Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-68.194.169.97-20160112040149/@comment-226878-20160115192530

Finn is clearly force sensitive. Signs: 1) his ability to break from his conditioning which he has suffered since childhood expressed in his unwillingness to execute unarmed targets (Phasma explains that something like this has never happened before), 2) Ren's recognition of a Force presence nearby (although clearly not as honed as Rei's... this likely has something to do with parentage), 3) despite never having used a ship-mounted gun, he like Luke, is quickly able to master it in both the TIE and the Falcon (just as Rei os quickly able to master piloting it), 4) Maz chose to give the lightsaber to Finn when she just as easily could have given it to Han. As she said, she may not be Jedi, but she knows the Force and she knows people.

An added note, Finn wasn't willing to fight hard enough against the stun baton trooper (net calls him TR8R) as that could potentialky kill him. He didn't have motivation. 1) He's not that kind of person as expressed throughout the film, and 2) canon side materials reveal Finn was actually partnered with that very trooper before he ran away. However, he had witnessed Ren kill his own father and Finn's friend and went on to hurt Rei. Finn had plenty of drive to win that fight.

Rei, on the other hand, has had plenty of training. She's already a skilled fighter shown from the beginning and Force proficient to boot. FYI, anyone of average intelligence can wield a lightsaber without killing or injuring themselves, but even someone whose skill in the Force is growing won't be an expect and you can clearly see Rei fights much the same way Luke does, aggressively, angrily, and absent any flourish (an aspect added to the Jedi Order in the prequels). Defeating the badly injured Ren is not really much of task for someone who has a better emotional grasp on the Force.