[Willow, narrator] Have you ever felt like Star Wars is kind of small?
There is an entire universe and we are always going to
the same planets and seeing the same people.
Like when I was watching The Mandalorian
I was disappointed when Mando first had to go to Tattooine.
[Anakin] I don’t like sand.
[Willow] And I felt a little frustrated with the Luke Skywalker cameo later in the show.
It was fine.
It made sense he’d get involved but part of me just wanted to see a story do its own thing.
Not feel the need to be connected to everything else especially the big names of Star Wars.
But on the other hand there’s also this scene in Rogue One
[Darth Vader breathing] [Light saber turns on]
[Willow] Darth Vader didn’t have to be the one killing Rebels as they
desperately tried to get the Death Star plans to Princess Leia.
Even just storm troopers would have worked.
But I believe this scene works better with Darth Vader in it.
I mean these seem like conflicting thoughts.
So I wanted to investigate that.
Maybe Star Wars feeling “small” is actually a good thing...
when it’s done right.
And to explain why that is
we first need to look at the themes of Star Wars.
[Music Plays]
In many ways the themes of Star Wars are glaringly obvious.
The Empire is clearly an imperialist organization that does not value life and
will do whatever it needs to further its power and maintain control.
[explosion]
[Willow] It's about as obvious as if like The Empire was around today
They'd be like selling an NFT of Alderaan or something
But I mean who would sell an NFT of a crisis, right?
Its entire structure is a rigid hierarchy with
power consolidated to as few people as possible at the top.
Anyone lower in the hierarchy is just a resource to be used.
Even Darth Vader was expendable to The Emperor.
[Emperor] Take your father’s place at my side
[Willow] This culture creates a “Might is Right” mindset.
People want to be at the top of the hierarchy so they are not expendable.
This encourages people to get power by any means necessary.
And then use that power to maintain their position by forcing obedience on those below them.
Any questioning or disturbing the hierarchy is met with SEVERE punishment.
[Darth Vader] I find your lack of faith disturbing
[choking noises]
[Willow] The individuals at the bottom like Stormtroopers are only useful if they are expendable and obedient.
Even skill doesn’t matter to the Empire.
Which is why Stormtroopers are just a faceless number with a gun
[Man] TK421 why aren’t you at your post?
[Willow] That can never hit anything.
Before they began using Stormtroopers
The Empire had access to an army of clones genetically engineered to be superior fighters.
The Empire even had the ability to override the clones’ will
as is the case with Order 66
where all the Clones turned on the Jedi.
But The Empire saw no point in paying for a skilled force
when they could save money by just throwing away more lives.
There would always be a fresh reserve of people desperate for work.
[Admiral Rampart] The loyalty of those who willingly enlist
is what I see tremendous value in.
[Soldier] With The Empire I get paid, I get fed
[Willow] Whenever not in power those who live by the ideology of The Empire
look for anything or anyone they can corrupt
[lightsaber turns on]
[Willow] or co-opt.
[Palpatine] I love democracy
[Willow] The Rebels are the obvious good guys because they’re fighting The Empire.
We root for them because they’re the underdogs.
But they are also the complete opposite of The Empire.
They represent anti-imperialism
At a glance, one similarity between the two may be the use of a hierarchy
since the Rebels also rely on ranks to decide who can give orders.
Like Admiral Ackbar or the High Command which Mon Mothma was a part of.
But the dynamic of how this hierarchy plays out is very different from The Empire.
The Rebels encourage ideas from everyone.
We also frequently see people disobey direct orders or act on their own
And many times when someone disobeys it is the right call.
[Deep voice over comms] Luke you switched off you targeting computer
What’s wrong?
[Willow] Even in instances where someone disobeys and it is a mistake
like when Poe mutinies because he doesn’t understand Admiral Holdo’s plan.
There are little to no consequences.
We are even given this exchange after between Leia and Amilyn Holdo.
[Holdo] That one’s a troublemaker I like him
[Leia] Me too
[Willow] which highlights the issue isn’t that Poe disobeyed.
If anything, that’s a quality they like about him.
And then Admiral Holdo sacrifices herself to save everyone else.
So even though the Rebels have a hierarchy
their authority figures don’t try to appear infallible.
They are allowed to be flawed individuals who don’t always have the answers.
And their position isn’t really treated like a symbol of power at all.
If anything, their authority is more about taking on greater responsibility to protect others.
Because The Rebels are a group united not just against an enemy
but through Vulnerability and Solidarity.
There is a deeper respect for one another and truly wanting
to make the world better for everyone.
Which is likely why we see far more diversity among the Rebel members than we do The Empire.
The Rebels are a celebration of diversity.
Both in life and tactics.
This too is anti-imperialist.
Imperialism doesn’t just rely on military force.
It’s about dominance in many ways including culturally.
[Imperial March plays]
Now that we’ve covered some of the thematic differences between The Empire and The Rebels
let’s talk about George Lucas and why I think he wanted us
to be reminded it’s a small world even in space.
