Here's How the Empire Could've Won

The most dangerous part of the Empire's authoritarian regime wasn't their storm troopers or star destroyers, it was their legions of mundane bureaucrats. These imperial officials did just enough to keep the imperial citizenry oppressed, but not enough to push them towards open rebellion. In the long run this strategy could've killed liberty in the galaxy permanently.
2nd Channel: / @generationtechshorts
Follow Generation Tech on Instagram: / generationtechofficial
Follow Generation Tech on Facebook: bit.ly/GenerationTechFB
Latest Videos: bit.ly/LatestGT
Popular Videos: bit.ly/GTPopular
Please help our channel by becoming a Patron: bit.ly/GTPatreon
Follow our Host
ALLEN XIE
KZbin / @thebeardedasianman
INSTAGRAM AXIEFILMS
TIKTOK AXIEFILMS
FACEBOOK / axiefilms

[@TheWarmachine375]

"Enter the bureaucrats. The true rulers of the Empire. Wait a minute." - confused Palpatine

[@mattstorm360]

I think Palpatine got bored because of that. Rule the galaxy.... now what? Rule a bit more? Rule the details?

[@abeautifuldayful]

@@mattstorm360 Board, as in a stiffy? Or did you mean bored? (Completely the opposite.) Either way, it's interesting.

[@mattstorm360]

@@abeautifuldayful Bored. Ducking auto correct. But yeah, in legends, when he implemented the moffs and got everything set up for his empire to run he just got bored. No one was out there to stop him. The jedi were mostly dead or in hiding and if he did get any found it was a short time of joy until... well... back to sitting and watching your empire grow with nothing to stop it... It's why he was at the 2nd death star so he could be in the battle of Endor. It was exciting!

[@austinguthrie5528]

Why am I picturing confused Pikachu/Palpatine hybrid face? Lol someone draw up this monstrosity!!

[@timmcclymont3527]

Haha, nice

[@fakezombeyy]

The Empire could've won by not building thousands of battleships for peacekeeping operations. Also by not being jerks to all the people.

[@everettjohnson9374]

Na that's lame, they should have just built MORE battleships but diversity some of them. Might makes right so for the most part they were correct in putting the boot to people's throats. It's run by a sith Lord and not a kindergarten teacher man

[@elpinguinovolador4114]

Nah, the battleships were neat, but the not being a jerk is a good one

[@aleczeck8971]

Not all Sith were bad.

[@TJDious]

They could never have won.

[@TJDious]

@@aleczeck8971Yes they were.

[@hobokenb0b]

Andor is just a masterclass at showcasing the banality of evil.

[@javiervidal366]

Perfectly said!

[@MrDMIDOV]

I too have seen that video title.

[@danielspencer5816]

​@@MrDMIDOVa

[@briangrover873]

Syril Karn is the whole reason we even have an Andor show. Chief Inspector Hyne was masterful at maintaining the status quo and keeping things quiet. He recognized he had some thugs in his ranks; he probably didn't have much power to force them out (without drawing attention from meddling Imperial Officers) so he just didn't do anything to help them when their bad choices got them into trouble. He allowed the locals to run their own affairs as long as they stayed in their lane and everything remained productive enough and the people content enough to not cause trouble. Had Karn obeyed Hyne's instructions nothing would have happened and Andor would have kept going as he always had (it was the threat of Corpo Arrest that drove him to fall in with Luthen). There would have been no story to tell.

[@redharvest298]

Spot on I think. The show also told us he had the ability to truly analyze information and put it to use. He knew what had happened based on the data but also what would happen depending on how the information was used. One mistake was not picking up on Karn’s inability to follow his orders.

[@redharvest298]

Also more people under Hyne and people he was responsible for would still be alive.

[@jacobite2353]

@@redharvest298 Yeah cause he assumed that Karn was more loyal than idealist.

[@arthurbriand2175]

There is a delicate balance to be kept, the Empire must not micro manage corporate zones but cannot allow the corporate zones to gain power. Just a reminder just two decades before, corporate authorities were allowed to arm, to share the Monopoly of violence and gather armies. Once they get powerful enough and the central government has a short episode of weakness, a civil war is highly likely, or at least the assertion of corporate influence above the Empire.

