Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker marked the end of the Skywalker saga, but it also changed some elements from the previous films, such as how the force works. The Rise of Skywalker teased that Finn is Force-sensitive, bringing into question what fans already knew about the Force. Back in 1977, the film now known as Star Wars: A New Hope introduced audiences to a galaxy far, far away, with its own planets, alien species, political system, and other concepts such as the Force.
Lucasfilm continued expanding this new universe with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and years later with a prequel trilogy, which explored Anakin Skywalker’s backstory from his days as a young slave in Tatooine to his rise as Sith lord Darth Vader. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, the studio started working on a new (and final) trilogy, with the intention of giving closure to the Skywalker saga while also introducing a new generation of characters.
The sequel trilogy wasn’t safe from controversy, and the final chapter, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was surrounded by it. The film was packed with controversial moments, left more plot holes that fans hope will be solved someday, and changed some elements that fans have been familiar with for years, such as the Force and those with the ability of using it – and it was all through Finn’s big reveal.
How Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Changed The Force
![Rise of Skywalker’s Finn Reveal Changes How The Force Works](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Star-Wars-Finn-Close-Up.jpg)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker promised to explore Finn’s backstory, but didn’t deliver on that at all. Instead, Finn’s biggest moment was a confession he was going to make to Rey when he thought they were about to die, but the reveal was interrupted and viewers were left wondering what it was about. It was later confirmed that Finn was going to tell Rey he’s Force-sensitive, and had a subtle moment near the end where he used the Force (though not as many would have liked), and later sensed Rey’s death through it. Force-sensitive individuals are those who possess a strong connection to the Force, and it could be passed on to the following generations, as was the case of the Skywalker family: Anakin passed his strength to Luke and Leia, and she passed it to her son, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. The same happened with Rey as she turned out to be Palpatine’s granddaughter.
The Jedi and the Sith trained Force-sensitive individuals to help them control and use their abilities, and without training, knowledge, and even faith, this connection to the Force remained dormant, as was Finn’s case. It’s unknown who Finn’s family are, so his connection to the Force is still a mystery, as is how he discovered it. Many fans believe his Force abilities were subtly teased in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but The Rise of Skywalker failed to answer when and how Finn knew he’s Force-sensitive, if his family had those abilities too, and if he will get proper training to use the Force. Finn’s big reveal in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker didn’t do any good to his arc as it failed to resolve it, and changed what fans already knew about the Force and those with the ability to use it by not exploring this part of his story.