Star Wars fans are debating a key moment from The Force Awakens – and some of them still feel it was a wasted opportunity for the sequel trilogy.
The scene in question occurs towards the end of The Force Awakens when Finn and Rey fight Kylo Ren at the Starkiller Base. After Finn helps Rey escape, Kylo confronts the pair in the woods and incapacitates Rey, so Finn duels him with a lightsaber. He’s quickly defeated, but Rey wakes up and uses the lightsaber to defeat Kylo. Although it’s implied that Finn is force-sensitive, it’s never explicitly stated or followed up on in the trilogy’s subsequent movies.
“I think this is the best frame in the sequel trilogy,” one fan wrote on Reddit, alongside a still of John Boyega’s Finn holding a lightsaber. “Tragedy that it didn’t lead to anything.”
“Sure it led to something…. bitter disappointment!” someone else replied. “Man, such a waste. I remember being so stoked during this scene,” commented another fan.
However, some fans argue that the scene served its purpose – either as a “fakeout” in the movie’s marketing, or as a way of setting up Rey’s trilogy arc.
“I think the best part about the trailer is that it didn’t give away the movie,” said one user. “This scene being there was a great fakeout.”
“It was pretty dope. It, however, led to one of the most wicked moments in the sequel trilogy. For all [its] faults… watching the lightsaber rip into Rey’s hands was so badass,” wrote someone else.
Later on in the trilogy, in The Rise of Skywalker, Finn tries to tell Rey something – and, while we never find out exactly what it was, it’s implied that he wants to share that he’s force-sensitive (which director JJ Abrams later confirmed).
Next up from the galaxy far, far away is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which arrives in theaters on May 22, 2026. And there’s plenty more to come, too, which you can read about in our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.
