This is up there for one of the best shows ever made. Damn near perfect television. And it completely elevates all the existing Star Wars content that surrounds it. Rogue One is so much more impactful now. ANH feels like the culmination of a grand series of events rather than the start of something.
I just want to layout the in-galaxy timeline here:
Day 1: Lonni accesses Dedra’s files and learns about the Death Star and imminent raid on Luthen.
Day 2: Lonni leaks the Death Star intel to Luthen. Luthen kills Lonni and gives intel to Kleya. Luthen destroys his comms network. Dedra raids Luthen’s, resulting in Luthen’s hospitalization. Dedra is arrested by ISB. Kleya raids the hospital and kills Luthen.
Day 3: Krennic questions Dedra. Cassian, Melshi, & K-2SO rescue Kleya (killing Heert) and bring her to Yavin IV. Bodhi defects from the Empire and brings Death Star/Galen Erso intel to Saw Gerrera.
Day 4: Partagaz commits suicide. Cassian meets Tevik on Kafrene and learns more about the Death Star.
Day 5: Jyn Erso is busted out of prison and brought to Yavin. Tarkin takes over the Death Star from Krennic.
Day 6: Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO travel to Jedha. They get Bodhi’s intel. Tarkin tests the Death Star by destroying Jedha, killing Saw.
Day 7: Vader summons Krennic to Mustafar and threatens him. Rebels raid Eadu, destroying the base and killing Galen Erso.
Day 8: The Battle of Scarif. Full Death Star plans leak. Krennic dies. Empire’s first real military defeat. Vader captures Tantive IV and Leia. 3PO & R2 escape to Tatooine and get picked up by Jawas.
Day 9: Uncle Owen buys R2 & 3PO. Leia is interrogated by Vader and interrogation droids.
Day 10: Luke meets Obi-Wan. Lars homestead is destroyed. Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie, and the droids escape Tatooine w/ Death Star plans. Tarkin questions Leia and destroys Alderaan.
Day 11: Raid on the Death Star. Leia escapes. Vader & Obi-Wan final showdown. Falcon is tracked to Yavin.
Day 12: Battle of Yavin. Tarkin dies and Death Star is destroyed.
Think about it from the Empire’s perspective. Just 12 days after the first hints of the Death Star even existing leaks the Rebellion manage to destroy it. They were working on that thing for nearly 2 decades in secret. Then almost the moment it’s discovered it gets destroyed. The Rebellion must look so incredibly competent and powerful compared to the epic string of fuck ups from the ISB.
And think about it from Palpatine’s (and Vader’s, although less-so) perspective considering the Force. Palpatine kept this under wraps for 20 years. Then the fact of its existence leaks. 10 days later Obi-Wan fucking Kenobi shows up on the Death Star w/ 2 of Anakin’s old droids and Anakin’s son to rescue Anakin’s daughter (although I don’t know if Palpatine knew that Leia was related). 2 days later, Anakin’s son destroys the Death Star.
Palpatine has to be freaking the fuck out over this. It has to feel like Force powers beyond his control are orchestrating all of this. Like the Force itself is conspiring to bring him down. We saw how paranoid and back-stabbing the Empire is in the final 3 episodes of Andor. Imagine how much that’s gonna ramp up after the Battle of Yavin.
That is probably why the Empire colapses after the destruction of the second Deathstar. Palpatine probably throws a massive tantrum and purges a bunch of high up, competent people from the Empire. Palpatine then probably installs himself or Vader as leader of a bunch of ministries just because of the feeling that “if you want something done right do it yourself”.
Now, when we have the second Deathstar blowup, Palpatine and Vader die, The Empire collapses. Not because the Deathstar blew up but because of how Palpatine reacts when the first deathstar blows up.
Once the second Deathstar blows up, a now gutted and leaderles Empire fractures into a bunch of small pockets of empire. This was probably already happening to a large extent during the events of Return of the Jedi. Palpatine diverting more of his own focus to this one project and not noticing that the fringes are starting to fray, or noticing and not caring because he is about to have his super weapon.
Is the tinfoil to tight. Probably, but this is my head cannon for starwars now.
Things go differently in the current canon, but what you described was more or less what happened in the old EU. There was no line of succession or instructions for what happened if Palpatine died. His death, along with Vader and important central figures in the Empire in ROTJ left a lot of squabbling Moffs and Admirals of dubious levels of competence in control of splinters of the Empire.
It wasn’t until Thrawn that someone competent started consolidating Imperial forces again.
