Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-26247132-20150810212747/@comment-76.17.103.248-20150811175659

I'm working on an essay called "Understainding Finn", which I plan to post on Tumbr when it's finished. It will address some of the issues with this character that you brought up. I agree with you that Finn wasn't handled properly by the writers. That may account for some of the dislike. The writers didn't clearly define him. It seemed that he was basically there to examine how Clarke's leadership would be affected by her love for him. There were inconsistencies, contradictions and neglect when it came to Finn. We knew hardly anything about his background on the Ark. The writers didn't even allow the viewer to see a coherent progression of his development. His changes seemed so abrupt.

Still, you seem to be a little nitpicky when it comes to Finn. But, hey. You like who you like, and you dislike who you dislike. I don't like Jaha. He bores me silly. However, some of the reasons you give for not liking Finn are misconceptions.

1. ". . .he still contributed very little to the betterment of the Delinquents. . ."

One of Finn's purposes was to be a moral compass for the group. They needed that voice to keep them from straying too far down dark paths. You might think this was whinny, but most of the time Finn was right. Granted he was sometimes too idealistic instead of being more pragmatic, but that's what makes a character interesting. They're not perfect, and often there are no perfect answers.

2. If you're going to blame Finn for the deaths of those two boys in the drop ship, then you have to blame Murphy for the death of the one-eyed grounder. After all, Murphy put the idea in Finn's mind, a mind emotionally blinded at the time. Murphy was the bad influence. You could even blame Abby for giving Finn the guns, and on and on. The point is, these boys weren't children. They were old enough to make their own choices regardless of other influences. Bellamy chose not to listen to Murphy. Finn did. So ultimately, Finn pulled that trigger, just like those boy released their own seatbelts.

3. Finn wasn't coerced into searching for Jasper or taking the bomb. He hesitated, but he freely made the decison to do both. Nobody held a gun to his head or forced him. Now, Raven telling him to go look for his friends is one of those examples of sloppy writing. Loyalty is one thing. But it was entirely inconsistent for Finn to hang around after Raven's surgery or perhaps even be there at all if, as we saw in the next episode, he was so worried about Clarke's safety. If he were so in love with Clarke, wouldn't he think that she needed him more? Raven was in good hands. Clarke's safety was unknown. Finn didn't even display any anxiety about neglecting the search. One minute he was calm and rational, and the next he was in panic mode. It was jarring.

4. Who says Finn was unhappy about Clarke telling Raven about the "Art Supply Store"? I certainly can't tell from any expression on his face. That's just an assumption you're making without a clear basis.

5. You're really flat out wrong about the nuts. Finn tossed only the nuts because they were dangerous. How could the 100 be ready to defend themselves if they were all drunk. They were getting no work done, and half the time they didn't even know what they were doing. Plus, the effects were often negative. Note Jasper and Bellamy.

6. Finn didn't pine over Clarke. We didn't see him sitting around all depressed or on his knees begging her forgiveness. She ended the relationship, and he respected that. Note the tension between those two when she examined his scar on the way to the bridge. Finn could have taken advantage of that, but he didn't. He even regretted that he didn't fight for her. He kept his eye on her because he cared about what happened to her. He was in love with her; so naturally he wanted to help her when she got sick. And the ghost thing. . seriously? That was Clarke's guilty conscience. Finn wasn't really there. You're nitpicking.

7. You really don't have a good understanding of Finn and Raven's relationship. The writers tried to clear that up in "Spacewalker", but that was another weakness in the writing. They wrote backwards instead of giving information early that would have helped us better understand Finn (like they did with Bellamy & Octavia). Instead, they tried to correct things when it was almost too late. Opinions were already formed.

The fact is, the writers wanted viewers to see that Finn acted for love. He wanted to give Raven what she desired and needed. So he made the spacewalk possible. When they got into trouble, he took the blame. He had already sacrificed himself for love once. So it was no surprise that he did it again for Clarke (as well as the others) in the end. The whole massacre thing too was Finn acting for love. That's what most often got him into trouble. He wasn't a bad person. He just did the wrong things for the right reasons.

8. I don't think Clarke's secretly bringing back up had anything to do with not trusting Finn because he cheated. I think she didn't trust his judgement about the grounders. Finn was optimistic and idealistic. Clarke was pragmatic, which is probably why Finn didn't want to tell her where she was going. She would have told Bellamy. Finn didn't want him invovled because he either would have tried to stop it or would most certainly have brought guns. Unfortunately, Clarke lied. This time, it was she who betrayed Finn's trust with disastrous results.

9. Finn wasn't "over and done" with Raven. He still loved her, and would never have intentionally hurt her. That's why he stayed with her. He felt guilty for sleeping with Clarke; and when Raven forgave him, he felt obligated to remain with her. After all, Clarke had rejected him. That was one of Finn's flaws. He was overly loyal. Raven released him because she knew that he no longer loved her the way he loved Clarke. That wasn't Finn "forcing" her to break up. Credit Raven for doing the right thing.