FORCE AWAKENS Fan Theory Offers Backstory For TR-8R and Links Him to Finn
Update: It looks like this fan theory has been more or less proven correct, as information about the character has just been officially confirmed by StarWars.com. Original article follows.
It’s been less than a month since the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but the buzz is still going. Actually, it is gathering "Force" more intensely than ever before. More and more questions seem to be arising each day, speculation keeps coming from all directions, and fan theories rain down like money on Wall Street. Every now and then, we come across Star Wars threads which can be traced back to another storyline or character, and this is what stimulates us to dig deeper the next time we go see the movie.
Recently I read a Star Wars theory which, this time, is related to Finn and the Stormtrooper that's become an Internet star over the last couple of weeks: TR-8R. It suggested that there might be some sort of a deeper connection between these two characters. Even though, at first glance, The First Order fighter seemed to have a short and rather insignificant appearance, his importance somehow escalated, indicating that there is a whole lot more to the character and his role in the movie.
You may probably remember him as the riot control Stormtrooper who encounters Finn and calls him a traitor and, interestingly enough, this is exactly how he got his name. TR-8R is not the real name of the Stormtrooper, but a code for “Traitor” made up by fans. The lightsaber battle in which both Finn and his former comrade are engaged lasts only a few minutes, but it had a major impact on segments of the geek community.
We don’t know the real identity of TR-8R, but according to the theory in question, he might have served together with Finn. A lot of people refer back to Greg Rucka's novel Before the Awakening in order to support this thesis. Another intriguing fact revealed in the book is about a member of the same squad named Slip who was killed on Jakku. He is considered to be the Stormtrooper who smeared blood on Finn's helmet.
But let’s go back to the fight between TR-8R and Finn. Taking into consideration the backstory mentioned above, it now makes sense why the riot control Stormtrooper managed to identify Finn so quickly. The coolest part about all this is the realization that there are sort of brotherly feelings and shared emotions. And lastly, the moment of conflict between the two characters could be said to mirror the battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. What do you think?
