The backlash for one particular arc in THE LAST JEDI doesn’t make any sense when you examine what actually transpires in the movie. SPOILERS BELOW:
I’m going to say this again and again, but it’s worth repeating because I’m sick of the hate that the Finn/Rose arc is receiving especially when a lot of it doesn’t make sense? A lot of people are saying that that particular arc was “pointless” and resulted in a failure. But mind you, so was Rey’s arc.
Rey accepted a side mission to Luke’s island by Leia and on Ahch-To, she learned about the Force. But she ultimately failed to bring Luke back to aid the Resistance. So she settled for Ben Solo to turn the tide of the war. However, instead of bringing back Ben Solo, he betrayed her (by proposing she rule by his side despite her side of their shared vision saying otherwise) after their throne room fight, thereby endangering her friends by causing the rise of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Similarly, Finn accepted a side mission with Rose Tico by Poe to Canto Bight and on the casino planet, they both learned about the effects of war and slavery. But they ultimately failed to find the actual code breaker to aid the Resistance. So they settled for DJ to help them disable the hyperspace tracking and save the fleet. However, instead of DJ helping them out, he betrayed them (by turning them into Phasma/Hux despite their negotiated deal saying otherwise) after finding the tracker, thereby endangering their friends by causing the transports to be snuffed out one by one. Both storylines converged on the Supremacy (resulting in respective costumes changes and elevator scenes), which is the climax of the movie. I think the throne room scene and the Phasma/FInn fight scene were meant to be the most heightened part of the movie. And shortly thereafter, everything fell to shit.
Both storylines resulted in failure, which causes disappointment right? But these failures are valuable, and it sparks hope and change. Yoda spoke it clearly enough when he appeared to Luke:
“The greatest teacher, failure is.”
It’s literally right in the movie. Luke failed Kylo when he tried to kill him. Rey failed to turn Kylo because all she cared about was the Resistance. Kylo failed to move on because he wanted power. Finn and Rose failed because they didn’t find the right codebreaker. Poe failed Leia by not listening to her commands regarding the dreadnought situation. Everyone failed in this film. It wasn’t just Finn and Rose. So why are people only complaining about their arc and not Rey’s/Kylo’s? Why are people bashing and spreading hate about their arc but not Rey’s/Kylo’s? It’s qwhite interesting, isn’t it?
Despite their failures, each arc left huge impacts for the next movie and their failures weren’t for naught. Kylo Ren might be the new Supreme Leader, but through his bond with Rey, his inabilty to move on from the past, his last showdown with Luke, and his remaining familial relationship with Leia, he’s started his redemption arc. He will be the spark to turn the tide of the war. Similarly, Finn and Rose trashed Canto Bight and freed the fathiers, which meant that those enslaved children weren’t going to have work so hard and Finn and Rose inspired them to fight for the Resistance. These nobody children, just like Rey, will be part of the spark that will turn the tide of the war.
One storyline was just more dramatic than the other. One storyline was just more lighthearted than the other. But both storylines shared equal screentime, weight and purpose to the larger theme of the movie, which is spoken by none other than Rose Tico herself:
“We’re going to win this war not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.”
It’s accepting failure, learning from it, and moving on. The characters have to persist and keep trying to do better. That’s what resistance is about. That’s what hope is about. That’s what love is about. That’s what Star Wars is about. It’s surviving for another day. It’s spreading love instead of hate. It’s listening to women when they speak to you. So all those fanboys complaining and bashing the Finn/Rose arc? They obviously didn’t understand THE LAST JEDI. But I know that there are people out there who do, so let’s respect people’s opinions, let’s let people ship who they want to ship and let’s take this movie’s message to heart, shall we?