[Music plays]
[Willow] One of the things that stands out about the Universe of Star Wars
is everything is connected.
Not just with The Force.
[Obi-wan] created by all living things.
It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.
[Willow] In Star Wars we don’t see new discoveries.
There might be new planets or aliens to us as the viewer
but not really in universe.
Whereas discoveries are quite common in many other Sci-Fi shows involving space
like Star Trek.
Star Wars instead shows us we don’t need new species or places to explore
because there are limitless worlds around us already.
In almost every setting we see all sorts of people and
almost never can EVERYONE in the room understand each other.
[speaking alien language] [Man] He doesn’t like you
[Willow] It’s just part of every day life in this universe
for there to be misunderstandings and communication difficulties.
So the exploration in Star Wars is more about these various cultures.
[Han] Droids don’t pull people’s arms out of their sockets when they lose.
Wookies are known to do that.
[Willow] This is pretty notable because usually when we think of Explorers
it is tied to colonialism and imperialism.
Which makes sense because historically exploration was done
for the sake of finding new resources or expanding an empire.
But it’s perhaps not surprising
exploration would be handled this way by George Lucas
who has anti-authoritarianism in most of his works.
Star Wars itself was a form of protest against the Vietnam War.
[James Cameron] America is so proud of being the biggest economy
the most powerful military force on the planet. It’s become the Empire
from the perspective of a lot of people around the world
-[George Lucas] Well, it was the Empire during the Vietnam war.
[Willow] That’s right. The United States was the inspiration for The Empire.
In fact George Lucas even referred to the Emperor as Richard Nixon.
[lightsabers clashing] [Emperor laughing]
[Willow] The Rebels were the Viet Cong.
Making use of whatever they could to
survive years of brutal destruction and
death at the hands of the United States.
[James Cameron] They’re using asymmetric warfare against a highly organized empire.
I think we call those guys terrorists today. -[George Lucas] When I did it
they were Viet Cong -[James Cameron] Exactly,
so were you thinking of that at the time? -[George Lucas] Yes
[Willow] Lucas wanted Star Wars to be inspirational in that way.
He wanted to show that even a massive empire
like the United States could be fought against.
[George Lucas] The little guys won -[James Cameron] Right
-[George Lucas] And the big highly technical empire -[James Cameron] The English empire
-[George Lucas] The English empire The American empire lost.
[Willow] The fact that the Star Wars universe is never expanding
helps emphasize this.
In a smaller world, it’s easier to see how our actions affect each other.
The more characters and planets you add muddy the water
making it more difficult to see those effects motivate The Resistance
to help each other and to keep fighting no matter how many losses they suffer.
To not give up hope.
[Leia] Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi You’re my only hope
[Willow] And it’s very clear how The Empire doesn’t care.
It just wants the world to feel small under its boot.
Expanding and taking whatever resources they want
while making others pay the price.
[Empire Officer] All heroes of the Empire -[Mayfeld] Yeah...
and all dead -[Empire Officer] Well,
it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good -[Mayfeld] Depends on who you ask
don’t you think?
[Willow] Now, let’s go back to Darth Vader in Rogue One and talk about how all of this is represented in that scene.
[Music plays]
[laser blasts] [Man, screaming] Help us
[Willow] This scene is pivotal to making Rogue One work.
It connects all the new worlds and people we get to meet in this movie
to the beginning events of A New Hope.
It’s not just playing on our nostalgia
it is actively adding weight to this moment and
the rest of the story we already know and love.
This one moment also embodies everything The Empire stands for.
You can feel Vader’s absolute rage just unleashing
upon all of these Rebels for defying The Empire.
And we know shortly after Darth Vader will be on Leia’s ship.
We are shown the galaxy isn’t big enough for you to
escape Darth Vader’s grasp because he will relentlessly pursue you.
If this had been about some other information important to The Empire we didn’t know about
sure Darth Vader showing up might be effective
but it wouldn’t quite capture the looming presence and
active pursuit this scene builds upon.
It also represents The Rebels well.
To fight back in the face of a force so unrelenting.
Each and every sacrifice here mattered.
If a SINGLE one of these people had done less or not been there
the plans may have never gotten to Leia.
And again if this had been some other event disconnected from the story we already know
we would lose this sense of the sacrifices being made to pass on the baton.
[Cassian] I’ve been in this fight since I was 6 years old
You’re not the only one who lost everything
[Willow] Rogue One may not have had the best character arcs
but absolutely nailed adding to the story that already existed
by emphasizing the main themes of Star Wars.
What it means to fight a war against an overwhelming Empire.
In contrast
I want to talk about the ending of The Rise of Skywalker.
It was actually a great idea to have
the space battle be affected by the fight between Rey and The Emperor.
It’s a nice touch compared to the final showdown we see
with Luke and The Emperor in Return of the Jedi.
