8 Mind-Blowing Revelations Hidden In Rise Of Skywalker

Finn is not only a Force sensitive but has known that he was Force sensitive since the first film. His entire character arc in this series is based around his frustration over not having the chance to develop his force skills and feeling like he's being left behind as Rey advances as a Jedi.

In The Force Awakens, there is a moment where Finn picks up a lightsaber and has a brief duel with Kylo Ren. After putting up a decent fight he is overwhelmed by the superior skills of his foe and defeated. Which, of course, is the expected result when an untrained Force user challenges a master.

While we know that Finn has basic combat skills that he learned as a Stormtrooper, the idea that any stormtrooper can last this long while fighting hand to hand against a trained Force user is another issue which until recently required some explanation.

That explanation - as revealed in Rise of Skywalker - is that Finn is a Force sensitive. But that explanation can be taken a bit deeper to explain a few things that happen in the other films.

Things that appear to be blind luck or coincidence are actually Finn using the Force and it’s likely that by the end of The Force Awakens he already knew or suspected that he was a Force sensitive. There is that comedic moment when he says "We'll use the Force" and Han replies “That’s not how the Force works!”

But the irony of the moment is that he is actually using the Force and it is working exactly the way that he thought it might.

This would also explain a lot of his actions in The Last Jedi. Having realized that he is Force sensitive but has missed his opportunity to reach his potential, he is incredibly frustrated. He knows that Rey is already on another level, having defeated Kylo Ren where he only managed to put up a good fight before being quickly dispatched.

These factors combine to make him dangerously desperate to prove himself. We are told that Rey is a random nobody who isn’t a part of the story but it’s actually Finn who was consigned to that role. He has to cope with the fact that everything seems to be centred on Rey and that he is a Force sensitive not meeting his potential. That's what drives his character arc through the films.

He feels like he has some kind of destiny but it is not presenting itself. It seems to him as if he should be advancing his Force skills but the opportunity is never there.

Finn's arc is one of coping with the jealousy and frustration that he feels towards Rey's rapid growth and ultimately coming to accept the fact that it isn't his time yet. In Rise of Skywalker he finally makes peace with the reality that this is Rey's story and his story will come later. She has to fulfil her destiny before his destiny can be revealed and learning to accept this bitter truth brings him one step closer to his Jedi path.

To paraphrase Babylon 5, Luke is the one who was, Rey is the one who is and Finn is the one who will be.