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Or maybe he lied and he was waiting for the perfect moment to push the PORD to further his own personal agenda? The emperor probably doesn't care about a little heist or some money. He is doing Dark side stuff. I think Yularen lied.
The importance of this scene cannot be overstated. The Emperor surgically stripping rights away over decades. Aldani was just one of the last straws he needed
It was a perfect catalyst he needed to further cement his power culminating w/ the Death Star to permanently transform the galaxy into a tyrannical order.
True, but he was also sowing the seeds for his ultimate downfall. All leaders inevitably forget the lesson that all leaders should always remember: at the end of the day, a leader's power is ultimately subject to the consent of the governed. By creating an ever more tyrannical system, it's true that Palpatine can maintain control more easily, but it also means that more and more people will recognize that fact and seek to destroy the system to regain their freedom. The Empire clamping down at the slightest infraction makes them look strong, but it actually advertises their weakness in that they can't wield power like a scalpel, but instead use it like a hammer... and the Rebels couldn't ask for a better recruitment tool. To tie it into contemporary events and date this comment, you have only to look at a figure like Osama bin Laden; perhaps the most well known terrorist in history, but the overblown response that the US and its allies had to that attack, curtailing liberties, creating a police state that persists to this day, and enacting the so-called "War on Terror", instead of just sending a couple platoons into Pakistan weeks into the Afghanistan war when it was clear he'd fled, created enough domestic discontent, hatred of authority, and mistrust of what's true and what's not that now 20+ years later, you have young adults who weren't even alive when the attack happened trying to turn bin Laden into the next Che Guevarra, and the only reason they might not is because the Tech Giants who run the social media that most people convey ideas on will exert their imperial hand over what people are allowed to share for ideas. The more you clamp down in the name of control, the greater the attempt to break that control. If only a Sith could understand the necessity of a light touch.
@@LabTech41Sure, but this is a very, very overly rose-tinted and optimistic way to see the world. Which isn't really your fault, to be fair. This sort of viewpoint is omnipresent in not just the SW fanbase, but throughout most of the entire Western world. Of course people like you think this way; you live in a, relative to 99% of every person to ever live, utopia. The simple fact of the matter is that, by and large, these sorts of tactics work, and they work because of the human conditions inherent frailties and weaknesses. And all that aside, the show itself even shows and mentions this; the risk of the Empire being too powerful if given even a scant few more years or decades is terrifying to contemplate, in universe or out, and it's very, very fortunate for everybody in the galaxy that the Death Star(s) were destroyed before they could leave the cradle, because they represented everything Luthen and others feared might happen; the final victory of the Empire.
@@papapalps2415 I never said they didn't work, I said that they only work for a time... and that they end up creating their antithesis which inevitably destroys them. You can see it even now, with the US power structure trying ever more tyrannical and desperate measures to keep any reformist from gaining power and as they strip more and more rights away and commit ever more clearly illegal actions in the name of authoritarianism, the average citizen is waking up to that fact, and they're not going to support it.
Interestingly enough, aggravating Palpatine was precisely what Luthen was shooting for himself. He wanted the Empire to unleash its full fury so that the common folk of the galaxy would see its true colors, and therefore be provoked to the point where they would take a stand against Imperial rule.
"Use of any local custom, festival, or tradition as a cover for Rebel activity will trigger permanent revocation of Imperial tolerance.." I fken memorised this line and the way he said it because it's so good 😂
These ISB scenes were always a pleasure to watch - I especially loved Major Partagaz’s character. On the wrong side, but seemed like a good dude to work for. He didn’t appear to let power or emotion cloud his judgment.
@@Unadvised8849 this. Andor does a good job of presenting imperials as humans working a government job and increasingly having to take more extreme measures, rather than sadistic incompetent buffoons like every other piece of SW media has
Since the ISB is based on the Gestapo, do you think Partagaz is the closest person to representing Heinrich Himmler, or do you think someone else is based on Himmler? Also, doesn't Partagaz sound Portuguese?
