STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - Can we talk about Finn?

[Superlad93]

The way I see it is that, right or wrong, Finn is in the Leia role from the first movie. He's the one with the mission to deliver the map (plans to the death star) and, although he assists in his own escape (rescue), he doesn't really do that much beyond that (action-wise). He's the one who gets BB8 to reveal the location of the base (just as Leia guided the heroes to the rebellion after her rescue) He also gets the 'stand up to the bad guy' scene as Leia did with Darth when he faces off with Phasma.

Poe is taking over for Han as the best pilot, and Rey? Rey is both Luke (Jedi) and Han (pilot/mechanic) simply to keep people guessing as to whose kid she is

However, this entire plot fails if it weren't for Finn. If he hadn't had the guts to leave, if he hadn't taken up where Poe left off chasing after BB-8 *and* warned Rey, if he hadn't delivered the plans *and* shown the Rebels the way into the Starkiller base...

He was critical to the entire plot, just as Leia was the first time around.

I loved Finn and can't wait to see him do more in the sequels. This time around, it was Rey and Poe's turn to be the Big Damn Heroes, but Finn was the driving force that kept the plot moving, and I'm sure he'll have his day!

I do hope they don't make the same mistake with Finn as they did with Leia, though, and have him 'sensitive' to the force and 'there is another' who never reaches their potential.

PREACH!

And not only does the plot not continue but it doesn't have any human component to it. You're just stuck with a story full of legends, monsters, and prodigies. As I keep saying: he's the one that actually makes Poe any semblance of a character. He's our POV. It still not cool that we have to wait two years for Finn to have a moment all his own (action-wise) but his character more than makes up for it (for me).

They shafted Leia in Return of the Jedi with the craziest tease of all time. I'm REALLY holding out hope that they rectify this with FN-2187. I mean for goodness sake do sand planets own a monopoly on strong Jedi? I would hope not. I see our dual protagonist saving the day together and restarting the Jedi school in some from.

[gwangung]

I don't care if Finn is a badass with a lightsabre. I want him to be an integral part of the story, and not relegated to subplot.

[RobinFan4880]

I don't care if Finn is a badass with a lightsabre. I want him to be an integral part of the story, and not relegated to subplot.

Without Finn, the map to Luke Skywalker would not have found its way to the Resistance. Without Finn, Starkiller base would not have been blown up and Rey would not have been rescued.

He is central to the plot.

[Majesty]

The way I see it is that, right or wrong, Finn is in the Leia role from the first movie. He's the one with the mission to deliver the map (plans to the death star) and, although he assists in his own escape (rescue), he doesn't really do that much beyond that (action-wise). He's the one who gets BB8 to reveal the location of the base (just as Leia guided the heroes to the rebellion after her rescue) He also gets the 'stand up to the bad guy' scene as Leia did with Darth when he faces off with Phasma.

Poe is taking over for Han as the best pilot, and Rey? Rey is both Luke (Jedi) and Han (pilot/mechanic) simply to keep people guessing as to whose kid she is

However, this entire plot fails if it weren't for Finn. If he hadn't had the guts to leave, if he hadn't taken up where Poe left off chasing after BB-8 *and* warned Rey, if he hadn't delivered the plans *and* shown the Rebels the way into the Starkiller base...

He was critical to the entire plot, just as Leia was the first time around.

I loved Finn and can't wait to see him do more in the sequels. This time around, it was Rey and Poe's turn to be the Big Damn Heroes, but Finn was the driving force that kept the plot moving, and I'm sure he'll have his day!

I do hope they don't make the same mistake with Finn as they did with Leia, though, and have him 'sensitive' to the force and 'there is another' who never reaches their potential.

I would hope they make Finn the Force Sensitive that not only lives up to their potential and is a big part of the reason the galaxy is saved or IS the savior. Like I said, I see Rey turning to the dark side, in that scenario, Finn is the "other" but he is tasked with stopping her or bringing her back. Essentially what Mark Hamill wanted for his character, to fall to the dark side and be brought back, I have the feeling Leia would have been a big part of that had that idea gone forward and we'd have seen her as a Jedi.