[@Loth_Wolf]

Love to hear this analysis. Gilroy was interviewed about how it seems to be human nature to construct empire. Andor offers a window to discuss how empires function and how they create their own opposition, but also addresses why empires repeated are generated by how we function as humans.

[@fractalelf7760]

History is nothing but nor will likely ever be just a series of humans establishing empires on one rationale or another.

[@QuicknSnappy]

This video is insane. The creativity, connection, and culture used in this video and then correlated with Star Wars is awesome. Very smart dude

[@kazwilson425]

Best reviewer in the game as far as I'm concerned. Alan takes the path less travelled yet always brings it back to something I can relate to.

[@theGodfather5870]

Right bro?? He’s definitely on it 💯😁🤙

[@chrisstetsko5020]

Honestly most of these bureaucrats are holdovers from the Old Republic. Remember Palpatine simply "reorganized" the Republic into the Empire. For many of these office drones it meant showing up to work one day and putting on a new shirt. Everything was already in place, and Palpatine spent a decade consolidating everything under his control and putting his cronies into positions of power while he was still Chancellor. Remember what Migs Mayfield told Din Djarin on an episode of The Mandalorian "The Empire. The Republic. Do you think any of that matters to most of these people? They're all the same."

[@austinreed7343]

Some of them predated even Palpatine, perhaps.

[@ADavid42]

I am so glad that Andor has started so many discussions. Great work, Al

[@stevebreedlove9760]

Agree. So many good conversations about the real world all revolving around a star wars story.

[@SeanMather]

Thanks Generation Tech for this great episode of Alan… much appreciated!

[@briangrover873]

I appreciate how you continue the conversation with truly interesting and engaging ideas that have connections to our own reality. So many people simply rehash what was completely obvious (is if it was something that most people missed) or engage in fantasy predictions that have little connection to the actual story.

[@darthtyrannus3163]

Death Troopers and an inquisitor on Endor would’ve been a start…

[@creed8712]

I’m fairly certain all of them were dead by Endor at least numbers 1-11

[@elpinguinovolador4114]

Not needed in reality, in my opinion executing the rebels instead of capturing them, or just firing at them when they were sorounded intead of scattering away would have made a bigger difference but the force didn’t allowed it, you know, there is no meritocracy in the SW universe xd

[@alexanderbruwer9363]

This quote always comes to mind when thinking about the Sith mentality of rule: "Awe would turn to fear. Fear to resentment. And resentment to resistance. He has seen the same story, repeated ad nauseam, on a dozen worlds. Fulgrim had always preferred love to fear. Love was stronger. Fear could be conquered, but love - never. It waned and swelled, but it never truly faded. He had made himself loved on Chemos. And he would do the same here."

[@billymcmedic4221]

Ah, the sith, wonderful instruments of the chaos gods

[@tonyallen4265]

Dude. You are way too intelligent with impressive communication skills. Glad to stumble upon your channel. Subscribed!

[@RoanHayden]

I initially thought this was a Star Wars channel but soon realized it’s a social commentary channel framed through the lens of Star Wars. 👏 👏 👏 👏

[@noahvcat9855]

to be fair star wars has always been a social commentary of sorts since from the first movies made by george lucas as it was a commentary of how the us handled the vietnam war and such

[@multipass113]

“The Empire has been choking us so slowly, we're starting not to notice.” Great entertainment can be a form of escapism but I watch ANDOR to wake up. As a non US viewer, this show also hits hard in many ways and I’m not optimistic about our future. On a lighthearted note, I hope Stanley Townsend, the actor who plays Commandant Jayhold, also does audiobooks because his melodic voice and the delivery of his lines in Episode 6 is one of the many highlights for me.

[@stevebreedlove9760]

Andor is woke as fvck.

[@kaned5543]

I agree re: this show waking me up. I had already been leaning pretty leftist before this show premiered, thanks to the last few years, but this show set my skin on fire. I couldn't help but apply it to our real world. And I want more.

