This article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 4.
The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 subtly makes the New Republic's fate in the Star Wars sequel trilogy even more tragic. The Empire didn't fall immediately after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi - but that was certainly the beginning of the end, a crushing defeat that allowed the Rebel Alliance to begin to transition into something very different. It became a true galactic government, the New Republic. Unfortunately it was to prove ill-fated.
The war between and the Empire and the nascent New Republic raged for a year, with the Empire - acting on the orders of the secretly-resurrected Emperor Palpatine - conducting a devastating, genocidal Blitzkrieg across the galaxy. It culminated in the Battle of Jakku, with the remaining Imperial forces defeated once again and a planet-sized bomb deactivated by a Rebel squad. In the aftermath of the Battle of Jakku, Palpatine's old servant Mas Amedda signed a peace treaty with the Republic. A new era was finally being ushered in, and politicians in the Republic began to dream of a time of lasting peace.
The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 subtly reveals that even former Imperial assassin Fennec Shand believed the galaxy had changed for the better. She tells Boba Fett they live in a "civilized time," one where assassins and bounty hunters like themselves no longer quite fit in. The word has surely been deliberately chosen by scriptwriters, because it was used by Obi-Wan Kenobi to refer to the Republic in the first Star Wars film. When he handed Luke Skywalker his father's lightsaber, Obi-Wan told him it was "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." The implication is that even Fennec Shand genuinely believes those days of old have returned. Tragically, she would be proven wrong; in historical terms, the New Republic is just a blip, with its capital destined for destruction in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the Republic itself swiftly overrun by the First Order in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The Republic stood for a thousand generations, but the New Republic would only last decades.
The interesting question is just why Fennec Shand has come to believe the civilized times of the Republic have returned. It's possibly because of The Mandalorian season 2, which would have undoubtedly led her to believe the Jedi Order - legendary protectors of the Republic - were returning as well. She knew first-hand how dangerous Moff Gideon's Dark Troopers were, and yet she saw a single Jedi Master tear through them with ease - before taking Grogu as his apprentice.
Tragically, Fennec Shand's faith in the New Republic was destined to be failed. Luke Skywalker did indeed attempt to reform the Jedi, but Palpatine corrupted Ben Solo and had the newborn Jedi Order destroyed. Without its protectors, the New Republic fell to the First Order. The symbol of hope that could even inspire an Imperial assassin like Fennec Shand had fallen, leaving the Star Wars galaxy destined to fall into a time of darkness once again.
The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
