A detail from season 2 of “The Mandalorian” secretly prepared the First Order much better than I thought

A detail from season 2 of “The Mandalorian” secretly prepared the First Order much better than I thought

Summary

  • “The Mandalorian” subtly sets up the sequel trilogy by exploring the origins of the First Order through the Imperial remnants.
  • Moff Gideon’s smaller ship points to the absence of Star Destroyers in the Imperial Remnant and their importance to the First Order.
  • The Imperial remnant held Star Destroyers in the Unknown Regions to expand its power and form the foundation of the First Order.



The Mandalorian did a lot to explain the First Order’s rise to power and the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, but a small detail in Season 2 secretly set up the sequel trilogy even more effectively. The First Order was the main antagonist of the sequel trilogy of star Wars Films, but these films only briefly touched on the group’s origins. Instead star Wars shows how The Mandalorian have examined the origins of the First Order in detail and explained that it emerged directly from the Galactic Empire through the Imperial Remnants.

The Imperial Remnant was instrumental in the founding of the First Order, but The Mandalorian has achieved much more than that. The Mandalorian Season 3 brought the idea of ​​Project Necromancer, the plan to resurrect Emperor Palpatine by creating a clone that could carry his essence, into the New Republic era. star Wars timeline. The show was also indirectly responsible for the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, as The Mandalorian‘s popularity allows Ahsoka to tell this story. While The Mandalorian The First Order is very commendably constructed, there is one easily overlooked detail that makes these explanations even better.



Star Wars subtly confirmed that the Imperial remnants had no Star Destroyers

Moff Gideon's Arquitens-class cruiser in season 2, episode 8 of The Mandalorian

In the final of The Mandalorian Season 2: Din Djarin and his allies boarded Moff Gideon’s ship to rescue Grogu. Interestingly, although Gideon was one of the most productive officers of the Imperial Remnant, he did not command a Star Destroyer, but the much smaller Architects-Class Light CruiserBeaumont Kin, a historian of the universe, noted that Gideon was not the only one to command such a small ship, but that most of the Imperial remnants active in the galaxy at the time did the same. Kin further explained this in Chris Kempshall’s “Star Wars: Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.”


What is interesting when considering the Imperial remnant forces that existed on the fringes of New Republic space prior to the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn is the lack of major capital ships… Where had all the remaining Star Destroyers and other ships gone?

Fortunately, Kin also provided an answer to the question of where the Star Destroyers were during The Mandalorian: They served as the foundation of the First Order.

The Star Destroyers were sent to the unknown regions


Following the Empire’s defeat at the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY (after the Battle of Yavin), a group of Imperial leaders fled to the unknown regions of the star Wars Galaxy map. They chose the Unknown Regions specifically because they knew they would not be pursued there and because they knew they could hide in the region until they had built up enough power to return to the galaxy.However, one reason for the isolation of the Unknown Regions was that no one really knew what was in them.

Beaumont Kin suspected that something dangerous was lurking in the region and that the Imperial Remnant had stationed their Star Destroyers there to protect them from such threats.

We have to wonder if the founders of the First Order may have taken most of their remaining military equipment with them when they fled the known galaxy. While it wouldn’t be enough to retake the galaxy, it could help them stay alive long enough to return one day.


With the safety of the Star Destroyers and the threat of the Unknown Regions as a hiding place, the Imperial Remnant was able to expand its power for decades. Leaving the Star Destroyers in the Unknown Regions likely also allowed the Remnant to build a power base in the region, which would eventually grow until it became the First Order.. Therefore, The Mandalorian subtly explained exactly how the Imperial Remnant was able to operate on a small scale in the mapped regions of the galaxy while keeping the bulk of its forces hidden.

Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon in season 3 of The Mandalorian

Moff Gideon

As an important and influential member of the Imperial Shadow Council, Moff Gideon was personally responsible for the purge of Mandalore. Moff Gideon deliberately spread reports that Mandalore was uninhabitable, claimed the world in secret, and began efforts to extract the precious Beskar. Moff Gideon’s ambitious attempts to clone himself were thwarted by Din Djarin, and he died when the Mandalorians reclaimed their homeworld.


The subtlety of Moff Gideon’s Architects-Class cruiser highlights two of the best things star Wars. If a new story leaves a question unanswered, such as the sequel trilogy not fully explaining how the First Order came to be, it is almost guaranteed that another star Wars The story will answer that question at some point in the future. Moreover, Gideon’s ship is a great example of how infinitely detailed the franchise is. Something as simple as the size of a villain’s ship can become a very important part of the lore, a fact The Mandalorian has proven to be problem-free.

Upcoming Star Wars Movies

Release date

The Mandalorian and Grogu

May 22, 2026

Buy Dr. Chris Kempshall’s “Star Wars: Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire” at Amazon

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