[@daniel-oo5jl]

Hey Allen next time i want you to look at the 'Prisoner Dillema' between Syril and Andor. We see Andor in prison as he starts to develops sympothy to the rebellion as he suffers. When we first see Syril, he comes off as a Imperial wannabe who feels he should be more than the position he currently in(look at his uniform). But when he goes home we see how his life is like that of a prisoner. Look at his face when he is in his old room looking out the window at the fading daylight, like some one kept in solitary confinement hoping for that brief moment outside away from his cell. Also his mother is like a prison guard, looking down on him and his choice. He wants to be away from that prison and live to his own standards. Not some face cog behind a desk in a windowless office, or for Andor in a windowless factory constructing who knows what.

[@RorikH]

I don't think that's the prisoner's dilemma, that's just an irony. The PD is when two people would each benefit from betraying the other but the better outcome overall would only be achieved through cooperation.

[@daniel-oo5jl]

@@RorikH Good to know, was just looking for a name for the subject.

[@jemmah5956]

As Chirrut Imwe says to Andor in Rogue One: (of prison) "I sense you carry yours with you". Both Syril and Andor suffer in their own 'prisons' both literal and spiritual. The parallels between the two characters are one of my favourite things about the series, but I do think they need to make more of Syrils journey than they do, imho :-)

[@briangrover873]

Many research studies have shown that private corporations are actually not better at running things than public/government entities. Private corporations are better at making money, but if making money is not the end goal of your entity (as you pointed out with healthcare and fire departments) than privatization is typically less efficient than public/government entities whose benchmarks would be focused on outcomes rather than profitability.

[@toddkes5890]

Agreed. Private corporations are efficient when competing with other private organizations because both have to provide a service, they try to keep costs lower than their competitor (so customers go to them), and customers have the freedom to swap if one doesn't do a good job. But if the private corporations manage to gain control over an area (i.e. internet companies splitting up a town into slices) there is no incentive for them to lower prices as the customer has no other choice. This results in the company deciding to go for profit and dispersing that profit among the shareholders. The only problem they may have is if their employees decide to leave for somewhere else, but if corporate leaders can unofficially pass around lists of employees that quit those employees can never get a good job again.

[@ScottBonner]

I came here to say just this. I'm a public library director. Every penny we get goes into service, and the more pennies, the more and better services. We are obsessed with efficiency and wasting nothing. From a public service perspective, the idea of wasting insane amounts of money on profit for the owners, instead of pouring it all into serving the community, is immensely inefficient - IF your goal is service. Profit is a huge layer of inefficiency, and putting a middleman between govt and the services govt provides is nothing but inefficiency, literally a resource siphon. And from the private corp perspective, I'm sure all those unprofitable services for people who can't pay $$$ seem like waste. Business norms are anathema to good govt service. Does not translate, not at all.

[@ScottBonner]

Or, another way to put it, it was those "efficient" businesspeople who invented the expense account and golf meetings. ;)

[@braxxian]

This is what makes Andor such a great story. Its great because there are no Sith, Jedi or lightsaber duels. Its just ordinary people fighting back as best they can against an Empire that is growing more and more oppressive..

[@mikee1891]

A “soft” empire would have been more effective but the normal imperial’s ego and of course Palpatine’s ego / need for absolute control wouldn’t allow for a softer / friendlier / looser / more “PC” control of the galaxy.

[@samlanganke1262]

This was exactly Wladmir Putin's idea in the beginning of his reign. As a young KGB agent he was stationed in East-Germany and saw the fall of the Berlin wall first hand. His analysis was that the state should not interfere broadly with the private lives of it's citizens as the STASI in the GDR did. In exchange for keeping political and economic power to his cronies. It can't be denied that this approach was very succssful for him. Until now.

[@RorikH]

True, though we do see something important in Andor which is that people like Luthen were actively provoking the Empire out of its subtle ways and into being more violent than it should've been. They tricked the empire into lashing out in anger so they could take advantage of the pain it caused.

