Warning! SPOILERS ahead for Andor episode 9.Star Wars has once again demonstrated, this time with the Disney+ series Andor, that the Empire's greatest weakness is its arrogance and overconfidence. Andor episode 9, “Nobody’s Listening!," proved to be one of the show’s most harrowing installments yet, delving deeper into the harsh conditions prisoners face at the facility where Cassian (Diego Luna) is being held. One character’s tragic death served as a turning point for Andy Serkis’s character, Kino Loy, who up until his friend’s passing believed that the Empire would let him go when he'd served his time. Now, however, Cassian and Kino will be planning a revolt with the other inmates, undoubtedly using the guards’ arrogance and the Empire’s unwarranted pride to their advantage.
As Kino himself admitted in Andor episode 9, there are “never more than 12” guards stationed on each prison level at any one time. Posting only 12 prison guards against dozens of inmates is a recipe for disaster for the Empire. Yes, the prison guards are protected from the torturous prison floor, but what the Star Wars Empire always underestimates is the desperation, hope, and sheer force of will that festers and spreads when people are denied their basic human rights for too long. Those who have no other shot at freedom will stop at nothing to find it, even while enduring horrible pain or risking their lives to find a facility’s weak spots. The Empire’s prison guards aren’t ready to face that kind of commitment, certainly not in such small numbers, just like Syril Karn’s (Kyle Soller) security officers weren’t ready to face pushback on Ferrix in Andor’s earlier episodes. The Empire always believes it's untouchable, yet it has been proven wrong countless times.
Why The Empire Was Always Overconfident (& Never Learned Its Lessons)
There are reasons behind the Empire’s overconfidence in Andor and the rest of the franchise. It rules the entire galaxy, enforces new laws on a whim, controls the economy, and commands the biggest fleet and army the Star Wars universe has ever seen. Palpatine's Empire rules through fear and fascism, so why should it believe that those who have no weapons and live off scraps would be any threat to its power and control? Not to mention that the Emperor himself is a powerful Sith lord in a universe where his primary adversaries, the Jedi, have been decimated. Emperor Palpatine’s conquering plan worked, the Imperial systems were put in place, and all the Empire had to do was defend its territory and patch up any weaknesses along the way.
But that is where the problem lies. No weaknesses were ever patched up, and no lessons were ever truly learned. The first Star Wars Death Star was destroyed, so the Empire decided to build a second one. The Empire believes that because it controls the entire galaxy, it has the means to replace anything that is lost: weapons, ships, supplies, and even people. What is the loss of one Star Destroyer when you can build 100 more? What is the loss of one cadet when you’ve got thousands more studying at the Imperial academy? It’s wasteful, certainly, but it is that kind of arrogant thinking that leads to the belief that an organization is invincible, which is exactly what led to the Empire's eventual destruction.
The Empire's Overconfidence & Arrogance Is Why It Lost
Luck and optimism played a large part in the Star Wars Rebel Alliance's victory over time, but it is also due to the Empire’s faults. The grip it holds over the galaxy makes it believe that it cannot be destroyed – there is no democratic process left, after all, so who is to say no to them? Who is willing to take it up against an entire armada of Star Destroyers? The desperate and the hopeful, that’s who. The Empire believes that its strength is enough to overpower anyone, but hope trumps confidence every time. The Empire, in a sense, becomes lazy because of its false sense of security, while the Rebels, and characters like Cassian and Kino, will fight to the death to take back what was lost. Arrogance leads to unpreparedness, and that is likely precisely what awaits the Imperial prison guards in Andor episode 10.
New episodes of Andor release Wednesdays on Disney+.
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