The latest episode of The Mandalorian followed in the footsteps of J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson by deconstructing the victory achieved by Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and the entire Rebel Alliance following the defeat of Darth Sidious and the destruction of the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor.
Abrams began the deconstruction of Star Wars by turning both Princess Leia and Han Solo into deadbeat parents and having their son fall under the sway of Snoke in The Force Awakens. On top of being deadbeat parents they also have a failed marriage.
Han Solo’s pathetic life that Abrams and Lucasfilm gave him would be summarily ended when Kylo Ren killed him towards the end of the film.
Abrams’ deconstruction would be continued by Rian Johnson, who Jake Skywalkered Luke Skywalker, turning the legendary Jedi into a broken, defeated man that even attempted to murder his own nephew in The Last Jedi.
Not only would Johnson deconstruct Luke Skywalker, but he also deconstructed the Jedi, bringing Yoda back to physically destroy the traditions of the Jedi found on the planet Ahch-To with the Dark Side power Force Lightning.
The Mandalorian is the latest Star Wars property to embrace deconstruction and it does through a ghastly depiction of the New Republic and their rehabilitation practices for former Imperial forces.
In Season 3′ third episode “The Convert,” the show features Imperial officers being housed on Coruscant in a section called Amnesty Housing. These former Imperial forces do not refer to themselves by their real names, but rather a rather droid-like designation.
When Dr. Pershing arrives to Amnesty Housing, he is greeted by a man who introduces himself as Amnesty Officer M34. He then returns the greeting by referring to himself as Amnesty Scientist L52.
All former Imperial officers are also given badges that they must wear so they are easily identified as former Imperial officers going through the program. They are also restricted to certain areas of Coruscant and are not allowed to leave those areas.
They are given decent housing and have to meet with a droid on some kind of schedule in order to check in and ensure they are supposedly transitioning into the New Republic properly. They are also provided a job albeit it might below their qualifications. And while they are restricted to certain areas of the planet, they seemingly can enjoy local nightlife.
However, towards the end of Dr. Pershing’s story in the episode, it’s revealed the New Republic does not have any kind of due process when it comes to Imperial forces in the Amnesty program. Dr. Pershing is found guilty based on a report from Amnesty Officer G68. He does not stand trial or is given any chance to tell his side of why he was stealing equipment from an Imperial Star Destroyer.
Not only is he found guilty, but he’s already been sentenced to an experimental treatment using mind flayer technology that “can be used to help soothe select traumatic memories.” However, the device doesn’t just have a low setting to offer him relief, it can be adjusted to higher levels implying it is indeed a mind flayer and can erase his memories. And it’s exactly what Amnesty Officer G68 does. She increases the levels of the machine’s output and seemingly wipes his memories.
As noted above this depiction of the New Republic erases the victory of Han, Lando, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker at the Battle of Endor. It erases the Rebel Alliance’s defeat of the Empire. The defeat of the Empire is completely hollow given all their efforts were for naught as the New Republic in some respects might be even worse than the Empire.
It’s another sign that The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm motto truly is “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.”
What do you make of The Mandalorian’s depiction of the New Republic?
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