The latest Star Wars title to hit Disney Plus is Andor, a prequel series to Rogue One that follows the titular character Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. More mature than other Star Wars projects before it, Tony Gilroy's Andor takes fans into the not-so-seen pockets of the galaxy far, far away giving more insight on the inner workings of the Empire and the rising Rebellion.

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Andor sees the return of Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) attempting to protect freedom, while introducing new heroes and threats like Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) secretly organizing the foundation for a rebellion, and Imperial Security Bureau, or ISB, supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) connecting the dots of rebel activity. Andor provides a chilling new ground floor perspective of Star Wars as the Empire tightens their grip on the galaxy.

Falsifying Prison Sentences

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Image via Disney+

Andor takes audiences behind bars as the prison industrial complex fuels the Imperial war machine. At the end of episode 7, "Announcement" Cassian is arrested for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. False charges with no evidence, no trial, and no ability to defend yourself without getting a resisting judgment charge, Cassian is unjustly sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Arriving on Narkina 5 the prisoners are subjected to a strict regimen to manufacture mechanical parts for what was is later revealed in the finale's post credit scene to be parts installed into the Death Star's Superlaser. The prisoners are treated like droids on an assembly line, however Cassian explains they are far cheaper than droids and easier to replace. The final twist of the knife is when the prisoners realize their sentences are being extended, released prisoners are being recycled back into different blocks, and it becomes evident that the Empire has no plans of letting their slave labor go.

Torture Tactics

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Image via Disney+

A New Hope introduced the Empire's use of torture in their interrogation tactics; questioning Leia (Carrie Fisher) before sending in an Interrogation Droid armed with a needle and in Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo's (Harrison Ford) screams can be heard as he's lowered onto a sparking mechanical bed. Andor added to the Empire's arsenal of torture tactics as seen in episode 9 "Nobody's Listening" when Dedra Meero orders the torture of Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona).

During Bix's interrogation Doctor Gorst (Joshua James) explains how the Empire exterminated the disgruntled natives of Dizon Fray, and that the Dizonites make a surreal pleading sound when they die. Able to record this horrific sound and isolate a section of screaming children, they found it causes psychological torture to anyone who hears it. It doesn't even matter if it was in fact children, its just revolting to think the Empire is capable and willing to harness the dying screams of children as torture.

Beyond Order 66

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Out of the ashes of Order 66, the First Galactic Empire was born. For decades Sheev Palpatine (Ian McDairmid) orchestrated a plan to wage war from both sides, manipulating his way into power that culminated with Order 66 and the extermination of the Jedi Order. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine announces the supposed Jedi plot and formation of the Empire to the senate, declaring the first act would be to hunt down and destroy any remaining Jedi.

On the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the exiled Jedi meets a young Jedi-survivor, Nari (Benny Safdie), who has also been in hiding on Tatooine since the start of the Jedi purge ten years ago. Kenobi's advice to keep his head down and stay quiet unfortunately fails, as even the slightest evidence of Nari's force use attracts the attention of three inquisitors and Nari is publicly executed by the Empire.

Enslaving the Wookies

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Image via Lucasfilm

After the creation of the Empire the Wookies were classified as a sub-sentient species, sidestepping any dilemma in enslaving them as animals. The Wookies were torn from their families and shipped off their home planet of Kashyyyk to work in labor camps across the galaxy.

This can be seen with Chewbacca, who's a prisoner of the Empire in Solo: A Star Wars Story, before escaping with Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich). Later in the film Chewie aids a young slave Wookie, Sagwa, while in the pilot episode of Star Wars Rebels, the ghost crew liberates a group of Wookie slaves, including children. The Empire's enslavement of the Wookies would continue through their reign, until Han and Chewie reclaimed their home planet after the Battle of Endor.

Genocide on Geonosis

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The Geonosians played a pivotal role during the Clone Wars, acting as a base of operations for the Seperatists, and manufacturing much of the droid army. However, that is not all the Geonosians helped build. Late scenes in Attack of the Clones shows Geonosian leader, Poggle the Lesser, revealing early Death Star plans, but their involvement in the battle station's creation would lead to their demise.

