I had a dream I was a Jedi. And came back here and freed all the slaves. Go without us. We’re taking this entire ship down.
A thousand generations live in you
(Thanks to @finnstansonly for the inspiration!)
this could have been such a clever parallel kylo ren believing himself to carry on vader’s legacy while it’s finn freeing slaves like anakin dreamed wasted storytelling opportunities abound (via @beyondthedream)
You’re so right!
But allow me to go a little bit further here, Kylo is indeed the carrier of Vader’s legacy, because he sows terror and what’s worse, unlike Anakin, he made the choice deliberately and out of his own free-will, he was neither cornered by nor forced by any circumstances like Anakin was (not that excuses any of the terrible things Anakin did as Darth Vader). Kylo is Vader, Kylo is the dark.
But it’s Finn, not Kylo, the rightful carrier of Anakin Skywalker’s legacy here. Because Finn carries all the light Anakin ever held inside, all the light, all the kindness, all the goodness, all the selflessness to help those in need, all his sense of justice in the face of injustice and unfairness. All the good of Anakin lives in Finn through the Force, for sure.
This is a fantastic gif set because I had never thought of Finn being a mirror to Anakin before but now it seems a glaring missed opportunity within the new movies - as you say, Finn IS the right heir to Anakin’s pre-Vader legacy. He is the slave who frees himself, who bolted off a desert world in the search for a Jedi, who makes true friends and risks his all for them. He is the person little Anakin wished he could be. It’s heartbreaking, really, and frustrating that the focus of the new trilogy moved in a very different direction.
Also! On top of the Force preventing him from participating in two separate massacres (and let’s remember that the Force connects all living beings; that, in a sense, the Force is connection), Finn’s driving motivation is personal connection. He cares about people, fights for them, runs back into danger for them.
Who else did that? Anakin. But Finn is pure Light. He shares Anakin’s intense love for His People, but without the possessiveness and jealously. He’s brave enough, strong enough, and loving enough to withstand fear and loss and 23 fucking years of conditioning.
