Fast & Furious Theory: Why Dom Quickly Forgave Deckard

Dominic Toretto’s decision to quickly forgive Deckard Shaw caused fan backlash, but Fast & Furious franchise may find a way to justify this decision. Collectively known as The Fast Saga, there are currently nine films in the series, including its first-ever spin-off, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw which featured the team-up between Deckard and Luke Hobbs as they go up after the mysterious group known as Eteon. Back in the main movie storyline, Dom is gearing up for another mission in Fast & Furious 9 which will see him go after his and Mia’s estranged brother, Jakob, who is backed by Fate of the Furious’ villain, Cipher.

Aside from F9‘s primary narrative, Han’s resurrection is also a big plotline. At this point, not much is known about how he’s able to come back after he was presumed dead for several years now. His re-emergence has reinvigorated the “Justice For Han” movement, which aims to have Deckard be held accountable for what he did to the beloved member of “la familia.” With director Justin Lin returning to the car-centric franchise to helm its final three movies beginning with F9, there are high hopes that this will be the case. After all, Han was his brainchild, having originally debuted in his film Better Luck Tomorrow before eventually joining The Fast Saga.

Lin has admitted that delivering justice for what happened to Han was a big reason for his decision to come back and direct the next Fast & Furious trilogy. But at this point, it’s difficult to gauge how that will be achieved, considering that Deckard will not be in F9. However, what the upcoming blockbuster can do is explain why Dom easily forgave the older Shaw brother after he attempted to kill Han.

Deckard Killed Han For Revenge

Due to the convoluted timeline of The Fast Saga, Han’s story can admittedly be confusing. Originally introduced as Sean Boswell’s mentor in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, he also supposedly met his demise at the end of the same film. However, this detail was not properly established until Furious 7 which chronologically took place after the Japan-set installment. It was the reason why Han was still able to partake in the gang’s operations in Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6, where Dom’s team faced off with the younger Shaw brother, Owen, who was severely injured during their final encounter. Fueled with revenge with happened, Deckard sought revenge against the “la familia,” going after Han, who was isolated from his team and was on his own in Asia.

Fate of the Furious Deckard Backlash Explained

Before it was confirmed that Han is indeed alive, there was already backlash about how The Fate of the Furious handled the aftermath of his presumed death. While he initially held a grudge against Deckard, Dom eventually forgave Deckard at the end of the same film after he played a part in rescuing his secret son with Elena from Cipher. Not only did Dom essentially disregard every crime that the older Shaw did to his crew, he even gave him a seat at the table during their traditional Fast & Furious post-mission gathering, signaling that he was now one of them. Granted that ensuring the safety of his child was a primary concern for Dom, the fact that they didn’t even discuss what happened t0 Han before they buried the hatchet was perceived as a massive betrayal of the character’s legacy in The Fast Saga. The backlash was so strong, even some of the cast members of the franchise supported the “Justice For Han” movement.

Han Is Back In F9

Deckard’s arc continues in The Fast Saga, but his story moving forward has somehow diverged from Dom and his crew. Now, he’s teamed up with the Hobbs, and their adventures play out in the offshoot series Hobbs & Shaw. This has caused the “Justice for Han” controversy to die down a little bit—until it was revealed that Han is alive and returning in F9. It’s worth noting that Han’s death was never shown on-screen; there’s an implication that he was still inside the totaled car when it went up in flames, but he could’ve found his way out. Not much has been revealed about how exactly the character survived the car crash at the end of Tokyo Drift and the explanation will more than likely be saved for the film itself.

Based on the trailers, however, it appears as if Han continued living in Japan after his presumed death, according to Mia and Letty’s trip to the country before they gear up for their fight against Jakob. Hobbs & Shaw establishing resurrection in the franchise is another potential explanation for how he’s back. Whatever the case may be, F9 must provide a solid justification for his return.

Fast Saga Theory: Dom Knew Han Was Alive

Understandably, Lin is keeping information about Han’s return close to his chest. But given what’s known about this particular interesting F9 plot point, and his goal to deliver justice for what happened to the character, the chances are that the upcoming film will begin to set up the filmmaker’s promise. That can start with an explanation of why Dom quickly forgave Deckard by revealing that he has always known that Han is alive—and there is proof to back up the claim.

Firstly, it was Dom who went to Japan at the beginning of Furious 7 to bring Han’s body back to the U.S. It seems dubious that he didn’t even check to see if the remains he was transporting were indeed Han’s. Secondly, Mia and Letty going to Japan to recruit help is too much of a coincidence. While it’s still uncertain what exactly brought them to the East Asian country, it’s possible that Dom gave them the lead but didn’t inform them who they were are meeting there as they seek help for their upcoming encounter with Jakob. Noticeably, when Han shows up in the gang’s hideout, everyone is surprised, but Dom keeps his cool, as if he’s already expecting their old friend to show up.

Dom knowing that Han is alive would’ve made it easier for him to let go of the grudge he felt against Deckard. Granted, they should’ve at least still had a proper conversation about the Tokyo incident instead of totally disregarding it in Fate of the Furious. The fact that the Shaw brother failed in his attempted murder and that Han was safe in Japan all this time, allowed Dom to focus on the rescue of his son, Brian. From there, Fast & Furious can move forward with actually holding Shaw accountable for his crimes, and with two more films left in The Fast Saga after F9, Lin has plenty of time to achieve that.