A new fan theory regardingStar Wars: Andorand the franchise as a whole brought up the idea that Emperor Palpatine’s methods of controlling the populace may run even more subtly than previously thought. According to this idea, his nefarious influence manifests not just in how he manipulated the Senate into supporting him, but also through the very weather on the planet of Coruscant itself.
It may sound farfetched, but there’s some merit to it. Those who have been enjoyingAndorhave noticed how Coruscant, the planet-spanning city and center of government for the galaxy, is playing a pretty substantial role in the show. Characters likeGenevieve O’Reilly’s AOC-inspired Mon Mothmaand Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael have been spending most of their time in theStar Warsseries on the planet, and they’re not the only ones. Knowing how many powerful people stay there, it would make sense that Palpatine would want some way to exert his influence at all times, even in less-noticeable ways.
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That’s where the ever-creative minds of Reddit come in. On theStar WarsSpeculation subreddit, user Mr_rairkim offered a fascinating idea as to why the sky on Coruscant is always so overcast during the time ofAndorand many other points set after the prequel trilogy. “Palpatine is purposefully making everyone depressed on Coruscant by manipulating the weather controls,” they presented in the post title, before continuing with the full theory. “Coruscant was so vibrant, with neon signs. Beautiful colorful skyscapes and sunrises, and sunsets were common. There wasn’t a scene in the prequels where the sky didn’t look beautiful.”
“But Coruscant must have an artificial weather control system,” Mr_rairkim continued, referencing a real system introduced in one of themanyStar Warsnovels. “Now it’s always rainy and depressive. Not only is he directing the architecture to be utilitarian and depressive. He is also setting the artificial weather controls so that most of the time you can’t see the sunlight. Because that reminds him of the light side of the force.” Not only is this plausible, given how intricate and detailed Palpatine’s methods tend to be, but it’s also extremely on-brand for how much the Emperor clearly loves drama.
This is the same man who dueled Yoda while gleefully cackling like a giant gremlin and shouted “unlimited power” when he killed Mace Windu (or at least set up an eventual grandcomeback by Samuel L. Jackson as Mace). Combine that with his refusal actually to die when killed, and baby, he’s got a stew going. Using artificial weather to inflict Seasonal Affective Disorder on an entire planet just to make them less likely to fight back is probably the most Palpatine thing that Palpatine could do.
Of course, it’s all just a theory.Star Wars: Andoris a pretty visually dreary show just by design no matter what planet it’s on. So that could just be a stylistic choice by showrunner Tony Gilroy and his team. Still, this isStar Warsafter all. Any self-respecting fans are all but required to come up with backstories for everything, and apparently, that includes the sky as well.