And when it comes to the matters of Finn.. It really wasn't "just" the young black people that were hyped about him being a Jedi. Just watch some of the reactions to that 15 second teaser on Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbSWgE_eTvU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD5QhZdOSW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuiFyDByh9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKUgwLyvD5o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKwot8qC6e8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdbuRlhGtZU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW2k4aJz-YU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_E79-XtFE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fQFhWBXcqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Y6YCHcc64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8pTDoyTKMw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6qyK1K-lpY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sunBz7GmlTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oeUcpN4Ry0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd6sy0tZR3Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJLjM34LpIc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrX8AKOmeXE


That's not just joy... it's sheer unmitigated shock. It literally has virtually the same effect, they are watching the trailer, the MOMENT Finn shows up with that lightsaber it's like they got struck by lightning.


What we see in response by them, people of every color, is joy as well as shock, like they never thought they'd see anything like this. I think that's where it started, that's when that legend of Finn started and where that following grew and what a lot of people expected. It put him on a pedestal that I don't think even the studio could have predicted. It created an ENTIRELY different story, and when I look at all of the reactions to that trailer, what stands out to me like I said above all else wasn't just the joy at seeing it but the utter shock that goes through people's faces. The fact that it's so shocking shows how often it's actually seen... and shows how rare it is.

I still can't get over the unmitigated shock we see across the board at seeing Finn holding that Lightsaber.

I think a lot of it also has to do with the fact that when Rey was first seen literally everyone was expecting her to be the Jedi, because it's been in the flux of many of the movies, the strong female lead which has shown itself much more over the past 5-10 years within movies, so when they were tasked with Boyega and Ridley as the leads of the film, they all naturally assumed Rey would be the Jedi and Finn would be the sidekick, because that's the status quo right now in the comparative. As there are no leads in Finn's situation and predicament in sci-fi.. none.. there's barely any in film, and those that are are already in their 30s-40s.

So when Finn bursts out with that Lightsaber it was like a bolt of lightning, like change was ACTUALLY going to happen in Hollywood after who knows how long. In many ways, Finn was "A New Hope".

Like I said, those reactions, it's not just the happy, and the omg(like Doomsday showing up). IT's unmitigated SHOCK.. like they never thought they'd ever see it. That is what Finn represented. Henceforth why there has been such a response to his portrayal. IT's not just that they thought he was going to be that 'lead chosen' character, it was the fact that after it was finally acknowledge that it was POSSIBLE... and that they WANTED Finn to be that character.

That's what started all that racist mumbo jumbo online and those people trying to boycott the film. They showed Poe as a pilot, no one said anything, they showed Rey as the main female character and a central figure, no one was saying anything, the second Finn busts out a lightsaber ALL HECK BREAKS LOOSE online and that's when the boycott came. Because Finn being the lead hero and more or less a JEDI, disrupts that status quo and glass ceiling that's in Hollywood right now and people were PUMPED to see change and not just see change but to see it on a platform as GIGANTIC as Star Wars!!

If Finn's the main character and the movie is doing as well as it has been, it destroys that glass ceiling and changes the way things are, not just in Hollywood but for guys going out for lead roles that want to be seen as more, as THE hero. In many ways, the majority felt that Boyega was going to be the spearhead of that, the one that broke that ceiling and on Star Wars no less. It means status quo is about to change and we get to witness the start of it.


So.. when Rey was the Jedi, and Finn was (people assumed) the sidekick that lost every fight and was funny who did small things here and there but isn't the galaxy savior. It caused the reaction it did. The post I made on the last page pretty much touches on why.

and as I said, Finn didn't hold a candle to what Han did despite not being a force sensitive in Episode IV

Han had an awesome scene where he shot Geedo.
Han was the reason they escaped Tattoine and was the great pilot that lead to it.
Han lead them into the Death Star and helped Luke rescue the princess
Han faced down a group of Stormtroopers by himself and had awesome scenes.
Han coached luke through using the weapons
Han was the one THEY WANTED to go on the Death Star mission, but he departed.
HAN was the one that returned and blew up the other ships saving Luke from getting blown up so he COULD blow up the Death Star.
Han was a hero whom got a medal at the end of the film standing triumphantly with Luke.

