Andor contrasts the Galactic Empire’s slaves with a fresh, more human side, although it still works flawlessly with the first three Star Wars movies.
While Andor presents a different aspect of the Galactic Empire, it nonetheless jives flawlessly with how the government is portrayed in A New Hope and other Star Wars works. The Galactic Empire in the Star Wars franchise is depicted as a strong and evil dictatorship, giving the heroes with a variety of simple-to-hate opponents and seemingly impossible obstacles to conquer. The Galactic Empire is heavily inspired by actual fascist regimes. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Andor both depict a gritty side of the Star Wars universe, but whereas the later focuses on the morally murkier side of the often heroic Rebellion, the former now presents an unusually sympathetic side of the repressive Galactic Empire. While neither work aims to morally equate the Rebels and the Empire, it does give both sides a level of complexity that is rarely seen.
The Rise of the Empire was gradual, as depicted in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine controlling both the Republic and (secretly) the Separatists, coercing Republic officials and citizens into granting him emergency powers until the Republic transformed into an Empire in all but name. Palpatine’s coup was complete after blaming the Jedi for the Clone Wars and carrying out a galaxy-wide genocide, but former Republic officials like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, who had witnessed the Republic’s slow slide into tyranny, soon sowed the seeds of the Rebellion. By the time of the first Star Wars trilogy’s events, the Rebel Alliance had grown to be sufficiently large and well-equipped to pose a threat to the Empire’s seeming invincibility.
Star Wars occasionally ventures into morally ambiguous area, despite often portraying the Rebellion’s conflicts with the Empire as a straightforward good vs. evil story. Most of the time, this is done tastefully, with Imperial defectors demonstrating the possibility of heroism among the Empire’s ranks and extreme Rebellion splinter groups (such as the Partisans in canon) illustrating the fact that even members of a well-intentioned faction are susceptible to corruption. The film makes it clear that Cassian Andor is aware of the compromises he frequently makes, justifying them as necessary evils to overthrow the Empire. Cassian Andor is introduced in Rogue One by him killing a Partisan informant before either of them could be captured by the Empire and almost killing an Imperial defector. Andor’s first three episodes devote a lot of time on Empire-aligned corporate security guards, revealing an unexpectedly sympathetic side to the Empire.
Andor Humanizes Imperial Officers More Than Any Other Star Wars Movie Or Show
With Cassian Andor fighting off two off-duty “Corpos” (militarized police of Preox-Corporate Morlana’s Tactical Forces) and accidently murdering one, Andor portrays evil Imperials in a distinctive way from most Star Wars works. One of the Corpos quickly panics and laments his dead buddy, albeit his emotion is cut short when Cassian mercilessly executes him. The Galactic Empire’s warriors are rarely depicted reacting to slain comrades in Star Wars, although one of the Corpos does so. In subsequent episodes, it is revealed how the remaining Corpos are responding to the killings, with the majority exhibiting apathy and some, like Syril Karn and Linus Mosk, seeking retribution for the slain officers. Karn feels as though he is acting morally by refusing to downplay the deaths of two other Corpos, but he soon realizes that he is in over his head. Mosk creates a squad to find Andor because he wants to see a more powerful (and imperialized) presence under his control.
In Andor, not even the Corpo aides of Karn and Mosk are referred to as nameless pawns. When another Corpo murders a civilian while they are attempting to apprehend Cassian, one member of Mosk’s squad responds with disdain, taking the Corpo’s blaster and ordering him out of the combat zone. Mosk’s team is understandably uncomfortable by Karn’s overzealousness. Although Andor’s portrayal of Imperial forces differs significantly from other Star Wars films in that it goes beyond the usual faceless and voiceless Imperial minions, it does not attempt to defend the Empire or its oppression of the galaxy. Instead, it presents the Corporate Tactical Forces in a procedural manner.
Andor Shows Imperial Middle Management (& Changes How You See The Empire)
Even though Stormtroopers are the most recognizable members of the Imperial military, they are by no means the only ones. Technically less elite and more frequent than armored Stormtroopers, Imperial Army Troopers also act as protection on Imperial ships and can be seen in Return of the Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and many more stories from the Legends era. Imperial Army and Navy troops are the more commonplace (and hence less frequently portrayed) forces, while Stormtroopers and TIE Pilots are the most elite of the Empire’s forces, with the former leading the charge in the latter’s most significant conflicts. Through the Corporate Tactical Forces, which are officially a separate group from the Imperial hierarchy but uphold its rules sufficiently that Linus Mosk refers to them as the Empire’s “first line of defense,” Andor advances the Imperial hierarchy.
The Corporate Tactical Forces are demonstrated to be an erratic (or unmotivated) ally of the Empire, which draws attention to the bureaucracy and, to some extent, the fragility of the government. The Corporate Tactical Forces are revealed to be little more than a local security force who police the Free Trade sector, making them even more specialized and mundane than even the Imperial Army and Navy troopers. This contrasts with the Sith Lords and ruthless Stormtroopers who enforce the Emperor’s will with lethal and ruthless efficiency on the most significant worlds in Star Wars. The Corporate Tactical Forces, an unauthorized middle management division of the Empire, demonstrate how fallible the Empire is.
Andor’s Empire Changes Still Fit With A New Hope
The conflict among the Corporate Tactical Soldiers is not dissimilar to scenes in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, despite Andor’s novel’s portrayal of Imperial forces. General Tagge and Admiral Motti of the Imperial Military discussed the threat posed by the Star Wars Rebel Alliance in A New Hope, while Darth Vader’s minions quarreled over a Probe Droid’s findings on Hoth in Empire. Andor’s deeper portrayal of the Empire is a game-changer, but it does not conflict with the original Star Wars trilogy. The debate between Karn and Chief Inspector Hyne about the advantages of looking into the two dead Corpos is comparable, albeit on a smaller scale, to arguments between Imperial military leaders.