I love the fact that we finally have a show where the Imperials are actually competent and foreboding. Just because they are the bad guys doesn't mean they have to be mindless brutes.
@@RE4PER in the clone wars some of the separatists are actually good, and some of the republicans actually evil. In Rebels, not all of the bad guys are just evil figures. Maul only wanted revenge on an old enemy, Thrawn wanted to settle piece in the galaxy and Kallus even joined the rebellion in the end. Thrawn is highly intelligent and outsmarted everyone else in season 3 with his tactics. He is extremely competent. He even got to kill an ancient force being. Kallus was really good at hiding his true identity from the empire, especially in episode 17. In the Mandalorian, Greef Karga was a bad guy at first, but then he changed.
@@Engille967 In Clone Wars the Empire was merely such in name only. In all reality none of season 07 featured it as we reference it today. It was clones doing clone shit under a different name. In Rebels the only loyalist imperial remotely competent was thrawn. Everyone else switched sides shortly after introductions. The Mandalorian had no antagonist. Not a single individual among the imperial ranks was anywhere near the realm of competence. It is universally agreed upon in the Star Wars community that The Mandalorian turned the empire into a worthless laughing stock not fit being called an antagonist.
That's the thing. These mid level ISB imps come across so much more imposing and frightening in this show than Thrawn does in Filoni's content. Because the writing actually lulls you into thinking that they could win.
@@NangDoofer it hasn’t happened yet. That’s why it’s not talked about having happened. But two people mention it’s going to. It will likely be next episode
The subtitles confirm his as Yularen. He's now in every pre-New Hope series - Rebels, Clone Wars and Andor. Edit: he's in disguise in Kenobi and Bad Batch 🤣
It did feel a little weird for yularen to talk in such a villain tone as I always considered him a chill dude from the comics and shows I’ve seen him in. On another note it seems my prediction that he was the head of ISB was correct :D
*This is true. Many of us were hoping for "Narrator Yularen" to speak. But, that's not the case with "this" version of Yularen. And might as well be the head of the ISB. I'll gladly take him running the show.*
@@justsomemandalorian7331 if we’re going by the book sources then that means yularen held the rank of deputy director of ISB along with the rank of colonel. It states that the general inspector by the time of scarrif was bozeden jeems and he wished to become deputy director; a higher rank than general inspector.
“The use of any local custom, festival, or tradition, as cover for Rebel activity will trigger permanent revocation of Imperial tolerance.” We know what happened at Ferrix. Something bad’s gonna happen, and the riots are gonna be a blessing compared to what’s to come.
I know it's not the "chill" Yularen we've seen from the clone wars, but I like this depiction of him in Andor. Yularen has always been an advocate and active member of fighting corruption since the days of the republic. Seeing as how he's now the colonel of the ISB, has to deal with a new rebel insurgency after fighting for years and is a veteran of the Clone Wars, AND now needs to root out any corruptive elements/ corroborators for the rebels, then yeah, I think him being a little ticked is justified It'll take some time to get used to the new voice now that Tom Kane has retired. Wish him the best
You can tell he and Vader are good friends with the way they both act. I can see them getting drunk on their off nights after a rousing round of executing traitors and incompetent buffoons.
They know eachother fully, the fact that Yularen speaks with the Emperor says much of his involvement within the cogs of the machine So yeah and him Vader probably have a deep respect of eachother. I'd like to see the two share a brief scene, just because so much shared history, I'd be fascinated to see the relationship as much of Vaders past with Yularen comes from his time as Anakin. Anytime that Anakin and Vader collapse on something it's of an automatic interest to many fans.
Really liked the cinematography used for the Empire. The shots and angles. Like Dedra adjusting her uniform, shining black boots on the floor. Really hammering home the Empire, for the most part, is run by professional people. 'Recruit so carefully, and demand so much' - Yularen They are not a joke. Unlike other SW content has shown. ISB has polish.