In order to keep the Death Star a secret life on the entire planet was exterminated with a poisonous gas. In the animated series Rebels, and the Star Wars comic Doctor Aphra, evidence of the wiped out Geonosians can be found as the entire planet shows no scans of life. The sterilization of Geonosis is a terrifying example of the Empire's lack of remorse to tie up loose ends by wiping out entire populations.

Killing Their Own

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The Empire has an infamous reputation to destroy anything or anyone in their paths, even sacrificing or executing their own soldiers and officers. This is most famously introduced by Darth Vader in A New Hope when he uses his force choke abilities to silence a criticizing Admiral Motti (Richard LeParmentier). In Empire Strikes Back, Vader would choke his Imperial victim to the end.

In the invasion of Hoth, Admiral Ozzel (Michael Sheard) was sloppy and came out of hyperspace too quickly, thus notifying the Rebel base on the planet surface. Annoyed at his incompetence Vader force chokes Ozzell to death while a frightened now-Admiral Piett (Kenneth Colley) looks on. It is clear that civilians and enemies aren't the only ones the Empire uses fear as a tactic, but on their very own subordinates.

The Ghorman Massacre

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Several Star Wars projects mention the Ghorman Massacre, including most recently in Andor where Mon Mothma is worried about the planet of Ghorman where the Empire has cut off supply lines to the native population. These mentions in Andor seem to take place before the infamous event that would become a final call to action for Mon Mothma.

In Rebels Season 3, Episode 18 "Secret Cargo" Mon Mothma publicly condemns the oppressive rule of the Emperor following the Ghorman Massacre. First mentioned in the official guide book to Rogue One this tragic event occurred when Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) arrived in his ship to a mass of Ghorman protestors and proceeded to land directly on top of them, squashing them to death. This is an all too literal act of the Empire stomping out any who oppose them.

Dissolving Democracy

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Emperor Palpatine is a patient villain, orchestrating his master plan from the shadows to manipulate his way into power. Starting off as an ambitious senator, Palpatine weaseled his way to become the Chancellor of the Republic and use the Clone Wars to take even more control. Order 66 saw the dawn of the Empire and further steps towards the lack of freedom. Jump to A New Hope and Tarkin explains how the senate is fully dissolved, and regional governors would now rule their sectors through fear.

Andor revisits the senate from Mon Mothma's perspective as democracy slowly erodes. Mon's character is a politician stuck in molasses as her efforts face frustrating stalemates and her words fall on deaf ears in an empty, echoing senate chamber. Palpatine manipulated his way up the ladder just to cut it off once he was at the top, and rule where no one could speak up or fight back.

Discarded Clone Veterans

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The Clone Wars effectively humanized the clone troopers who were CGI shells in the prequel trilogy. The animated series showcased a wide variety of clone characters while giving them all individual traits and personalities. This kind of development earned the clones more respect and sympathy from fans as they honorably fought for the Republic. However, when the Republic was reorganized into the Empire the clones were tossed aside.

Seen in The Clone Wars continuation series, The Bad Batch, the newly founded Empire is taking steps at replacing the clones with conscripted soldiers, or Storm Troopers. The Bad Batch is a special group of clones with altered traits that went rogue after Order 66, but when the cloning facilities on Kamino is sunk by an aerial bombardment the Bad Batch scramble to escape. Like the Geonosians, the clones were pawns in a scheme, only created to eventually be discarded.

Blowing Up Alderaan

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Image via Lucasfilm

Years of terror and violence lead up to the Empire's most evil action ever committed; the destruction of the entire planet of Alderaan. A peaceful and prosperous planet that was the home of Princess Leia and her adoptive father Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), but in one laser blast the residing population of 2 Billion Alderaanians were killed in an instant by the Death Star.

Now fully operational the Empire hoped the Death Star would be their final weapon to hold the galaxy captive, but their evil had already caused rebel cells to emerge throughout the galaxy. The vast number of genocides, public executions, tax bombardments, unjust sentences, slavery, colonization, and the oppression of the Empire had swept over the galaxy, but in doing so they inspired rebels in their wake. Intimate stories like the ones shown in Andor have only proved how the evil nature of the Empire brewed the very rebellion to come.

NEXT: 'Andor' Season Two Starts Filming