[@mdd4296]

The problem is any government inevitably run into a crisis that would neccessitate them to take more control. As well as needing to direct their population/economy toward competition with other near peer to peer player. And such, they are always incentivised to take more control, not less. Yeah there were indeed exception to the rule like germany, japan (only count the admins after ww2), south korea, singapore... However their modern histories are a beep on the radar of repeated rise and fall of dynasties, monarchies, empire, even democracies in history. How both democracies and less democratic regimes of today are tightening more control over their respective populations' lives just speak further that the purpose of a government is control, it is incentivise to control and it will act to gain more control.

[@paulfaggart3423]

I appreciate that you're covering the tyrannical and real world aspects of the show. There are many Valuable lessons to be taken from this show.

[@WarsWorth]

Watching Andor enter the imperial prison system was the most terrifying thing I've seen on screen in a long time

[@tonydib5805]

Wayy too many similarities to our world today. 😢 it’s scary to think, if something doesn’t change we could slowly be going down that path. With the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer and no way for change. Starwars is so good because it mirrors our society so well.

[@scooble]

I suspect the parallels between the Empire and today's modern day empires is a bitter pill for those who are fiercely patriotic to their own empire

[@tompearce5418]

The Empire was a popularly elected dictatorship offering an end to civil unrest and international conflict, without addressing the root causes of the fights.

[@whiterabbit4016]

Been watching you for years Alan (2017ish I think?), sad to see the view count going down but just know your content is mad apricated by a huge amount in the star wars community, incredibly educated analysis, really well argued and made points. So much better than 80% of lore channel echo chambers .Joke at the start really caught me off guard lmao had to relisten to make sure. Keep up the good work the contents bloody brilliant as always. But I think you missed a point in this video, what the empire does is so similar to how the English basically destroyed Scottish clan culture even going as so far as banning kilts. Because of the Jacobites marching on England in order to restore James II (Catholic) to replace Willam of Orange (protestant) in response the English government marched an army up, wiped out the Jacobites at Colluden then to ensure Scottish submission they began a complete war against Scottish Highlander culture, this episode was filmed in the highlands, they kinda look a bit Scottish and all the imperials have English accents. The technology 1700s England brought to Scotland is p similar in terms of relative development difference. Much love. Also can't believe people are saying they found Andor boring?? a show with good writing, amazing tension, beautiful set pieces, resounding lore etc. It's just nuts to me that people seem to keep demanding shit movies like 80% of the new MCU and dunk on that content then as soon as something different something refreshing and needed comes out they get mad it's not more of the exact same shit??

[@Possib1yurdaad]

"Packet of Crayons in their pocket." *Marine Corps intensifies*

[@ErebusXanti]

It is our sustenance 😅

[@Markevans36301]

Great analysis as always. The gut punch to me is that I've personally known each of these characters at some point in my life. The well meaning zealot, the go along to get along, the arrogant leader who looks down their nose at all their subordinates. All dangerous people.

[@Jociaoftrades]

I love when Generation Tech hosts the Alan show. It is my favorite.

[@lyracakes6912]

this is an amazing and thought provoking video I absolutely love it!! Really liked your take on how culture is the way we communicate with the world and how this is manipulated and stamped down by authoritarians. coming from an authoritarian country and learning about history in college, the parallels to our world are sooooo interesting and I love how Andor alludes to them!

[@JeffWiersma]

Per usual, your philosophical analysis which delves into sociology and politics is top notch.

[@angelagiilis3627]

Please continue to create this sort of content- insightful, empathetic, and intelligent- Thank you for bringing complicated concepts in a clear manner to facilitate conversations between fans- I always look forward to your presentations

[@lcflngn]

Allen, you almost made me cry with this one. What a freaking insane history we have had on this planet. In the words of a famous anthropologist I once knew “History is terrifying.” (She was 2 inches away from my face, so yep I was terrified.) No wonder we lake to stories to try to explain it. That said, recent sub so no idea where you had your education, but it was clearly a good one. I imagine you’re super happy with your awesome work now, and teaching undergrads would be grueling in so many ways in comparison, but it’s clear you’d be an amazing grad student in history, and a terrific professor. Maybe you’ve tried it already, and tbh it’s not a highly recommended job in this time (!), but man, as a teacher you’d blow your students away, obviously. Thanks for your amazing ideas/connections/thoughts. Lol, I think I figured out you’re a film student. Sry, not stalking. I just want you to teach history 😉

[@da_BemBem]

Quick correction; Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were not allies. They had a truce, but the Nazi's were running out of war material and, as you may appreciate, they had to open up a more profitable war front. Namely, they wanted the Ukrainian Oil Fields. The truce between the two was never more than pragmatic sharing of geopolitical ambitions for as long as it suited them.