![[Discussion/Spoilers] Andor Season 2 - Finale](https://media.piefed.social/posts/Hc/DT/HcDTBUdgvKpvrG2.jpg){kind=link}
This is up there for one of the best shows ever made. Damn near perfect television. And it completely elevates all the existing Star Wars content that surrounds it. Rogue One is so much more impactful now. ANH feels like the culmination of a grand series of events rather than the start of something.
I just want to layout the in-galaxy timeline here:
Day 1: Lonni accesses Dedra’s files and learns about the Death Star and imminent raid on Luthen.
Day 2: Lonni leaks the Death Star intel to Luthen. Luthen kills Lonni and gives intel to Kleya. Luthen destroys his comms network. Dedra raids Luthen’s, resulting in Luthen’s hospitalization. Dedra is arrested by ISB. Kleya raids the hospital and kills Luthen.
Day 3: Krennic questions Dedra. Cassian, Melshi, & K-2SO rescue Kleya (killing Heert) and bring her to Yavin IV. Bodhi defects from the Empire and brings Death Star/Galen Erso intel to Saw Gerrera.
Day 4: Partagaz commits suicide. Cassian meets Tevik on Kafrene and learns more about the Death Star.
Day 5: Jyn Erso is busted out of prison and brought to Yavin. Tarkin takes over the Death Star from Krennic.
Day 6: Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO travel to Jedha. They get Bodhi’s intel. Tarkin tests the Death Star by destroying Jedha, killing Saw.
Day 7: Vader summons Krennic to Mustafar and threatens him. Rebels raid Eadu, destroying the base and killing Galen Erso.
Day 8: The Battle of Scarif. Full Death Star plans leak. Krennic dies. Empire’s first real military defeat. Vader captures Tantive IV and Leia. 3PO & R2 escape to Tatooine and get picked up by Jawas.
Day 9: Uncle Owen buys R2 & 3PO. Leia is interrogated by Vader and interrogation droids.
Day 10: Luke meets Obi-Wan. Lars homestead is destroyed. Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewie, and the droids escape Tatooine w/ Death Star plans. Tarkin questions Leia and destroys Alderaan.
Day 11: Raid on the Death Star. Leia escapes. Vader & Obi-Wan final showdown. Falcon is tracked to Yavin.
Day 12: Battle of Yavin. Tarkin dies and Death Star is destroyed.
Think about it from the Empire’s perspective. Just 12 days after the first hints of the Death Star even existing leaks the Rebellion manage to destroy it. They were working on that thing for nearly 2 decades in secret. Then almost the moment it’s discovered it gets destroyed. The Rebellion must look so incredibly competent and powerful compared to the epic string of fuck ups from the ISB.
And think about it from Palpatine’s (and Vader’s, although less-so) perspective considering the Force. Palpatine kept this under wraps for 20 years. Then the fact of its existence leaks. 10 days later Obi-Wan fucking Kenobi shows up on the Death Star w/ 2 of Anakin’s old droids and Anakin’s son to rescue Anakin’s daughter (although I don’t know if Palpatine knew that Leia was related). 2 days later, Anakin’s son destroys the Death Star.
Palpatine has to be freaking the fuck out over this. It has to feel like Force powers beyond his control are orchestrating all of this. Like the Force itself is conspiring to bring him down. We saw how paranoid and back-stabbing the Empire is in the final 3 episodes of Andor. Imagine how much that’s gonna ramp up after the Battle of Yavin.
That is probably why the Empire colapses after the destruction of the second Deathstar. Palpatine probably throws a massive tantrum and purges a bunch of high up, competent people from the Empire. Palpatine then probably installs himself or Vader as leader of a bunch of ministries just because of the feeling that “if you want something done right do it yourself”.
Now, when we have the second Deathstar blowup, Palpatine and Vader die, The Empire collapses. Not because the Deathstar blew up but because of how Palpatine reacts when the first deathstar blows up.
Once the second Deathstar blows up, a now gutted and leaderles Empire fractures into a bunch of small pockets of empire. This was probably already happening to a large extent during the events of Return of the Jedi. Palpatine diverting more of his own focus to this one project and not noticing that the fringes are starting to fray, or noticing and not caring because he is about to have his super weapon.
Is the tinfoil to tight. Probably, but this is my head cannon for starwars now.
Things go differently in the current canon, but what you described was more or less what happened in the old EU. There was no line of succession or instructions for what happened if Palpatine died. His death, along with Vader and important central figures in the Empire in ROTJ left a lot of squabbling Moffs and Admirals of dubious levels of competence in control of splinters of the Empire.
It wasn’t until Thrawn that someone competent started consolidating Imperial forces again.