Why can Finn wield a lightsaber? Is he a Jedi?

It’s been more than a half decade since the first Star Wars prequel film came out, and viewers are still discussing its finer points.

Such is the case with most of the Star Wars fandom — with a universe so open and sprawling, there are countless interpretations fans can make. Many ardent Star Wars fans make a habit of reexamining the films, television shows, and even books in hopes of bolstering the never ending online debate. This debate takes aim at nearly everything in the films, from plot points and specific scenes to characters and even ships.

One such character is FN-2187, or Finn. The Stormtrooper-turned-Rebel is, like his sequel trilogy counterpart, a hotly debated addition to the Star Wars universe. Everything about the character has been the topic of fervent discourse, from his origins to his future in Star Wars canon. Even his ability to fight with a lightsaber has been thoroughly dissected, as fans debate whether or not a scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens classifies Finn as a Jedi, or simply as a brave, but foolish, hero.

How can Finn wield a lightsaber?

The sequel trilogy has been the butt of a huge amount of criticism from Star Wars fans – but then, so has pretty much every Star Wars creation. It turns out Star Wars fans are kind of the worst, and remain almost impossible to please. For this reason, they’ve poked holes in every aspect of Star Wars — in particular the prequel and sequel trilogies — in hopes of ruining them for everyone else. 

Thus, criticism levied toward Finn’s character was broadly expected. Everyone knew the toxic hordes of difficult Star Wars fans would take plenty of predictable issues with the character, but few expected one particular criticism: that Finn shouldn’t be able to wield a lightsaber. It’s a seemingly surface-level issue to take with the first of the sequel films, but it does have some meat behind it.

Confusion is also rampant among newcomers to the Star Wars fandom, many of whom thought one had to be a Jedi to wield a lightsaber. Or, at least, to have the makings of a Jedi. Finn doesn’t appear to have the midichlorian count necessary to qualify for Jedi status, so how is it he’s able to wield a Jedi weapon?

Well, as it turns out, lightsabers — despite being the official Jedi weapon of choice — are just tools. Deadly, lustrous tools, but tools nonetheless. Anyone can use one, assuming they can get their hands on it, and it does not require a connection to the Force to wield one. 

Finn is deeply inexperienced with a lightsaber — or a sword of any kind — so he is quickly trounced in combat against the far more capable Kylo Ren, but his gallant attempts don’t suddenly make him Jedi material. They do aid him on his path to becoming a hero, however, despite his sound loss at Ren’s hands. 

So there you go. Anyone can wield a lightsaber if they want to, but the weapons would likely be unwieldy and dangerous in inexperienced hands. The Mandalorian’s fumbling of the Darksaber is an excellent example of the damage these ever-burning weapons could easily inflict on an untrained wielder. But if one is determined enough, and willing to face the potential consequences, they too can take up these impressive energy swords for themselves.