[@dustinjones7458]

Pretty much every truce is like that lol So is every 'alliance' Countries do not have 'friends'.

[@da_BemBem]

@@dustinjones7458 yep. Just felt the correction needed to be made; so many myths about ww2 kind of obscure the reality of it, and many of them repeated on face value.

[@irishdc9523]

5:40 We actually know from history what it's like to have a private fire service. In Ancient Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus (in case that name rings any bells, he formed the First Triumverate with Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar) financed a private firefighting cohort made up of 500 slaves. When they arrived at a burning house, they would wait while Crassus would haggle with the owner to buy it at a hyperdeflated price. If the owner refused, they'd leave and let the building burn down. If they agreed, they'd put the fire out (which for Ancient Rome meant water buckets and chopping down adjacent buoldings to prevent it spreading), he'd rebuild it and lease it out to the original owner or new tenants. Unsurprisingly, this was one factor that made him "the richest man in Rome". While not as far as actively setting fires himself, it still shows the huge risk to public safety that a private fire service poses, which is why Rome would later fund its own state-funded fire brigades made up of trained freed slaves. Expanding that to the size of a state into what we now call a corporate republic, it's even worse. One of the best examples in our world is the East India Company. It was a conglomerate that had an army twice the size of the British army and its wealth measured in the trillions, surpassing the largest modern corporations. However, it was only sporatically profitable, corruption was rampant, it had to put down constant insurgents and mutinies, and when the Rebellion of 1857 eventually happened, some of its own armies were the first to revolt. So while it does seem like a huge overstep by the Empire to immediately take over from Preox Morlana, it was going to happen anyway

[@Mikshvert]

The parallels to Russia are terrifying. I'm Belarus, and i have seen the exact same things develop in Belarus and Russia. The Outsourcing of politics to the government. The indifference to violence Indifference to oppression The non-verbal contract "Don't revolt, and government won't touch you". The indifference to exploitation of minorities. And casual racism. And just like this fictional empire it will fall under its own weight and the rapid inflammatory insurgency.

[@arounor]

Packet of crayons in the pocket 😂😂😂

[@faevoryn6578]

Another beautifully done, meaningful commentary, Alan. Bravo.

[@LukeBrady]

Excellent commentary. Thank you for creating this!

[@stephenstetler3324]

Brilliantly put together, thank you for this.

[@briane1116]

This was absolutely your best video yet. The real-life parallels were superbly-chosen

[@Melmac1756]

Fantastic, as per usual!! Apparently, there’s a reason you are my favorite channel on KZbin ! 🙏

[@johnw391]

I have lived in a state where if you did not pay the emergency service fees they would not help in times of need like putting your house out if it on fire or medical assistance

[@garethsmith8672]

Excellent commentary, Alan.

[@HellenixSWGoH]

Excellent episode! 👏🙂

[@dondunco2538]

Smooth intro Generation Tech, well done! Can't watch enough Allen. It's a great channel. Keep up the great work!

[@oliverwilson6665]

This is an amazing video. Well done!

[@TerranceChilds-ui8nh]

Thank you Alan for your informative video as always I can't wait to see another one from you please keep sending such informative videos thank you so much

[@maxw5156]

Beautiful as always

[@AC-youtube6384]

Your analysis is brilliant as always. Thank you

[@mikec3820]

the more you deep dive into the empire the more its like our own governments

[@ironsun27]

Great video my G

[@daverage4729]

A fantastic video. Excellent and well thought out analysis. Great stuff.

[@AhmedyassinMHaybe]

Dude your content is amazing honestly

[@KemetNubian1]

Another excellent analysis 👏🏿 👏🏿👏🏿

[@isajmody2344]

Alan, dude, I'm sending you my cleaning bill for making me spit my drink across the room for the crayons in pocket for sustenance comment. 😂🤣

[@yahaaa1343]

I don't know what got into you but it's wonderfull to behold. Thanks for the vid.

