The Mandalorian, particularly season 2, has delved into the intricacies of Imperial remnant factions and could be secretly retconning a Star Wars sequel trilogy villain. Following major defeats at Endor and Jakku, the Galactic Empire was officially demilitarized and confined to limited portions of the galaxy where they were monitored closely by the fledgling New Republic. As shown in the sequels, the First Order eventually rose from the ashes of the Empire, led by their mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally revealed the true nature of both Snoke and the First Order, but their origins appear to be gradually, and secretly, retconned by The Mandalorian.
The old Galactic Empire’s most competent members fled to the perilous Unknown Regions after the Battle of Jakku, and many former Imperials (or New Republic citizens with fascist-leanings) quietly embedded themselves within the New Republic government, forming the Centrist political party. When the time was right, the Centrists combined forces with the Imperials in the Unknown Regions to form the First Order, who sought to destroy the New Republic and re-establish themselves as the dominant force in the galaxy. Ultimately, the First Order was a puppet regime of none other than Emperor Palpatine, who survived his apparent death on Endor and indirectly oppressed the galaxy from behind the scenes.
The Mandalorian spent much of season 2 revealing new details about the Imperial remnant factions after the Galactic Civil War ended. Many sub-factions, such as Moff Gideon’s remnant and the Imperials stationed on Morak, remained militarized well after the Galactic Concordance treaty. These groups continued their unscrupulous actions, fighting to destabilize the New Republic or abducting the Force-sensitive child, Grogu, for what appeared to be experiments in cloning. This may be leading to the complete on-screen origins of both the First Order and Snoke in The Mandalorian season 3, potentially retconning some details revealed in The Rise of Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Palpatine created Snoke, a powerful strand-cast (artificially-created humanoid) with dark side training who served as a proxy for the undead Sith Lord. The Imperial experiments on Grogu in The Mandalorian center on his “m-count,” referring to the child’s midi-chlorians, which are believed to indicate his connection to the Force. This could easily be related to the creation of Snoke, whose extreme strength in the dark side might have been owed to a high midi-chlorian count. While Palpatine claimed to have made Snoke, his subordinates, such as Gideon, Doctor Pershing, and perhaps Nala Se, likely worked on his orders.
The Mandalorian season 2 also hinted at the origins of the First Order in “Chapter 15: The Believer.” General Valin Hess of the Morak Imperial remnant group speaks of his motivation for continuing to strike against the New Republic. A firm believer in the Empire’s authoritarian ideology, Hess hoped to make the people of the galaxy lose faith in democracy and “welcome (the Empire) back with open arms." This added another layer to how the First Order rose in the age of the New Republic. Leaders like Hess and the Imperial sympathizers in the Centrist party kept the scourge of fascism alive within a democratic society.
These elements could easily be expanded on and combined in The Mandalorian forthcoming season 3. Gideon’s Imperial remnant acquired the necessary blood samples from Grogu by the season 2 finale, and likely already sent them to a facility on Mount Tantiss or Exegol before Grogu’s rescue. If the season explores the politics of the New Republic, the Centrist party may be shown quietly planting the seeds of the First Order’s ideals. With Grogu’s midi-chlorian-laden blood, Snoke’s creation may be shown, and his appeal to the New Republic’s Centrist citizens could reinforce Hess’ belief that people desire order over freedom. These retcons would continue to connect The Mandalorian to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
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