Star Wars movies are home to some wonderful love stories, romantic and otherwise. The original trilogy brought Han Solo and the Princess together. We all looked forward to discovering the woman Anakin Skywalker loved before he became Darth Vader at the end of the prequel trilogy. On the other hand, we saw plenty of people devoted to their friends and found family.
When the sequel trilogy was announced, it was natural to wonder if we'd have another romance for the ages in the stories to come. Valentine's Day is often focused on romantic love, but some wish each other a "Happy Day of Love and Friendship," so let's dive into the love among friends with Rey, Finn, and Poe.
Why do Finn, Rey, and Poe work without romance in Star Wars' sequel trilogy?
I recently re-watched Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and found FN-2187 to have two friendships emerge from similar circumstances. He explains it to Rey midway through the movie:
"So I ran. Right into you. And you looked at me like no one ever had."Finn
This may be a simple thing on the surface, but it brings to mind the fact that his journey to the Resistance truly starts when Poe hears his operating number and refuses to call him by the designation given to his new friend by the First Order. So he calls him "Finn."
Finn is a friend to two people who look past the obvious to the heart, and he returns the favor. It truly didn't occur to me until the ending of The Last Jedi that Rey and Poe hadn't met each other because they seemed to have such similar relationships to the former stormtrooper who was ashamed of himself in the first movie. Poe took it as truth that Finn was helping him escape because it was "the right thing to do," but also looked for ways to help him. Likewise, Rey heard that he was a stormtrooper and still saw his value as someone fighting evil.
Throughout The Last Jedi, it seems as though if this group of friends is a triangle, it's a right one, with Rey and Poe forming equal angles facing towards Poe. They are both people acting on intuition. Rey needing to face Kylo Ren is a move that would probably only be understood by her Jedi Master. Poe's mutiny isn't a solo effort, but throughout Episode VIII, he acts based on information only confided to him. It's understandable that the middle installment leaves our heroes looking for a way to move forward under uncertain circumstances, but we are left with hope.
It is in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker that we see things brought into balance. This is the found family of the trilogy at its best because, in spite of frequent disagreements and Rey labeling Poe as "difficult," they are all on the same side and working off of each other's strengths. Rey saying that she needs to undertake a quest alone is rationally answered with "Yeah. Alone with friends." Finn, Rey, and Poe are the small-scale unit that is echoed first in the Resistance's organization of its forces and last in the battle over Exegol. The entire trilogy has been building to the moment in which the war is won because "It's not a navy... It's just people." There is no romance in the main characters of Episodes VII-IX, but there is love that overcomes personal hurdles.
These three friends have divergent storylines and approaches to victory, but they achieve the win because of their differences. May we all be so lucky as to work with friends like that.