[@tigerbballer44]

Love your takes on these things

[@elishaisrael]

Your best video by far that I’ve seen so far. Extraordinarily astute observations about social structures

[@cafeapaka7501]

Love the Channel - on my list of must watch - Analysis here is insightful and engaging. Please bring back your usual introduction "Hi I'm Alan" - there is comfort in consistency - it is, I believe part of the charm of your persona, plus my wife loves it when I do the, "Hi I'm Alan" impression - we wait for it every post - seriously, thank you for what you do - the work needed to prepare and maintain your channel is a sacrifice we appreciate.

[@lis.anwell638]

These are all ideas I’ve had rambling about in my brain. It’s so wonderful to see you give such a coherent and cohesive amalgamation of my own thoughts. Thank you for the time and energy you put into this. 😁

[@marco.1983]

Love your videos!

[@arkhamsquire4503]

So excited for another episode of Alan

[@Icebartelby]

Great analysis never a truer word spoken👍

[@hurafloyd]

Your videos are effing brilliant man, you are the third youtuber Im often listening to.

[@M2Mil7er]

Good thesis. This has been the case in the UK for at least 40 years, but it seems like we're reaching a tipping point.

[@2345mat]

You earned my subscription

[@kevinmasch1211]

Great video. Have loved your videos but this one made me subscribe. Keep up the great content!!! Love your GT Shorts too!!!

[@faevoryn6578]

I love the shape of the ISB building. It is literally crooked -- inside and out.

[@federov100]

I’ve always been interested in galactic civilization as a concept. Asimov’s Foundation books originally sparked that interest. Which is why I had always been fascinated about the economics, logistics and politics of the Empire in Star Wars. It takes a mature, well-written approach to the Star Wars universe to flesh that out. Andor has been immensely satisfying.

[@thorpeaaron1110]

The Empire had so many opportunities to defeat the rebellion but blew em .

[@mikee1891]

Yeah- but it’s tough to defeat an idea. People are going to resist oppression and new rebellions would pop up. Look at the Roman Empire. Lots of groups stood up to them - and were wiped out - then other groups popped up as the Romans ticked them off.

[@HolyknightVader999]

If they defeated the rebellion way too quickly, people will start wondering what their large, oversized military is for.

[@RorikH]

@@mikee1891 Rome's kind of a weird example because so much of its downfall was due to constant backstabbing.

[@dustinjones7458]

It's always been implied the Emps didn't taken the Rebellion very seriously at all until the first DS blew up. It kept the troops sharp and provided boogeymen for them to blame things on, enemies to rally against, something to justify an endlessly accelerating military industrial complex. Just like "The War on Terror", right? It was controlled. It was only when people like Andor began to 'walk in their house and spit in their food' they really got scared. When their enemies organized under one banner rather than a hundred.

[@HolyknightVader999]

@@RorikH Your average Byzantine prince can overthrow Palpatine in a fortnight, but he wouldn't last long as an emperor himself.

[@specter7-1977]

“There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try.” -Karis Nemik

[@stevebreedlove9760]

I cant read this without tearing up. Freedom is a pure idea. Not the realm of a political faction but the unquenchable yearning for our natural condition in a world built on subjugation.

[@bobbywilliams9006]

Great video!!! Maybe your best!

[@briangrover873]

Excellent points Allen! and great insights about cultural wisdom.

[@josecintron2323]

Allen, it was a pleasure listening to your very wise and thought-out video. You succinctly spoke about what I too saw and believed in what Andor was about. We of course know the end of the Empire story but, decisions and mistakes were made early in their power grab, which you explained eloquently!

[@CaptainCampion]

Great video! Interesting bit about culture and its importance. Not surprising that The Empire's most capable leader (Thrawn) understood culture and used it to better understand (and potentially defeat) his enemies.