People that had that initial lightning bolt of hope didn't want Finn to be the guy that "did a bunch of a little things that ultimately lead to the victory if you break down the movie." no.. they wanted Finn to be the guy that broke the ceiling, a guy you don't have to defend actually being in this movie AFTER the movie. And he could have, if he was given that responsibility as Boyega proved he most DEFINITELY could have carried that role, heck, the mere thought of him even potentially having that role sent shockwaves through the fandom and internet as a whole. That's how rare it is. Because as much as it is hammered home how important Rey's character is and the strong female lead being the Jedi, she was already the first one everyone expected, with the wave of female leads showing up in movies lately and playing central roles. Finn was the one that shook the internet when it was teased that hey may not go that route but one even rarer.

I just hope that if and when they finally give Finn that major payoff that the echos will be felt as loudly as they would have been felt if they did it in this one. That's my two cents on it anyway.

I think that payoff is coming honestly as I think his coma is gonna start his path to being a Jedi, but I also get why everyone says what they said and are reacting they way they've acted towards his character not getting his just dues yet in movie one. It's because they're afraid they'll KEEP him there, like they've done so many many many many many MANY before. So it's very understandable.

[gwangung]

I would hope they make Finn the Force Sensitive that not only lives up to their potential and is a big part of the reason the galaxy is saved or IS the savior. Like I said, I see Rey turning to the dark side, in that scenario, Finn is the "other" but he is tasked with stopping her or bringing her back. Essentially what Mark Hamill wanted for his character, to fall to the dark side and be brought back, I have the feeling Leia would have been a big part of that had that idea gone forward and we'd have seen her as a Jedi..

I think folks shouldn't get ahead of themselves deciding the details of the roles each one will play. The creators will want to surprise, of course, but they have to surprise and be consistent with what they've established with this movie.

Rey is going to be a lead character, no doubt about it. The movie spends so much time with her, and she is established as strong in the Force. She's the sword arm of the good guys.

Finn is also going to be a lead character. The movie also spends a great deal of time with him, and it would be inconsistent for further movies not to make use of him or not to have him be a key element. The movie really doesn't rely on a trio of good guys like the original trilogy; it feels more like dual protagonists, with Poe elevated, by seeming chance, to the forefront.

But that doesn't mean he's going to be another sword arm to take aim at the bad guys or that he's going to be a Force heavyweight. What we've seen in this movie is that he has tremendous courage and tremendous heart...and traditionally evil discounts those with great heart and great courage at their peril. I would not be surprised if Finn is now the spiritual center or shield arm of the good guys, perhaps leading Rey away from darkness, but it seems to me it would just be a repeat of this movie if he was just a distraction or overmatched stumbling block in the battles to come. I look for something different (maybe a catalyst sparking the Force in others? Maybe a beacon for Rey to lean on?) to intrigue audiences in the next two movies.

[Tendrin]

I liked Finn better than I thought I would and liked Rey a lot less than I'd hoped I would.

In the end, I walked out of the theater feeling ambivalent as to if I'd really wanted any of this at all.

[PwrdOn]

One thing you have to appreciate is that Finn's role is quite a difficult one to pull off, and Boyega really did great job making the character likeable and relatable. Rey honestly had a pretty easy go of it, she's an attractive young white girl so she didn't really have to do that much to win the audience over, just smile at the camera and swing the lightsaber around and fans will anoint her the next great action superstar. With Finn you could tell that both the actor and writers put a lot of thought and effort into crafting a meaningful character arc and giving him a ton of moments where he can show both courage and vulnerability, mixing in the comedic and romantic elements which Boyega pulled off brilliantly. I feel like a lot of fans just wanted him to be this unrealistically cool and badass Jedi who just mows down bad guys without breaking a sweat, but what we ended up with is so much better than that. He's a real person with believable emotions and his character development feels very natural and unforced, which you can't say for any other major Star Wars character, and besides he's sure to have plenty of cool action scenes in the upcoming movies so there's no need to worry on that front.

[Ceebiro]

I think we can all agree that Finn was the most interesting of the new characters revealed even if his role in TFA reached the heights of Kylo and Rey. While I think the humor with him was played over the top on a few occasions, I don't have many other complaints about the guy, by far my favorite character. Additionally, as cool as it would be for him to be a Jedi, it's not going to kill the character if he isn't.

