In the wake of the Andor season 2 finale, Star Wars fans have noticed a detail in Rogue One that casts part of A New Hope in a more heartbreaking light – and it involves the Death Star destroying Princess Leia's home planet of Alderaan.
"In A New Hope, when Leia is forced to watch Alderaan be destroyed, she reacts with horror and surprise (valid reaction)," one fan wrote on Reddit.
"But there’s a second part to this I never realized until I just watched Rogue One again," they continued. "She was present at Scarif. She saw the effects of the Death Star there. She was not present at Jedha, but I’m sure she heard of the aftermath. So in her mind, as Tarkin gives the order, she’s expecting a big explosion on the surface and a lot of people to die. And then her entire planet just vaporizes in a second, right before her eyes. Completely subverting not just her expectations, but the Rebellion's."
Leia is in a nearby ship when Scarif is destroyed by the Death Star at the end of Rogue One (killing Cassian, Jyn, and everyone else), just after the rebels manage to transmit the plans for the superweapon, including the vulnerability added to its design by Galen Erso. Later, in A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin orders that Alderaan is destroyed, too, as a warning to the Rebellion.
"It's wild to go from the drama of Rogue One showing the Death Star looming over Jedha and Scarif, people reacting from the ground, detailed, up-close destruction of the planets' crust rending apart as the music swells… to Alderaan instantly turning into a stock footage explosion that the camera only lingers on for about four seconds with almost no fan fare," another fan replied, although others agree that this in part due to CGI getting more sophisticated in the 40 years between the first Star Wars movie and the 2016 prequel.
Disney Plus series Andor recently filled in more gaps about the birth of the Death Star and laid the groundwork for the Rebellion's plan to destroy it – which led fans to realize that the superweapon was only used a handful of times after decades of planning and building.
Andor season 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus. For more on the show, check out our Andor season 2 review or our guide to the Andor season 2 ending explained.