[@HolyknightVader999]

It wasn't just the Empire causing rebellions which caused its downfall, it was them straying from the will of the Force. The Empire lost not because of what it was doing, but because the Rebels had with them the will of the Force. Hence why the two victories granted upon the Alliance that broke the back of the Empire, from the Battle of Yavin IV to the Battle of Endor, were not won simply because of Alliance Military Might, but because of the will of the Force. The truth is, most of the galaxy was indifferent to the rebels' plight. They couldn't care less. For every Imperial who rebelled or deserted, 9 or more remained loyal or indifferent. It was the Force that gave the Rebels victory, not deserters or rioters. The former were nowhere near enough to make anything but the tiniest difference, and the latter get gunned down by the Empire faster than you can say "Alderaan". Yavin IV would've been a total loss if it wasn't for Luke Skywalker using the Force to aim down at the exhaust port before firing his torpedo. We saw what the other guy with a targeting computer did when he locked on to the exhaust port and fired; his torpedoes did not go down and just impacted on the surface. Without the Force, the Death Star would've just gone on to blow up Yavin IV and the Empire would've won. And on Endor, the Battle of Endor went badly for the rebels, until Emperor Palpatine was distracted from doing his Battle Meditation by the whole Luke/Vader battle. And if it wasn't for Luke and Vader taking the Emperor out, the battle would've continued to go badly for the rebels and they would've lost, since the Emperor would've been able to focus his power to help the Imperials win. He was kind of like their guardian angel, except he's crusty, mean, and has the face of a boiled cow hemorrhoid. The Empire was winning on every other front. Every time the rebels tried to confront them face-to-face, they lost. Every time they tried something, they either have to retreat within minutes or face overwhelming Imperial reinforcements. From every other point, the Empire was doing the right thing to win, logistically, militarily, and psychologically, and it would've just taken time for them to earn victory. The problem was, the Emperor grew too impatient and arrogant, and he risked his own crusty ass just to lure the rebels to one final showdown, where he became vulnerable to Vader and Luke working together to kill him. Had he survived on Endor, even without Battle Meditation, he could've easily escaped and rallied more Imperials to his side. He could've even summoned reinforcements to Endor from the other outlying Imperial regions, which would've spelled the end of the Rebellion, even if the Second Death Star gets destroyed.

[@GamerParent]

There's a very interesting real world parallel for Aldhani, and it's literally in the place that Aldhani was filmed - the Scottish Highlands. The Highland Clearances are very closely mirrored in the way the treatment of the locals is portrayed, the only difference was that the Highland Clearances were instigated by the local lord instead of by a foreign power (although the local lords had shared interests with English lords more than they did with the local people).

[@Atlas3060]

Palpatine: "Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational printer station!" Luke: "Don't you mean Battlestation? How are forms going to kill us?" Accountant: "His Death Star project went over budget, cutbacks had to be made. Mr Skywalker, please stand in the red line and fill out the following forms to properly resist Imperial rule..." Palpatine, pointing at the Accountant: "See Skywalker?! THIS is true evil, look at what I have to deal with EVERY. DAY."

[@JoshuaC923]

It's like a reflection of modern society, although there is no single emperor but corporations have turned many democracies into empires. Cue palpatine "I love democracy"

[@souldier128]

Great analysis Alan, probably one of your best. What stood out to me was the quote ‘Gently forced assimilation which turned into dependence’. Man that is scary. It’s similar to what what Luthen said about the empire strangling us so slowly we’re starting no to notice. These tyrannical regime that are in it fir the long game have methods we don’t see, because it’s a slow fade. How dependent are we now to the state for so many of our daily needs that they can turn us off with a flick of a switch, like the social credit system in China. The knowledge that was once common to us like growing our own food is now almost foreign. Anyway enough babble. Good analysis once again.

[@souldier128]

Another episode of Alan my names generation tech. I got it.

[@Starwarslegorob]

Your the best Generation Alan 🔥

[@Cosmic_Fury]

Looking forward to another episode of Alan.

[@jaybonkersbonkers3613]

It shows the difference between the empire power plays. The blue Berry corps fail to capture andor and few guys and a civilian gets killed. The empire end of the series, planet take over, a riot lage group of dead troopers and hundreds of civilians... And still failed to capture andor

[@dustinjones7458]

Of course the Corpos would have written it off as a bad op and canned the guys responsible. Ferrix keeps the lanes open and meets their quotas, right? The Imperials will send in a million troops and try to pacify the entire planet. I'm afraid for Ferrix in season 2...the Empire just don't go away because you hit one of them with a rock.