As an aside, has there ever been a Force user that specializes in blasters, because if Kylo can stop the a blaster shot after it's been fired, what if Finn could redirect blaster shots to hit targets from odd angles?

[MagnarTheGreat]

This isn't addressed to the thread starter, but people in general.

I'm glad Finn was a funny character as that was something that was missing from prequels. Lucas sort of shoved all the humor off onto the Jar Jar character and to a far lesser extent the Obi-Wan character and it didn't work. In The Force Awakens he serves the role of Peeta/Spock (with humor) to Rey's Katniss/Kirk. They were auditioning the actors using a script based on chapter 19 of the first Hunger Games novel back in 2013.

The fact that Finn is played by a black actor wasn't intrinsic by design. It wasn't planned that way. It could have been one of the white dudes on the short list; it's also what is in the concept art. There was a time when the Poe Dameron character was known as John Doe and was black, that's in the concept art book. Finn was previously "Sam" and Rey was previously "Kira". Michael Arndt described Sam as "pure charisma" and Kira as "loner, hothead, gear-head, badass."

The fact that Rey is female is relevant. It was planned that way. They planned for a young woman to be the protagonist from the beginning.

Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm President: "This is a generational family saga and that fundamentally has been very important to us to continue that." "And the drama inherent in that is the tension between good and evil." (April 2015) "The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe." (October 2015) "I mean, the fact that I can sit in a meeting and say, "I think the protagonist should be a woman," I think that those are the kind of changes that are really really important in our business..." "Well one of the things, I mean the fact that the company was bought by the Walt Disney Company has been amazing because they very much support the fact that we are trying to grow in the workforce a number of women in executive positions and in all positions inside the company and with the movies that we're making and with the protagonists that we're putting in the stories. And so I got a huge amount of support with that. But we have 50% of our executive team are women. And six out of eight of the people in my story group are women. And I'm sure there's a lot of people that would be surprised that we're making Star Wars movies and the majority of the people involved in the development of those stories are women. And I think that it's making a huge difference in the stories that we're trying to tell." "[The new female lead character] is one of the first things J.J. [Abrams] and I talked about and that we talked to [Walt Disney Studios Chairman] Alan Horn about. It was a very early decision and a choice and something that we worked a long time developing." (October 2015) "Yes [it was important for the central role to be a female protagonist]! In fact, I am such a hero with my teenage daughters. They’re like, “Mom, this is fantastic!” Again, these kinds of questions and issues shouldn’t be huge factors in our society any longer. It’s kind of amazing that these conversations that I remember certainly taking place at the beginning of my career many, many years ago, and even things I talked about with my own mother, are still occurring. It is quite staggering that we’re still having to make a big deal out of the fact that there’s a female protagonist." (November 2015) "Daisy Ridley’s character Rey is the new generation’s Luke Skywalker." (December 2015) "[The change made to Lucas's sequel story] was really much more to do with the specifics of the history of the saga. We changed the order of a few things, let’s put it that way. We didn’t make some wholesale change." "The Saga films are primarily the soap opera centered around the Skywalker family." (December 2015)

Michael Arndt: "Yeah, it was I think May 2012, and I was just sort of doing nothing. I was back in New York and trying to figure out what I was going to do next. I just finished working on The Hunger Games, and I was like, “Okay, like no more big Hollywood franchises. I’m going to go back and do my own original stuff.” And then [Kathleen Kennedy] called me up and the initial thing was she wanted me to write VII, VIII, and IX together, and I said, “There’s no way I can do that because it’s just too crazy and daunting.” And then the story that she pitched me was she just said it’s an origin story of a female Jedi. And I was like, “I’m in. I can’t say no to that. I have to do it.” I went to the ranch and I met with George [Lucas]." "I’ll just say very quickly that very early on I tried writing versions of the movie where [Rey] is at home, her home gets destroyed, she goes on the road, she meets Luke, and then she goes and she kicks the bad guy’s ass. It just never worked. I struggled with this. This was back in 2012. It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over. Suddenly, you didn’t care about your main character anymore because like, “Oh f***, Luke Skywalker’s here. I want to see what he’s going to do.” This was like a huge thing." (December 2015)

