“Finn could not simply be a sidekick or key ally in the story; he needed a story arc of his own. For the first time, The Force Awakens offered a Star Wars film in which two characters, not only one, are undertaking the Hero’s Journey.”
“Each of these archetypes appears in the Hero’s Journeys of Rey and Finn – but not always in the same way or with the same character in the respective storylines. This makes The Force Awakens an interesting study in the use of archetypes.The Hero, of course, is the central protagonist of the journey. In Rey’s adventure, she is the Hero; in Finn’s adventure, he bears that mantle and Rey fills a different archetype.”
This appeared in the official Star Wars magazine and I can sleep well tonight and my smug smile is so broad, I might still have it when I wake up…
Finn’s resistance against the First Order, both from within as a Stormtrooper and later as a Resistance fighter, reflect and parallel real-life dissent and resistance against fascism. This post will discuss some of those parallels.
I will confine my discussion of historical precedents to Europe in World War 2, partly because the First Order itself draws from Nazi imagery and history and, as @attackfish has pointed out, The Force Awakens uses Holocaust motifs quite effectively in depicting the First Order’s crimes.
Another reason is that Finn’s actions in combination have the distinctive characteristics of resistance both from within and outside of Germany during World War 2.
The three main parallels in Finn’s actions to historical resistance are as follow: Conscientious objection to a criminal order, the rescue of a pilot from enemy territory, and direct action to rescue a prisoner. Below I will discuss each of these categories in more detail and end with a coda on parallels to German defectors who took up arms against the Nazis.
Finn’s in a bad way at the end of VII. He has a lot of issues. He got slashed with a saber, and that took him down real hard, so he’s in a coma,” the actor says. “That suit, that whole thing helps him to recover. But we’re not sure whether that means he’ll wake up.”
Spoiler: He wakes up. But he’s not exactly good as new.
“There’s some additional few things that need to be done to make him mobile. He’s definitely in a place where he needs some help,” Boyega says.
“It’s a grounding injury. It’s going to take him some time to get back on the ball. But when he does… oh, he does,” Boyega says.
“It’s Finn and Rose, they’re on a massive adventure. It’s a big mission they need to complete,” Boyega says. “The Resistance is under immense pressure, and it’s time for them to get a bit of help. That’s where Finn and Rose come in, and they’re thrust into a crazy adventure.
