The Escapist

scottmccute:

palindroned:

Will you help me?

I love this, it highlights so well Finn and Kylo being narrative foils. They both have to make a choice, doing good or doing evil. Finn, although raised in an abusive and evil system who conditioned him to be a mindless killing machine, goes against everything he’s been taught to do good. Kylo, although raised in a loving family of good people, makes the conscious choice of doing - and being - evil.

And throughout the movie, they are both presented with the same choice again and again : Finn chooses to do good instead of preserving his own life when he defects and saves Poe, he chooses to do good instead of running for his life when he saves Rey from the Stormtroopers, when he goes back to the battlefield on Takodana instead of going to the outer rim, when he goes back to Starkiller base to try to rescue Rey, when he makes Phasma lower the shields to help the Resistance. And same for Kylo : he chooses to kill Lor San Tekka and to order the massacre of an entire village when he could have spared them, he chooses to kidnap and torture a girl instead of going after the droid like he was ordered, and despite feeling the pull of the light he deliberately fights it and ignores it, and chooses to kill his own father so he can go further into the Dark Side.

Finn, born and raised in the Dark, chooses the Light over and over, despite how hard it is and despite the fact that helping others may cost him his life. Kylo, born and raised in the Light, chooses the Dark over and over, despite being offered forgiveness and love by his father.