Warning: There are mild spoilers ahead for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
The first Thursday showings of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" are over, so let's talk about the movie!
While you're still gushing over that awesome Darth Vader sequence at the end or are arguing over whether or not Grand Moff Tarkin should have been brought back as a CG character, eventually, you're likely to come to a simple realization about Disney's first standalone "Star Wars" movie.
Though the main plot of the film follows a group of rebels who rally together to steal the Death Star, let's be honest. "Rogue One" is just a way to justify one of the biggest jabs at the franchise — why would a powerful weapon like the Death Star have any flaws in it?
Many jokes and videos have been made at the expense of the architect who decided an exhaust port which led directly to its reactor core was necessary on the giant weapon. It's the space station's small two-meter opening which allows Luke Skywalker to use the force to destroy the station in "A New Hope."
While some fans have defended the exhaust port as a necessary ventilation shaft, many more have mocked it as a "stupid design flaw." It was even part of a bit on a special "Star Wars" episode of "Family Guy."
Well, "Rogue One" introduces us to the very man who added that exhaust port to the Empire's secret weapon.
And guess what? It was on purpose.
In a hologram message, scientist Galen Erso tells his daughter Jyn he added the exhaust port to the space station as a flaw for someone to one day find (*cough* Luke Skywalker *cough*) and use to destroy the weapon.
Seriously.
Erso was heartbreakingly taken from his daughter at a young age by the film's villainous director of advanced weapons, Director Krennic, to work on the Death Star for the Empire. It was something he wanted no part of and to get back at the Empire, he put a flaw in the dangerous planet-destroying weapon.
After years of no contact with his daughter, their relationship became strained. Unaware of his true intentions while working with Krennic, it appears as if Jyn would rather forget and distance herself from a father who is labeled as an imperial scientist until she receives his message.
Here's part of Galen's dialogue from his hologram scene:
My love for her [Jyn] has never failed and I have missed her. Jyn, I can't imagine what you think of me.
He goes on to say that he refused to take his own life because it wouldn't have served any purpose other than to relieve him of his duty.
"I learned to lie," he continued. "I made myself indispensable. I've placed a weakness deep within the Death Star ... so deep [it's] hard to find."
So for anyone who has ever been making tiny jabs at the ill-designed Death Star, "Rogue One" has an explanation to settle the debate once and for all. You may get a bit misty-eyed over Mads Mikkelsen at the same time.
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is now in theaters.
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