In the EU, A Class-One Offense was considered the highest level one could commit: High Treason, Conspiracy to Overthrow the Empire, Aggression Against Another Ship, Aggression Against Imperial Personnel, Treason, and Possession of a Cloaking Device. Penalties: 5-30 Years or Death.
I love it so much. The empire isn't stupid and recognizes this is part of a larger rebel scheme but are blind to the fact their response has already been predicted and anticipated by the actual rebels so the brunt of the boot coming down will be on Innocents instead to drive up rebel recruitment.
I just realized, the reason Cassian gets sentenced to prison for so long with no trial is *because of this*. All crimes with even an indirect effect on the empire are a Class I offense. I'm willing to bet Palpatine just wanted to use this as an excuse to build a slave labor workforce to build the death star.
I think after this, we could see Meero, fall, but be taken in by Thrawn after Partagaz recommends her similar to what happen to Syril. You can tell Partagaz likes her, but wants the most out of her. He sees the damage that happened on Ferrix and realizes she’s too valuable to lose, and sends her to Thrawn.
@@andrewxu3602Thrawn was given the rank of Grand Admiral after the battle of Batton hich took place between 2 and 5 years BBY, Andor takes place 5 years BBY so Thrawn is either Admiral or Grand Admiral at this point
This scene hit SO MUCH HARDER on the second watch. My first watch was "oh ok so now they're the main antagonist". My second watch was "oh shit, Palpatine himself just made the ISB into the most terrifying imperial power. They don't need blasters, star destroyers, or the death star. They already KNOW everything, and like in real life, like the CIA, that's actually terrifying."
From the 1995 Decipher CCG Card Game, Colonel Wulf Yularen: "Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) officer assigned to brief Tarkin. Also ordered to ensure absolute loyalty to the Emperor. Leader. Will stop at nothing to fulfill the Emperor's will."
@@Damienp3902 obviously a different actor on a soundstage is going to sound different from the original who recorded their lines in a booth, but you can tell based on the cadence and accent applied
@@Damienp3902CW Yularen was voiced as a cartoon character. Live action Yularen is presented as a real character, and his voice represents that. They still speak in the exact same way. The voice is just more realistic.
I always use subtitles when I watch something on streaming services, (And no it's not because I have hearing problems that's just what I do) but wow once I saw his name on the subtitles, I was *stunned* and then howled with satisfaction when he was on screen. And Gilroy said there aren't going to be any cameos in Andor.
*Same here. As soon as they showed his face, I instantly got excited. I'm so glad that they brought Yularen on the show. Maybe we'll see a young Agent Kallus & MAYBE a small mention of Grand Admiral Thrawn. I'm hopeful for both of those.*
It goes to show the absolute power of the ISB when a former Navy Admiral who now holds the technically lower rank of Colonel is meeting directly with the Emperor and receiving his personal reassurances for these rather at least on paper similarly lower ranking officers that they will have no issue in being given whatever Army or Naval resources they deem necessary for their operations
This scene is heartbreaking and sad, you now see that Yularen has become a villain and its contrasts with his past self, just goes to show how good Palpatine is good at twisting and corrupting people to his side.
@@beni2ccThat's how I see him, so it's strange to see people consider him to be "good". He's always been on the side of what he was told was right and wrong. Like everyone else in the galaxy, he was told the jedi were traitors and a threat to what he was told was "right", and so he did everything to protect what he believed in.
This scene was such a love letter to the portrayal of the Empire in A New Hope (or Star Wars 1977 as it should be called). ESB kind of changed the direction of the portrayal of the Empire
@@user-fu7zf4ck9z they were only terrified because failure equaled death for their superior, regardless of how much fault they had. But when they dealt with the protagonists, they were relentless. And Vader still made a point to cause fear among subordinates or cocky Imperials, such as when he tried to force choke Motti. The only reason he stopped is because Tarkin was his superior and ordered him too.
