“Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
That quote was heard around the Star Wars world. Palpatine’s return, along with a massive fleet of starships, just didn’t sit well with many moviegoers. Couple that with the rise and fall of Snoke, and many of us fans were scratching our heads. These plot holes and other inconsistencies both plagued the sequel trilogy and raised the ire of a passionate fan base at the same time.
But, in comes the Holy Filoni (hallowed be thy name) and his trusty favorite Favreau. Many have hailed this power duo as the saviors of the Star Wars universe. With their work on shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and what seems to be coming for Ahsoka, we have hope for a better future in the Star Wars storylines.
Through the power of retcon, we are getting the issues fixed that are the result of poor planning and execution from the team originally leading the charge at Lucasfilm when these films came to be released. So far we have seen the importance of cloning and how that lead to Palpatine being able to return, somehow. That has also given us some insight into Snoke’s creation and rise to power, although more on each of these topics would help fans a great deal.
How does the Ahsoka series help with retcon?
Recent trailers for the Ahsoka series have excited fans, and not just because we see new characters and characters from animated series coming to live action. We see easter eggs of things that have been in video games or were only part of legends stories previously.
And as we see in the trailer for Ahsoka, there is something that appears to have come from the Knights of the Old Republic games. Many fans have commented on other websites about the comparison between the holographic orbs shown in the trailer and the Star Forge in the 2003 video game.
If it is truly the Star Forge we are looking at, and it is being brought to canon, then we are looking at the possible answer to one of the biggest plot holes in the Sequel Trilogy. In the game, the Star Forge was implemented by a very powerful race called the Rakata. The Rakata were strong with the Dark Side of the Force and they were a warring race of humanoid-like amphibians. They constructed the Star Forge to build ships from the power of a nearby star. The forge was an automated shipyard with infinite building possibilities.
So how does this help the issue of plot holes? If the Emperor, or his consciousness, possessed the power of the Star Forge, they could build a fleet of ships seemingly out of nowhere. It could be built out of sight and just appear, you know, like on Exegol. And since the Forge was a tool used by those wielding Dark Side powers, it would also make sense for Darth Sidious, or Emperor Palpatine to use the Forge. Legends stories had both Darth Revan and his apprentice Darth Malak both using the forge in varying amounts.
How this affects the future of Star Wars shows
But this isn’t the first mention of the Rakata in live-action Star Wars. The show Andor references the Rakatan people in a conversation between Cassian Andor and Luthen when talking about the blue Kyber crystal Luthen gives Andor. Luthen says to Andor that this necklace and its crystal “celebrates the uprising against the Rakatan invaders.”
Honestly, this possible inclusion of the Star Forge and the mention of the Rakatan people in Andor should excite Star Wars and provide hope for upcoming projects. We are watching mistakes being corrected in real-time. We are seeing the result of proper planning and knowledge of Star Wars lore.
These shows are doing for the Sequel Trilogy what the animated series The Clone Wars did for the Prequel Trilogy. If you put your way-back hats on, you’ll remember that the Prequel Trilogy suffered from many of the same issues. Plot holes and story inconsistencies were among the issues that fans brought up and still mention from time to time about the Prequels.
But, The Clone Wars animated series filled in the gaps and told the stories that the movies either did not or could not. At the same time, it explained the minor and major oversights of the movies without casting a negative shadow on them. I see these live-action shows doing the very same thing, but instead of being set in the same timeline as the movies, they are using the undefined era before the timeline of the Sequels to explain what was left unexplained.
Not only do we get a greater understanding of what is happening, but we get the inclusion of animated and video game characters, locations, and more. Things that were only in Legends before are being referenced in modern live-action works, making them canon.
So bring on the Star Forge. Let’s fill those plot holes …