George Lucas: "The original saga was about the father, the children, and the grandchildren. I mean, that's not a secret, anyway, it's even in the novels and everything. And then the children were in their 20s and everything and so it wasn't [The] Phantom Menace again." (April 2015)

Abrams: "[To George Lucas] You tell me [about Darth Vader's grandchildren], man. You made all this **** up." (October 2015) "We always wanted to write Rey as the central character." (December 2015) "You know when a movie comes out, [that] there are gonna be people who don't like what you do and that always is gonna happen of course, but you pray [that there] is someone who does, and what I'm so happy about is that there are kids who I've been hearing about through friends who've seen this movie and are all excited–and girls who are dressing up like Rey and the idea that there is, you know–there are always strong women in Star Wars–but the idea that there's one at the center now–is so exciting to me and I just... <audience claps> Well that was–Kathy Kennedy when we first talked about it she said you know we're talking about the idea of having this–a female Jedi–and I'd written some shows Felicity and Alias that had female characters at the center and I was–the idea of a female Jedi, you know, was for some reason–I thought 'oh my god there is a nineteen-year-old kid out there who doesn't know who the hell Luke Skywalker is necessarily, who doesn't know what's real [or] what's not, who is just this like–she doesn't even know she is living in Star Wars–and what happens if that is our, you know, lead character." (December 2015)

Rian Johnson: "Pssssst. Hey. Everyone. Following [Daisy Ridley] right now is the twitter equivalent of buying Apple stock in 1997." (August 2014)

Pablo Hidalgo: what "the awakening" refers to.

Officially licensed SW:TFA group shirts: link 1 link 2 link 3







Other merchandise labeling of the main hero and main villain: Itty Bitties, LEGO code names / LEGO set reveals.

Hasbro licensed Star Wars card game chart (video).

Hasbro licensed Star Wars chess game:

Light side
King - Luke
Queen - Rey
Bishop - Finn
Bishop - Leia
Knight - Chewbacca
Knight - Han
Rook - BB-8
Rook - R2-D2
Pawns - Clonetroopers

Dark side
King - Darth Vader
Queen - Kylo Ren
Bishop - Captain Phasma
Bishop - General Hux
Knight - Boba Fett
Knight - Jango Fett
Rook - Darth Maul
Rook - General Grievous
Pawns - First Order Stormtroopers

I think the people who continue to try to come up with ways to get rid of Rey or marginalize her in service another character are bound for disappointment. She's the main protagonist of the new leading characters and that's also where the money is, not just for the movie but for the Disney parks and merchandising for the next decades.

[JaggedFel]

One thing you have to appreciate is that Finn's role is quite a difficult one to pull off, and Boyega really did great job making the character likeable and relatable. Rey honestly had a pretty easy go of it, she's an attractive young white girl so she didn't really have to do that much to win the audience over, just smile at the camera and swing the lightsaber around and fans will anoint her the next great action superstar. With Finn you could tell that both the actor and writers put a lot of thought and effort into crafting a meaningful character arc and giving him a ton of moments where he can show both courage and vulnerability, mixing in the comedic and romantic elements which Boyega pulled off brilliantly. I feel like a lot of fans just wanted him to be this unrealistically cool and badass Jedi who just mows down bad guys without breaking a sweat, but what we ended up with is so much better than that. He's a real person with believable emotions and his character development feels very natural and unforced, which you can't say for any other major Star Wars character, and besides he's sure to have plenty of cool action scenes in the upcoming movies so there's no need to worry on that front.

Worked hard my *** they gave him all the s*** and Daisy got all the good stuff...I agree John had more work to do acting wise because the character he got was **** so then I assume u hate Rey who was basically badass Jedi who mowed down bad guys without breaking a sweat?

No one said marginalize Rey...what we want is some frakking balance.

[PwrdOn]

Worked hard my *** they gave him all the s*** and Daisy got all the good stuff...I agree John had more work to do acting wise because the character he got was **** so then I assume u hate Rey who was basically badass Jedi who mowed down bad guys without breaking a sweat?

