and standing by her poster, etc.

 

Yeah but isn't the official word that he's hearing people in castle scream?

The thing is Finn wasn't written to be a "Black Jedi". Finn was written to be a Stormtrooper who changes sides and they cast a British-Nigerian actor to play him. It's possible Finn was intended from the start to be Jedi but it's also possible he was written to be more like Han or Leia in the OT. And from the way TFA ended it seems that even if Finn is able to be a Jedi it's not going to happen until 9 and he'll spend most of 8 working with the resistance as a pilot or a soldier. I don't understand why Finn would have to be a Jedi to "[bring] a lot of blacks fans to the theater". Han is probably the most popular character from the OT and he wasn't a Jedi.

 

No. Plus that wouldn't chime with how the sequence of the scenes play out. Again, Finn hears (senses) everything prior to them happening. So it can't be the people making noise if they haven't seen it yet. Remember, Han and everyone are just coming out of the castle when Finn runs to them, plus, again, they're not making any sounds.

I think I saw somewhere that someone claimed someone official on a twitter account makes this "official" but someone else pointed out that the person said "they thought that's what it was." Meaning they were going by their own interpretation of the sequence of events, but again, when you look at the order of the scenes and how they play out carefully, you see Finn is sensing a disturbance similar to Obi-Wan in A New Hope.

Edited to add: Yeah, RoccusRob address the person who supposedly makes it official that Finn heared the people at the castle who were also looking at the sky.

 

Well I think between the novelization, the script, and Pablo's twitter account there is more pointing towards Finn not hearing screams through the force. Also Finn's understanding of the force would be less than Luke's when Alderaan was destroyed. So if Luke couldn't hear their deaths, why would Finn hear these?

 

I've heard different things about the novel. I still don't see how it could be that he didn't hear it through the force when you break it down. I'm not just speaking haphazardly here as I've managed to watch this scene a few times and analyzed it here. Like I said, RoccusRob points out that Pablo was invoking his own interpretation and not necessarily anything official.

 

Wow. You seem to be pretty invested in Finn being force sensitive. My point is there is almost no evidence Finn is force sensitive but there also isn't any evidence he isn't it. It's pretty neutral. To me Finn's role in this movie is as a foil to Rey. Rey is waiting for people who care about her to come back. She learns over the course of this movie that other people care about her and this is demonstrated by Finn coming for her on Starkiller base. Also it seems likely Maz gave Finn the lightsaber because she knew it would end up back with Rey in that case. Now my personal theory is Finn is force sensitive, and maybe the main hero of the trilogy, but he will be kind of waiting in the wings until later. Pretty sure something will happen to Rey, either she turns or gets kidnapped, and Finn will then be trained to rescue her.