I know Robert Clarke saw Yularen as a Rommel type figure - a loyal military man who wasn’t ideologically part of the reigning inner circle, and not part of their crimes against humanity (or against sapience in Star Wars). And that idea of Yularen informed his Clone Wars portrayal as an honorable man. It never worked. Not with the job the character had. You can’t be Rommel with Himmler’s job.
Its a pity they cut Iceheart from canon. It would be interesting to see how the ISB, Imperial Intelligence and COMPNOR deal with the rebel scum.Still content like this is what makes star wars interesting for me.
"the only question we need to answer is how tight we can close our fist" "The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers"
“A tribute tax equal to 5 times the amount stolen from Aldhani will be levied upon any sector harboring partisan activities”? Is that it? For a regime that is modeled after the Third Reich, that seems somewhat lenient. Does anyone know how the Germans actually responded to towns or areas suspected of being connected to partisan agitation? On most occasions the Germans just hauled out men, women, and children from said towns and had them shot. It mattered not that many towns were only connected insofar as they were simply the closest in the vicinity to resistance assaults or insurrectionist movements. Often it was the policy to liquidate local populations in a number 10-fold to the amount of Germans killed in any partisan strike. And yes, this was a protocol for both the Wehrmacht and the SS. It’s been well established how ruthless the Imperial Armed Forces can be; so as the Imperial Security Bureau is meant to be a pseudo-SS, the mere imposition of a monetary duty seems to be a ridiculously sparing sentence.
The tribute tax is likely only the surface of it. It’d make sense that authority to commit all kinds of horrific reprisals is actually buried in the small print so that nobody notices. The empire isn’t just based on wartime Germany but a wide range of authoritarian stuff from the 30s/40s to the Cold War to Today and the way it’s depicted in Andor it still has to _pretend_ it acknowledges public opinion and the senate. A real world example would be a bill that passes in the US that has a small addendum that violates free speech protections but still goes ahead because it doesn’t _directly_ contradict it with a name like “The Anti-Freedom Law”. The P.O.R.D. In Andor is likely the same where despite being an obvious power grab, it goes through the proper channels like a republic era law to gaslight people into thinking the empire wouldn’t just raze entire planets on a whim.
It's likely meant to be impossible to pay or designed to trigger a refusal to pay it, which in either event could lead to the Empire having an excuse to crack down harder.
The level of acting, writing, directing and the show's overall production values are just amazing and a pleasure to behold. This scenes is think a perfect encapsulation of that.
I love the 'police procedural' tone of the ISB scenes. The fact that it's for the monstrous evil of the Empire doesn't come into it for them, but it does for the audience, creating a lot of delicious contrasts and all that. Embodied by Yularen himself, who a lot of fans saw as Clone Wars Narrator Cool Friend Guy... but as others point out, he started as a dude in A New Hope as part of the big Imperial meeting. This was always his fate.
He never was a “nice guy”, he just worked with Anakin. He worked for the republic’s intelligence service before, and it’s not like the republic is known for being ethical or fair.
No he doesn't. Yularen was always like this. He just couldn't get away with it under Republic law and kept his mouth shut to avoid causing internal conflict. It's especially noticeable when interacting with Jedi. He shows contempt of them, with the only one gaining his respect being Anakin.
Also, Palps doesn't control anyone with the force. Most of the higher ups were actually loyal to Empire. Best case is some were manipulated, but not controlled.
@@re1010 Yes, they were loyal, but Palpatine's influence made it a master-slave relationship. There's a reason you can hear Mas Amedda say "yes master" in Revenge of the Sith, and in the opera scene when he commands "leave us" to the other people in his box, they all immediately get up in unison in that creepy way. I thought everyone knew that...
Perfect way to trigger a military uprising against the government. Once someone in the military is expected to take physical action against a loved one - Or the military turning on the ISB. What do you think would happen if they tried to tell the DOD they reported to DHS or CIA.
