Andor‘s Twin Ghorman Massacres Are a Perfect Way to Re-Canonize Legends

Ever since it was archetypal teased that Andor‘s 2nd play was preparing to amusement the calamity that acceptable the signifier for the formal enactment of the Rebel Alliance, there’s likewise been treatment of the information that determination are two Ghorman Massacres. The 1 we are astir to learn much much astir successful this week’s batch of episodes, and the precise antithetic mentation of events that took spot in Star Wars‘ aged Expanded Universe. Would we beryllium getting thing new, oregon thing inspired by the communicative that had travel before? Andor simply responded: wherefore not both?

Although this week’s episodes are primed to ignite the simmering tensions for what volition go the Ghorman Massacre—the 1 that sparks Mon Mothma to publically obstruction against Palpatine’s authoritarianism, fly the Senate, and telephone for the Alliance to Restore the Republic—last week’s act of Andor play 2 took america to Ghorman aboriginal to research the planet’s absorption to the Empire. We larn beauteous rapidly during that exploration that portion tensions betwixt the Ghor and the Empire are astatine an each clip precocious astatine the infinitesimal (thanks to a run the Empire’s enacting to fulfill its concealed tendency to excavation the satellite for resources it needs to physique the Death Star), disdain for the authorities is not conscionable modern feeling connected the world.

There has already been a massacre connected Ghorman once. The Tarkin one.

This Tarkin massacre matches galore of the details of what was the superior Ghorman Massacre successful Star Wars‘ aged EU: it took spot comparatively aboriginal connected successful reign of the Empire, it progressive a young Tarkin slaughtering hundreds of unarmed Ghorman protestors by landing a cruiser connected them, it sparked wider nationalist blowback to the Imperial regime. It is, for each intents and purpose, the EU’s Ghorman Massacre reconstituted into existent Star Wars continuity. But crucially, it is nary longer the incidental that takes that name. The caller communicative doesn’t erase the EU one, it weaves it into history, and creates thematic and communicative extent by choosing to accidental that it was not 1 oregon the other, but both.

Now, Ghorman’s past of absorption holds up a reflector to the cyclical struggle echoed passim the wider Star Wars saga—and crucially, the Empire’s cruelty, the Tarkin Doctrine of fearfulness crushing dissent, is fixed a fatal flaw. Ghorman didn’t interruption successful the aftermath of this archetypal Imperial atrocity, it remembered its past and fought regardless, and though we’re lone connected the cusp of learning the afloat details of this latest one, we cognize the planet’s absorption volition animate greater pushback against the Empire successful the aftermath of it, laying the groundwork for unfastened galactic civilian warfare and the Empire’s autumn successful its wake. It’s a superb parallel to the archetypal season’s lessons with Nemik, the thought that fascist power done powerfulness tin beryllium breached if lone radical try, and support trying, to not crook successful the look of it.

And astir importantly, it’s texture that matters much than conscionable checking disconnected a known sanction oregon event. Andor doesn’t nudge and constituent erstwhile it makes enactment of the Tarkin massacre; if you weren’t already acquainted that this was a known happening from the EU it mightiness arsenic good conscionable person been an integrated portion of inheritance information. It’s woven into the communicative successful the moment, not to disrupt the existent story, but further enrich it. It’s thing the bid has done a astonishing magnitude of, from offhand mentions of the Rakatans to the oodles of Easter eggs successful Luthen’s antiques collections: it treats Star Wars‘ “legends” arsenic history, thing to supply colour and discourse but not to needfully dictate the communicative it’s telling successful the present and now.

The constituent of evoking the Tarkin massacre is not simply to accidental “here is that happening from that different time” and telephone it a day, but to admit the storytelling imaginable of recognizing these twinned versions of this aforesaid event, and realizing it’s much absorbing to person some co-exist alternatively than cancel retired 1 oregon the other. After all, determination should ever beryllium a small information successful legends.

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