8 Things Everybody Missed In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

3. The Bowcaster Is More Than Just A Running Joke

Die-hard Star Wars fans will have known for a long time that Chewbacca's bowcaster was more than just a standard blaster; appearing in countless games as a specialist weapon, it was always a powerful, disruptive piece of kit. This was something the movie's finally reflected in The Force Awakens, with a little running joke seeing Han amazed by how powerful his partner's weapon of choice really was, sending enemies flying with a single blast. However, that wasn't just there to give Han and Chewie the opportunity for a plot-free back-and-forth and dispatch TR-8R; it was all humorous set-up for a very important part in the climax. After Han's been speared by Kylo Ren, Chewie goes berserk, killing stormtroopers and shooting Kylo in the side. The film makes clear this injures him, evidenced later by the blood in the snow and his beating coping mechanism, but in having built up the weapon as a one-shot killer we know just how extreme the agony he's in is. Much has been made of how bumbling Finn held his own against Kylo and Rey actually bested him despite the Knight of Ren having more training in swordfighting and the Force, but when you consider he's dealing with that intense physical pain, such imbalance makes much more sense.