[@aaronmeinke8019]

Good video dude. Sub n like earned

[@alankelley811]

Hey Alan I was thinking about the spartan kick from the bell tower and had an idea for a video: all the epic action movies that andor borrowed from to create excitement towards the later episodes, contrasting the slow build up (which I didn't mind)

[@addisonchow9798]

What if Thrawn took control of the galactic empire after palpatine's death.

[@MsJuno]

Couldn't happen... Because racism.

[@elpinguinovolador4114]

It more than less happened but you know, the damn noghri had to do a stupidity

[@HolyknightVader999]

He did, and he still lost horribly.

[@darthutah6649]

I mean there is a difference between being a good general and being a good civillian leader but in real life, we have Napoleon.

[@thehuffpuff10]

Wow, this video taught me more about different government structures than high school.

[@nelsonbrandt7847]

Very insightful commentary on how art imitates life.

[@Milo-id9qd]

I think you have made a very good essay that applies to the present world situation.

[@louisinjoliet8546]

Thank you Alan and the team at GT. You are making me feel like the 10 year old 40 years ago pouring over the Star Wars books and magazines to drink in every detail. My prediction: Tarn is an honorable police officer who wants to bring Andor to justice. He has confused Meera's interest in Andor to be the same motivation. Once he realizes what she really wants is not justice, he will become some sort of agent for the rebel factions to find his redemption for assisting Meera.

[@shockgames23]

They could’ve used all the many specialist stormtroopers, air/spacecraft and probably would’ve seen more success

[@leonardstanway8332]

Did anyone else notice that he mixed up the introduction? "Hello, welcome to Alan. My name is Generation Tech."

[@ne0ge047]

I like how when mentioning the Death Star being destroyed you showed a clip from Independence Day 00:32

[@grayflaneur4854]

A good, solid analysis of what a slowly creeping empire will do to you.

[@chuckhoyle1211]

People can tolerate difficult and depressing lives without having revolutions if they don't think they are being treated unfairly. If everyone is in the same boat, and the boat sucks, then life is just hard. Take the middle ages. Life was difficult for everyone so there was nothing to really revolt against. Then you have the American Revolution and that happened because life was tough and the colonists thought they were being treated unfairly by the king. You need two ingredients for a revolution. 1) life has to suck for a significant number of people and 2) the people have to feel as though they are being treated unfairly. You don't see revolutions where life is pretty good or improving. People will tolerate oppression if they think their every day life is getting better.

[@strangerfreak5722]

We might not think it yet, but we desperately a Chief Inspector Hyne series. It should be a Chandler-esque thriller/detective series set on Curuscant and would be an ideal new project for Tony Gilroy once Andor season 2 is done. Make it happen Disney!

[@globalcitizen8321]

Minute 5:00 I couldn't agree any more... Having worked in both sectors, this is a key difference between the public and private business.

[@rickthorp8363]

Anyone else catch the Independence Day Alien Mothership explosion at 00:33 representing the death star explosion. Very clever little switcheroo lol.

[@semperanticusphotography3749]

Great break down! Tyranny is best advanced by the slow and systematic mundane endeavors; those "exciting" moments are usually mistakes or carefully planned examples of the force than can be used. Sci-fi remains a picture of yesterday, a mirror for today, and a projector of what may be tomorrow.

[@methos-ey9nf]

"E11 and packet of crayons for sustenance" HAHAHA Allen must know some marines.

[@look4lec]

"Privatization of what should be public sphere jobs, usually leads to more efficiency and cost savings" Not really, many things that other countries have a public goods cost less than in the US with better outcomes and efficiency. (Internet, Transportation, Healthcare). In 2020 the US paid military contractors $439.4 billion. That's more than the top 5 other countries' budgets combined. (edit: on their entire military, not just contractors.) edit 2: you did mention healthcare and safety so props for that, contractors are mostly overhead though, cut corners, and skirt regulations because they are beholden to their shareholders.