ST Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) in Episode IX

Yeah, but in this case, it was somewhat justified. I mean, Finn did try to get out of dodge while everyone else was in trouble. So you might say he deserved a little ribbing. Actions have consequences. And a joke or two at his expense is not exactly a devastating punishment.

 

The fact that he didn’t tell anybody, stole Poe’s stuff, snuck down to the escape pod area, and tried to sneak pass a crying Rose, should have told you that he was in the wrong.

Not to mention, he tried lying about it once she caught him.

Between the time when he woke up and when the FO track them, Finn was happy to stay with Resistance. Internally, because he knew Rey would eventual return to them, and this was his only chance to meet her again.

Externally, for all appearances to Leia and Poe and the Resistance, it would would seem Finn has joined them. (Especially since Finn’s not gonna tell them the only reason he’s staying, is to wait on Rey. That would just be embarrassing for him)


There was cut scene with Poe giving Finn the re-sewn jacket and Poe thanking him for staying with the Resistance. With Finn saying he doesn’t want to give Poe the wrong impression that he’s joining the Resistance. Which pisses Poe off, more than Rose was.

 

Ughhhhh, and I will NEVER forgive Rian Johnson for deleting that scene (same with Luke’s third lesson). They’re both such key moments that define where these characters are headed and what they’re motivations are.

*sighs* I really want a director’s cut of TLJ. I don’t care if I’m the only one.

 

Those are different situations though, escaping Canto Bight was in order to save the Resistance, fleeing the Raddus and stealing a pod and gear during a crisis was a (and I mean this in the broadest sense not as a normative judgment) selfish decision based around wanting to see Rey since she has been his emotional anchor. I sympathize, I relate, but I do not agree with Finn's choice. Sneaking is not so much the problem, not being heroic was. Its an understandable flaw, but its not the same as escaping from jail in order to save the galaxy. Sneaking past Rose to avoid having to put a further face onto the suffering Resistance that he is abandoning, is different than avoiding paying a parking ticket. Rose's beef isn't with sneaking, its with sneaking away from important responsibilities Cantonica's police are not as important as one's duty to the Resistance

Disclaimer: I do not advocate not paying for one's parking tickets

 

It’s about balance between the extremes. Like much of Star Wars.

Finn met two competing ideologies in the forms of DJ & Rose and Libertarianism & Collectivism. He made his choice toward Collectivism at the end. Modeled in part by the kind of early all or nothing commitments he felt Poe & Rose had to the cause. These are two people who’d seen him about to leave. He could have left them to die but he’s back and committed to the cause now. The problem of course is that those two weren’t perfect either and needed to also find a a balance and have grown over their journeys. Everyone in TLJ grows. Their experiences and conflicts and time spent versus personalities different than them help them find better balance between who they were and the potential they might have if they achieve greater balance.

 

I’ve talked about this so many times on this forum and the dissonance always stems from one thing: does Finn owe the Resistance anything?

In my opinion, not really. He isn’t officially a part of the Resistance. He is just an ally. Even if they nursed him back to health after helping them, ultimately he should have just been able to leave when he was done.

The problem I have is that by leaving the Resistance behind, he’s also leaving Poe behind. That’s what doesn’t work for me. I’m just of the opinion that he should have told Poe that he wanted to leave instead of sneaking behind his back because I’m pretty sure Poe would understand. Or if the deleted scene is any indication, they probably would have, at worst, had a falling out but Poe would have ultimately let Finn go (similar to what happened between him and Rey at Maz’s castle). They are friends after all. There’s a reason why Rose didn’t rat him out. If Finn’s escape had been successful, Poe definitely would have been hurt.

Also, Rey wouldn’t have taken kindly to Finn interrupting her mission and finding out that he ran away from the fight. It would have kind of been similar to what happened at Maz’s Castle.

So yeah, Finn’s escape wasn’t a terrible thing. I don’t think he was wrong in saying that this wasn’t his fight. It’s just the way he went about it. He just could have easily told Poe that he was out, especially when he was going through a crisis.

Is it weird that I don’t agree or disagree with this? Rose saving Finn is a little selfish in a way but at the same time (and this is the age old debate) Finn’s run would never have worked. Rose checked the speeders and looked at them before the Resistance flew them. As a mechanic and a pretty intelligent person, I think she was qualified to stop Finn.