The difference is that Palpatine holds supreme power, won that supreme power by popular vote, and inspires absolute fear and loyalty. The military is not acting against their own, there is a serious institution of racism and superiority complexes purposefully bred into them. As far as they're concerned, all of the worlds they're going to be slapping with these penalties and restrictions are primitive, second class peoples and societies. The Imperial Navy is going to be all too happy to answer to the ISB if it means wiping the rebellion off the face of a few planets. You're comparing American institutions when this would be far more like asking if the SS or the KGB would dare turn against the will of Hitler or Stalin in their heyday, after the political equivalent of Pearl Harbor just went off on their turf.
The events of Andor Season 1 are roughly concurrent with those of the first season of Rebels. I have to wonder if the suddenly tightened Imperial control on Lothal and other worlds was a direct result of this here. Plus, that bit about ISB officers being granted full access to military resources definitely comes up later with Kallus being able to move entire Star Destroyers at his request.
They put Palpy's face on the Empire to make it look evil, but time and again, when observed closer, they look like the good guys trying to keep order for all. Imagine a dark empath empress instead of a sociopathic emperor? Come on Disney, give us Empress Rey! Let her be the Sith'ari. EDIT: The ISB is awesome! I want a 17 season spin off!
@@JNB0723 No, the Empire is LITERALLY based on the Nazis. Like, George Lucas used the Nazis as direct inspiration for the creation of the Empire, and Palpatine's rise to power closely mirrors his real life counterpart's rise to power.
@@Isaacisaperson4677 no, it quite literally was not. George Lucas in the interview literally said that the empire was a representation of America and the rebellion was the representation of the Viet Cong
"Revocation of Imperial tolerance" is like the most evil phrase in this whole speech. Basically saying that every citizen living under the empire should feel grateful that they're not being harassed for no reason.
He looks good but to me Yularen had an old British look. Like a British officer in Zulu Dawn. This Yularen has a Near Eastern look. He’s a dead ringer for my grandpa from Armenia. He’s not bad. He’s great actually. Just being super critical because I geek out on details in Star Wars.
You mean all those competent Stormtroopers from... ... ... - checks the original trilogy - ... no... - checks Rogue One - ... ... no... ... ... huh... yeah, I don't think that's EVER been a thing :P they're LITERALLY trained as chaff, they've ALWAYS been trained as chaff Duh :P
I'm excited to see where this goes in S2 because this is where the ISB becomes properly part of the tyrannical order as a free reigning unchecked power. These kinds of regimes always need a law enforcement of that kind, with the only leash being that they remain loyal to the head of state. I like to imagine Darth Vader was part of that, keeping the orgs in line.
I love how he says that the isb has been given full control of the situation and while most will assume this is over the navy and the army those who know of the lore will realise that the isn has been given control of this instead of the i.i. (imperial intelligence) which is thier rival.
