I grew up in an era of ship wars and fighting for the couple we like best, and now, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I feel like I’m right back in it, and I’m having wartime flashbacks. The wars started back with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when many of us had our theories about Rey, but there was one universal truth for us all to understand: Finn and Poe seemed to really love each other.
But, as is the way with Hollywood, StormPilot (as they have affectionately been referred to) seemingly will not happen because they didn’t have the “buildup” to a romance in The Last Jedi. But Rose Tico, who just showed up, and Finn did? #RoseTicoDeservesMore
Variety put out a piece with the knowledge that Finn and Poe aren’t boyfriends, and honestly, it took a lot for me to keep reading past the headline because … not boyfriends? What is the point, then? Apparently, the reasoning is just as much bs as we’d expect.
Abrams talked about FinnPoe, stating that he thought their bond was “deeper” than a romantic one, and I have to ask … what is that supposed to mean?
That relationship to me is a far deeper one than a romantic one. It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave.
The director went on to provide a coy hint that there would be some kind of LGBTQ representation in the film, but honestly, that feels a bit too familiar—and not exactly reassuring—coming from a Disney-owned project.
In true Oscar Isaac form, though, he is very clearly not that happy with the decision. Talking about how he wanted to explore their relationship as characters, Isaac talked about the natural progression of Finn and Poe, their feelings for one another, and more importantly, how it’s sad that we’re still in a time when people are seemingly afraid to explore something like that onscreen.
Personally, I kind of hoped and wished that maybe that would’ve been taken further in the other films, but I don’t have control. It seemed like a natural progression, but sadly enough it’s a time when people are too afraid, I think, of… I don’t know what.
Isaac ended his quote by saying that he thought Finn and Poe being boyfriends would have been “cool.” Honestly? We have to stan.
Or what if, and hear me out, we just didn’t have an “endgame” ship? There is a beauty to the world of fanfiction, and if you’re not going to give us the couples and representation we want in our cinema, then leave it open-ended. Do I want to see Poe Dameron kiss Finn? Yes, more than anything, but if you’re not going to put it on the screen, then I also don’t want to see Poe or Finn kiss some random girl because you think that makes more sense than three films worth of sexual tension.
I know everyone says, “Just wait until the movie comes out!” but the idea that we have to have representation hidden in movies when there is, clearly, an established relationship between two characters is completely ridiculous. If you can’t figure out how to write subtext without making it look like your characters want to f**k each other, then that’s on you, but don’t tell me that there wasn’t time to really explore it when we knew from the first moment Poe Dameron licked his lips at Finn that these two would love and kiss each other.
(via Variety, image: Lucasfilm)
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