The way she did it, however, was not smart at all. And yeah, the “saving what we love” line (which is one I actually really like) doesn’t really work in the context of Finn or Rose’s story.

 

The issue is that Finn was perfectly happy to stay with the Resistance because he knew Rey would return there eventually. And Finn gave indication he’d stay with the Resistance.

Once again, Finn’s using the Resistance to get close to Rey, just like in TFA (only in TFA it was to rescue her, in TLJ it’s just to be there when she gets back).

Every time Finn’s uses the Resistance like this, to the Resistance members’ POV, it seems like Finn is joining them.

When in actually he’s just using them to get to Rey. The Resistance aren’t mind readers. And can’t know that about Finn.

So as soon as it hits the fan when the FO attacks, Finn tries to escape. Because he figures he doesn’t want Rey to come back to trouble. Finn’s not even thinking of the current Resistance in crisis. He’s thinking about Rey who’s safe halfway across the galaxy. How are the Resistance members suppose to know Finn’s only there to be with Rey?

 

Finn went to Han when he saw Kylo take Rey. Han wasn't part of the resistance. Finn went to SKB with Han and Chewie. Again, Han wasn't part of the resistance, nor was Chewie at that point. Then Finn got sliced.
I honestly don't see any point where it can be assumed he made a commitment to the resistance.

 

I completely agree that Rose seems to grow more than Finn, but the dialogue wants us to believe that Finn is the one who grows, and learns the same lesson he learned in TFA. TLJ purposely regresses certain characters for the sake of the story arc, so they can grow and fit into the "failure is the greatest teacher" narrative.

 

That’s fair. Still one instance I found interesting was in TLJ when he’s developing battle-strategies with them, essentially saying “Until Rey gets back what’s our next move.”

But again, I get what people are saying. Rey and his own survival is his motivation, which is fair.

It is a character regression and that’s kind of the point. This is why I happen to think Finn’s character development is the strongest in TLJ because it’s consistent with who he is as a person, whereas Poe and Rey’s flaws in TLJ arguably are not.

I think it’s completely believable that Finn backslides a little bit because people and characters often do that, especially when they face their worst fears. In Finn’s case it’s dying or losing someone he loves to FO, which leads him to making a decision that you would think he would be passes by now. It just works for me and it makes Finn more complex honestly.

 

@devilinthedetails Ironically, Rose and Finn’s arc is the main reason I keep rewatching TLJ. The discourse surrounding the film kind of makes it less enjoyable to watch these days but I find a lot to enjoy in Finn and Rose’s adventure because it’s the most reminiscent of a Star Wars adventure.

Still, and this is a little off topic, but Finn and Poe’s lack of interaction in TLJ is probably the only thing I’m truly disappointed in when it comes to TLJ. Poe probably would have been a better and more developed foil than Rose. I mean I’m #TeamRoseTico all day everyday but I think she should have been the hacker and all three should have been on the adventure together somehow. I also think Poe being the one to stop Finn from making the run would have made a bit more sense than Rose being the one to do it.

Back to the topic at hand, I’m actually afraid that Rose is going to be shafted. There’s been next to nothing to come out about her in the leaks and she is not going to be with Finn, Rey, or Poe.

 

Yeah. She’s not in any of the leaked toys, even though third tier characters like Snap and Connix are.

Only thing we know for sure is that she talks to Rey at one point.

 

She says something in one of these interviews about 'redemption' and then acts quickly to cover herself. I hope she didn't blow an important secret such as, for example, where Kylo Ren might be concerned.

 

"I think that there are so many themes in Star Wars films, my favorite being redemption and this idea of like no matter what comes you can…well I can’t give you…I’m not going to tell you what happens but the idea of redemption."

- Kelly Marie Tran

 

so sounds like she’s involved in some of the action scenes

hopefully the next trailer has more Rose in it.

 

If she stays behind with Leia, that suggests the Resistance 'base' comes under attack.

 

Hmmm, we still didn’t see much of Rose in the second teaser... So it’s one of two scenarios then - either she dies early or like what @MagnarTheGreat said, Rose stays behind with Leia to man the Resistance base under some relentless First Order attack...