No one said marginalize Rey...what we want is some frakking balance.

There has never really been balance when it comes to Star Wars, some of the promotional materials might have given off the impression that Finn and Rey were going to be co-leads, but that wasn't the case in the actual movie. Rey is the protagonist of this trilogy and the rest of the cast exists to move her story forward, just like it was with Anakin and Luke in the other movies. Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon, etc. get to do cool stuff and all have their fans, but when it comes down to it the movies are not about them and their main function is to make the Skywalkers look good. Such is the case with Finn here and honestly just in this one movie he got more spotlight and development than any of those other characters have.

[Superlad93]

This isn't addressed to the thread starter, but people in general.

I'm glad Finn was a funny character as that was something that was missing from prequels. Lucas sort of shoved all the humor off onto the Jar Jar character and to a far lesser extent the Obi-Wan character and it didn't work. In The Force Awakens he serves the role of Peeta/Spock (with humor) to Rey's Katniss/Kirk. They were auditioning the actors using a script based on chapter 19 of the first Hunger Games novel back in 2013.

The fact that Finn is played by a black actor wasn't intrinsic by design. It wasn't planned that way. It could have been one of the white dudes on the short list; it's also what is in the concept art. There was a time when the Poe Dameron character was known as John Doe and was black, that's in the concept art book. Finn was previously "Sam" and Rey was previously "Kira". Michael Arndt described Sam as "pure charisma" and Kira as "loner, hothead, gear-head, badass."

The fact that Rey is female is relevant. It was planned that way. They planned for a young woman to be the protagonist from the beginning.

No one here (at the very least I'm not) is trying to put Rey down to prop up Finn. There is no situation where I advocate her story end so Finn's can take center stage. The prevailing idea that most here seem to like is dual protagonist out of Finn and Rey. As I said before why should the force just be relegated to the Skywalker clan? Why can't Finn be the big action hero next time? Lord knows he's earned it by the next movie. Rey will still have her time as the Skywalker of the show, but there is no mandate that says someone who embodies the ideals of these legends (greatness and importance come from the most unlikely of places) can't be there as the "there is another" figure who actually saves the day with Skywalker main as dual protagonist.

[Superlad93]

There has never really been balance when it comes to Star Wars, some of the promotional materials might have given off the impression that Finn and Rey were going to be co-leads, but that wasn't the case in the actual movie. Rey is the protagonist of this trilogy and the rest of the cast exists to move her story forward, just like it was with Anakin and Luke in the other movies. Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon, etc. get to do cool stuff and all have their fans, but when it comes down to it the movies are not about them and their main function is to make the Skywalkers look good. Such is the case with Finn here and honestly just in this one movie he got more spotlight and development than any of those other characters have.

Simply "because that's how it's been done" isn't a good reason. It was a mistake in Return of the Jedi too. There is nothing in the imaginary "big book of storytelling" that says both Finn and Rey can't be co-leads. I mean if I'm not mistaken that's what they were in this movie. They shared roughly the same amount of screen time. They were the characters were were supposed to feel for. I'd even argue that Finn was the POV character same way look was in ANH. So I don't see why they can't subvert our expectations and do something we haven't really seen before out of these sorts of movies.

[RobinFan4880]

I think the next film will feel more like the original trilogy in that there will be three main leads, as Poe will also rise up.

[rpmaluki]

The next two years are going to be the longest wait before we find out what Finn's true destiny is in this trilogy. For now it's still too early to write him off as completely useless (which we saw he isn't). He got to do the most in terms of character work in TFA, I personally don't see them throwing it all away for nothing. Rey is honestly the main protagonist going by the whole Skywalker soap saga spanning generations they insist on telling, who got to share the spotlight with ex stormtrooper Finn just like Luke shared his with Han. Finn is great and he will only become more awesome even if he never gets to be force sensitive (although it would be awesome if he did) like Rey. As important as Rey is, much like Luke had Han, she will have Finn by her side in order to complete her mission to destroy the FO and Snoke. That's not a bad place to be.

As for why they went with Rey instead of Finn as the super force sensitive character, you only have to look at the slew of female led movies that have come out in the last half decade to realise they couldn't truly pass this opportunity by and that is a good thing.