The Star Wars universe is filled with several unique and interesting alien species that populate the galaxy far, far away. The franchise’s original trilogy primarily revolved around the conflict between the Empire and the Rebels, with the former being a fascist group dominating the galaxy for their selfish gain.
Despite being the primary antagonistic force of the original trilogy and several other eras of the film series, the Empire’s actions were somewhat whitewashed in the Expanded Universe‘s New Jedi Order novels. As per the novels, the Empire presumably seized control of the galaxy to protect it from a Force-immune species. However, fans don’t accept this logic, and here is what they have to say.
Star Wars Tried to Justify the Empire’s Actions With a Mysterious Race
The Star Wars universe originally started with the conflict between the Empire and the Rebels. Since its inception by George Lucas, the franchise has featured several unique alien species, with a large portion of the world-building being done through the Expanded Universe novels, which are now considered non-canon.
One of the EU novel series, mainly the New Jedi Order books, revealed that Emperor Palpatine was aware of the forthcoming threat of the Yuuzhan Vong, aka the Far Outsiders, an extra-galactic sentient species immune to the Force. As a result, the books imply that the Death Star was built as a defense against these future invaders.
Despite the book series attempting to provide a motivation for the banal actions of the Empire, one fan pointed out how this logic did not make much sense in the grander scheme of Lucas’ storytelling in the franchise.
You cannot look me straight in the eyes and tell me that the NJO novels want to justify the Empire. That’s not how this works.
User @Snivythesnek made the above comment on Reddit, explaining that the novels did not intend to whitewash the Empire’s image and paint the order as some sort of a savior of the galaxy.
The user added that the novels are heavy on themes of redemption and forgiveness. However, they do not portray the Emperor as a sympathetic figure. Furthermore, the fan also argued that the Emperor was a tyrant who simply did not want to lose his Empire to the invaders.
Star Wars Fans Aren’t Buying the Empire Was Good Premise at All
Star Wars fans chimed in on the discussion regarding the NJO novels providing a motivation for the Empire’s evil actions, with some interpreting it as a justification of the order’s fascist regime and the atrocities they committed against the galaxy’s residents.
I don’t buy the premise. All of Palpatine’s actions were directed internally at his subjects.
User @LordChimera_0 made the above statement, denouncing the idea that the novels were a justification for the Empire’s actions.
Similarly, user @ByssBro “Palpatine never once mentions the Vong in the Book of Sith. Pretty damning evidence that he never established the Empire and/or militarized the galaxy in preparation for them.“
However, user @S-192 had a more neutral take on the matter, saying “I think they’re just trying to suggest the empire wasn’t evil without purpose.” On the other hand, user @darthsheldoninkwizy compared the situation to real-world politics, stating “To me, Palpatine preparing for the Vong was like Hitler preparing for Stalin.“
From fan comments, it is evident that no one is buying the idea of the Emperor having a noble intention behind his atrocious actions. As a result, the logic that the Empire militarized the galaxy to defend itself against the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong is something even Lucas would find laughable.
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