When Finarfin turned back, it meant that all those Noldor who wished to turn back could, without deserting their lords, as there was one they could follow back to Valinor. This laid out a path by which the Noldor could be faithful both to the Valar and to a brother of their royal house. Finarfin would have been realizing the full implications of the kinslaying, as I presume the late comers eventually got around to saying, 'say, why exactly did the Teleri ambush us,' then find out they didn't. After hearing Mandos' words on the subject, Finarfin realized that this path of revenge and conquest, baptized as it was in blood & betrayal, could only lead to a place where the luckiest Noldor would be killed in battle and the unlucky would survive long enough to degrade themselves into little Morgoths.
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