Help me Star Wars deepcut lore side of RU-vid: Is there an in-universe reason why Yularen says "I spoke with Emperor Palpatine" rather than "I spoke with His Imperial Majesty"? I get why they do this in shows for audience reasons (we need our Palpatine name drops!) but is there not a super-long wiki entry somewhere about proper terms of address in the Empire or is it that still, even after all this time, nobody has bothered? In the movies it doesn't really matter because things are exploding and ROTJ was written in the 80s... but now they are starting to do proper political and courtroom scenes, it just sticks out a bit, to me, a person who has watched too much historical drama. :)
*I feel like they do it more so to give Palpatine more of a focus as the Emperor himself because he has a name. He's not just called "The Emperor." This is especially done in these past what 2 or 3 weeks by saying his name Palpatine versus just the Emperor because everyone knows who he is. He was a mystery for many fans during the original trilogy. But the prequels & even here on Andor, gives the audience a viewpoint of, "The main cast who play these key political roles & other key characters, know his name. Not just his title."*
@@starwarsunlimiteduniverse So the show is set in 5 BBY, yeah? Which means Palpatine has been Emperor for 14 years at this point. And yeah - it's not like they have a tradition of a galaxy-wide nobility with centuries of pomp and ritual... but monarchies tend to accumulate all that crap around themselves really quickly. Since we're talking "first Emperor after the fall of a Republic" I thought maybe the writers should just say screw it and copy Imperial Rome and to some extent Palpatine is like Augustus, in that he manipulated himself into absolute power while pretending to be defending the Republic. And Augustus mostly gets referred to as "Augustus" or "the Augustus" because he was unique, there was no need to call him "Emperor Augustus" because the only person who was emperor was Augustus. Of course, George Lucas couldn't be assed researching anything about emperors and how empires form, so he just made "Palpatine" the dude's last name without thinking about the way that all monarchs, everywhere, use their first names, or choose an entirely new name. The fact that "Palpatine" doesn't mean anything and is just the guy's name is what makes it so hard for the writers today. Hell, Augustus himself took years working on his name - for the explicit propaganda reason of not giving anyone ammunition to say he was just another Julius Caesar... even though he was Caesar's (politically-legally) adoptive son. That Palpatine would just say "right, order 66, I'm Emperor now, y'all love it" is... well I get the film has been going 2 hours by that point so... okay. All of which makes me realise ROTJ had it right, and had it clean, by only referring to him as "the Emperor"... unless you are Darth Vader in which case you call him "my Master"...
These scenes at the ISB have better dialogue than all the other recent star wars trash put together. Why couldn't Thrawn have been given the care, intelligence and dialogue that Major Partagaz was give. Thrawn is a pompus, idiot in Ashoka.
*I want to believe that is because Palpatine hasn't fully established his reign & how he wants the galaxy to view him since he's super early in power. At least, that's how I see it. Until he does that, many are still used to simply calling him just Palpatine & not "The Emperor."*
Puppet senate (controlled democracy)? Check ISB = FSB? Check Insane surveillance? Check Harsh crackdown on any sorts of activity that is deemed rebellious? Check
@@mingQWERTY Yep. This 🙌🏻 Good point. I've noticed those similiraties too. I live in Finland that's next to Russia. It feels like as if Deathstar was close to us and could do anything to our country in any second. They're already spied our nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants with drones. My whole family compares Palpatine to Putin.
Dedra Meero has understood that the Empire threw itself in the trap set by Luthen Rael, whom she doesn't know for the moment. Will she understand the complete the grotesque nonsense of the Galactic Empire?
Dedra Meero is the only one to recognize what the heist on Aldani really was, an announcement and an announcement of power, the rebellion showing the Empire what they can do to make it so that the Empire will know that they are a threat, and tyrants always fear that to their power, because if they can be beaten they why should they be fear and tyrants always rule out of fear, so making a tyrant fear is the beginning domino to topple them. I'll let V say what this all proves “People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
I have one quibble - a nitpick, to be sure - and maybe someone with better knowledge of current lore can clear it up: Yularen fully calling him "Emperor Palpatine" instead of "the Emperor" feels a bit off to me. Not as far as his character is concerned, but more so along the lines of how Palpatine would relate to virtually everyone, even Vader, at this point in time. I'm also reasonably sure the original trilogy never mentioned him by name, only by title (I don't recall if Lucas had given him a name at the time).
According to canon Yularen met his end at the first battle of the Death Star. I'm hoping that might be changed, and he survives through the Galactic Civil War and through past the Resistance/First Order conflict, to meet up with Ahsoka.
*I wouldn't mind that happening to be honest. Stories keep getting shifted around all of time which is why I don't focus too much on canon vs non-canon from my own perspective.*
I'd be perfectly ok if they changed Yularens death. Find him to be a pretty interesting character considering he's been there since the very beginning. One of few whose been major players in both the republic and the Empire.