Polygon further reveals the background story for Finn, published in a novel one day ahead of the Force Awakens’ premiere. The identity of TR-8R might not be revealed, but it looks like he took Finn’s desertion as a personal affront, and that’s probably why he didn’t use a blaster against him. The scene also suggests that regular military men have had some advanced training using that stun staff against lightsabers, and it could explain why Finn seems to find himself at ease with a lightsaber. It appears that the First Order has developed special weapons to defend against lightsabers, which is something that we knew from the trailers. Abrams shows us the evolution of Finn – he’s ready to fight the First Order even if that means using a weapon he has no experience with – as well as a very cool stormtrooper weapon.
