‘The Last Jedi’ May Have Set Up A Love Triangle For ‘Episode XI’ & It’s Intense

After two years of waiting, we finally got to see what was happening with Finn, Rey, and Poe out there in the a galaxy far, far away. The Last Jedi caught us up with all our new favorite characters — and then gave us even more to worry about in the wait for Episode IX, which isn't set to be released until 2019. The breathless, action-packed film left little time to explore every relationship in-depth, so we're left wondering if Finn loves Rey in The Last Jedi. I'm warning you now: There are spoilers in this article!

The Last Jedi picks up right where The Force Awakens left us in 2015. In case you don't remember, The Force Awakens saw Finn, a former First Order stormtrooper who switches sides, team up with Rey, a scavenger... who's casually connected to the Force. It's pretty clear throughout that movie that there's some positive, loving feelings between Finn and Rey — though not necessarily romantic ones. In the last act of the movie, Rey and Finn face off against Kylo Ren. Finn gets injured, but Rey is able to beat Kylo back. Rey then ventures off to find Luke Skywalker, who's hiding out on Ahch-To.

When The Last Jedi starts, Finn wakes up from being treated for his injuries, and he immediately wants to know where Rey is at. Finn learns that Rey is using a pair of bracelets that act as sort of trackers, so if she wants to get back to the Resistance, she just has to follow the tracker bracelet. She wears one, and General Leia wears the other.

Throughout The Last Jedi, Finn remains extremely concerned for Rey. Finn is so scared that she'll come back to the Resistance's ship and be killed by the First Order that he tries to run away with the tracking bracelet. In the course of trying to run away, however, Finn meets — and is stopped by — Rose Tico, a totally new character.

Rose is a maintenance worker on the ship, and soon after meeting Finn, she becomes his new adventure partner in Rey's absence. Together, Rose and Finn hatch a plan to try and save the Resistance from impending doom. This plan takes them to another planet, where they bond while doing normal things like getting locked in jail and freeing caged, horse-like creatures.

Meanwhile, Rey's pretty busy, like, you know, training to be a Jedi and trying to turn Kylo Ren away from the dark side.

The final act of The Last Jedi is a big battle between the few surviving members of the Resistance, who retreated to the planet Crait (where there's an old Rebel base), and the First Order, led by Kylo. The First Order has this giant cannon, and the Resistance fighters — including Finn, Rose, and Poe — hop on rusty, old fighter ships to try and destroy it. Finn decides to martyr himself to destroy the cannon by flying right into it, but THEN Rose flies into his ship to stop him. She's injured in doing so, but, she tells him, she did it because the Resistance can't win by destroying what they hate — they can only win by saving what they love. Rose kisses Finn... and faints.

Finn pulls Rose back to safety, and the Resistance is able to escape thanks to Rey, who finally reunites with Finn, and the Millennium Falcon. The reunion is really sweet — they run up to each other with big smiles and share a huge embrace.

On the Falcon, Rey sees Finn caring for Rose, who is still recovering from saving him. With this, there might be a setup for a love triangle in Episode IX. However, there are a few significant things to point out. Firstly, Finn and Rey's love for each other is never explicitly romantic. You can love someone without romantically loving them. And, yes, OMG, boys and girls can be friends with each other. Secondly, Rey spent The Last Jedi really vibing with Kylo.

Thirdly, fans make big leaps when we start shipping couples. We're making assumptions about Finn and Rey's sexuality and about narrative needs. It is, in fact, perfectly possible for Rey to go through this whole series without being romantically involved with anyone. And, that would mirror her relationship to Luke: Aside from the accidental incest in the original Star Wars (whoops!), Luke does not have any romantic relationships. He's too busy training to be a Jedi and fighting evil. Likewise, that's Rey's current journey. Also just to mention, let's not immediately assume that two women will see each other as rivals. Maybe Rey and Rose will become BFFs!

So, while there could be a love triangle between Rey and Finn and Rose (or Rey and Finn and Kylo, or Finn and Kylo and Poe) in Episode IX, there also very well may be, well, nothing when it comes to romance. War can keep you busy. Let Rey do her thing.