[Emperor] You have paid the price for your lack of vision
[lightning crackles] [Luke screams in pain]
Luke’s confrontation is an incredible moment as far as his character arc and
showing the possibility of redemption in Darth Vader
but it is completely disconnected from the main battle going on.
The problem with Rise of the Skywalker is
the execution of bringing the Emperor back and
how this fight affects the space battle undercuts the other themes
which are WHY Star Wars benefits from the Universe feeling small.
For starters, The Emperor doesn’t need to
just happen to have a secret massive fleet.
Sometimes you can just make the Big Bad bigger and badder
[Frieza yelling]
[Willow] And that’s fine.
But the Empire and the Emperor aren’t scary
because they’re actually way stronger than people think.
They’re scary because when they’re in power they will do whatever it takes
to flaunt and abuse their power to maintain it.
Since this is the way the Empire operates
why wouldn’t this fleet be out dominating the galaxy?
Like we see with the Death Star.
[Explosion]
[Willow] The Death Star didn’t make The Empire powerful.
They were ALREADY overwhelmingly powerful.
The Death Star just showed The Empire had no limits to how far they would go.
And when The Empire are NOT the ones in power
they’re scary because they never completely go away.
Their ideology like the Sith just need a small foothold and
it will bide its time to latch on to whatever it can.
Like coopting systems
[Palpatine] I am the Senate
[Willow] Or preying on people’s fears and needs.
[lightning crackles] [Palpatine] I have the power to save the one you love
[Willow] Secondly, The Emperor doesn’t need to be so powerful
he can singlehandedly shutdown the entire Resistance fleet.
This makes the fate of the entire space battle basically
decided by his fight with Rey and Kylo.
To me this reduces the importance of the shared struggle and solidarity of the Resistance.
And that’s been a huge part of Star Wars since the beginning.
You never know how your actions are going to impact others and
how that could ripple out.
Especially when we get organized and do things together.
A New Hope is all about this.
All these little decisions that lead to something more.
Starting with C-3PO looking out for R2-D2
[C-3PO] Excuse me sir but that R2 unit is in prime condition
A real bargain
[Willow] But the first scene that really embodies this for me is
when Luke pushes for them to rescue Leia while they’re on the Death Star.
It’s the first time we see our heroes trapped in impossible odds.
They’re literally stuck inside the heart of the Empire’s power.
And instead of just waiting for Obi-Wan to disable the tractor beam
so they could escape they split up to help.
If any of them fail it’s all over.
But they work together each doing their part.
[yelling ecstatic and relieved] [Luke] Hey, you did it C3PO!
[C3PO] Listen to them they’re dying R2
[Willow] And they succeed in escaping with the Death Star plans
to keep the Rebels’ fight alive.
They see what is possible when working together
but also have to learn it can come at a cost.
[lightsaber crackle] [Luke, screaming] No!
[Willow] I’m glad to see the new shows on Disney+ hit this aspect as well and
use their interconnected stories to help it stand out.
All of them touch on finding meaning, connection and hope in an uncaring and harsh world.
Seemingly small gestures of kindness can end up making all the difference.
[Baby yoda coos]
[Willow] One of my favorite moments was in Bad Batch.
Omega is just a kid and since she is more idealistic
she frequently wants to do the right thing and help everyone.
In one episode she shared their communication channel with another girl named Hera.
[Hunter] You gave her our comm channel? -[Omega] For emergencies
And that sounded pretty urgent
[Willow] This small kindness in just giving someone the ability to reach out led to rescuing
freedom fighters so a world under occupation by the Empire has a chance to fight back.
[It’s a Small World plays]
[Willow] I would love Star Wars to explore more characters and worlds.
I grew up reading many books in the Extended Universe and
really enjoyed stories following different pilots or whoever
with rarely much focus on Luke or any of the main characters.
Hell, it’s why I loved Star Wars Visions.
It was amazing to see so many fresh takes on Star Wars that were so stunning and unique.
[guitarist singing] [rock music playing]
[Willow] But I also realized watching these I missed the interconnectedness
that I’ve really enjoyed in The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett.
That maybe Star Wars is often at its best when we are seeing the same people and places.
I’d just prefer to have limited appearances by Skywalker and
other big names from all the movies unless it’s adding to the anti-imperial message of Star Wars.
Otherwise it can start to feel like we are dealing with dynasties
or just singular great people.
And Star Wars isn’t about that.
It’s about every day people struggling under the boot of an oppressive empire
coming together and fighting back.
Its story serves as a reminder to not become apathetic or hopeless.
That we have no idea in all the ways we are connected to one another
even when we are worlds apart.
Thinking and writing about this has really grown my appreciation for the franchise
so I’d love to know what some of your favorite moments and themes are.
Do you have any favorite recurring characters or places?
Or maybe some you wish wouldn’t come back again.
Let me know in the comments.
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[lightsabers buzzing]
[Luke screams in pain]
[Willow] And if you don’t want our future videos to be lost in a galaxy far far away
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Take care of yourselves.
And remember.
You’re not alone.