A Different Take On Rogue One: Darth Vader’s Master Plan
This post contains Rogue One spoilers — you’ve been warned…
There’s a part of this outstanding movie that doesn’t make sense to me: What the hell is Darth Vader up to? Yes, the easy read is that he’s showing up just in time to get the Death Star plans and kick some serious ass… but there’s also a different way to look at his role in this film.
Consider this dialog (emphasis mine):
Darth Vader: You seem unsettled.
Orson Krennic: I delivered the weapon the Emperor requested. I deserve an audience to make certain he understands its remarkable… potential.
Darth Vader: Its power to create problems has certainly been confirmed — a city destroyed, an Imperial city openly attacked?
Orson Krennic: It was Governor Tarkin who suggested the test.
Darth Vader: You were not summoned here to grovel, Director Krennic.
Orson Krennic: No, it’s…
Darth Vader: There is no Death Star. The Senate has been informed that Jedha was destroyed in a mining disaster.
Orson Krennic: Yes, my lord.
Darth Vader: I expect you not to rest until you can assure the Emperor, that Galen Erso has not compromised this weapon, in any way.
When I first saw the movie I thought this scene was simply Krennic’s effort to grovel for power over the Death Star… but then Vader flat out says he was summoned. Which doesn’t really make much sense, does it?
Then Vader tells Krennic to make sure the emperor believes that there is no problem with the Death Star. Again: this doesn’t make sense.
Unless Darth Vader wants the Death Star destroyed. I kind of think he does. It’s the only thing that makes sense here.
Don’t Be Too Proud Of That Technological Terror
Vader has never really cared for the Death Star. Consider this scene from Episode IV, when Motti suggests that it’s more powerful than the force:
Motti: Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they’ve obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it.
Vader Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Motti: Don’t try to frighten us with your sorcerer’s ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels’ hidden fort–
The Death Star is a threat to Vader’s power. It can destroy planets and Vader doesn’t like the idea that he’s not needed anymore.
Motti isn’t the only one. Tarkin takes shots at Vader whenever he can (emphasis mine):
Darth Vader: He is here.
Governor Tarkin: Obi-Wan Kenobi? What makes you think so?
Darth Vader: A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master.
Governor Tarkin: Surely he must be dead by now.
Darth Vader: Don’t underestimate the Force.
Governor Tarkin: The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that’s left of their religion.
It seems fairly obvious that Tarkin and his minions don’t think much of Vader anymore now that they can blow up planets.
Strange, Subtle Symbolism
When I first saw Rogue One I thought that it was a bit odd that there were so many overt references to Vader’s ominous breathing. Consider the first time we see adult Jyn:
The very first thing we hear is her breathing… a deep, almost mechanical sound. She then sits up and looks over at her cell mate who does the same. An ugly creature with a deep, raspy breath. Normally I would think this is simply scene-building… but so much time is taken here.
And then we have Saw Gerrera. His character is a bit 1-dimensional in the film, but he has a very interesting scene in which he takes a long, mechanical breath from his breathing tube and it almost hits you over the head how much he sounds like Darth Vader.
He then says something that made me ponder something (I don’t have the exact quote… this is from memory):
And today… of all the days… you show up
Is There More To Jyn Than We Know?
I have a bad habit of seeing the Dark Side in everyone. I won’t go so far as to suggest that Jyn is some kind of dark jedi… but you have to wonder. Before we get to that, consider why this could be the case.
Vader wants to crush the rebellion, but he wants to do it. The Death Star is not only in his way, it’s also causing him to lose a lot of power. What if he could concoct a plan where 1) the Death Star is destroyed and 2) the rebels are crushed?
A simple way to do that would be to leak the plans for the Death Star, along with its weaknesses, which would draw the rebel fleet into an attack. You could crush them and the fleet at the same time.
Yes yes, I know… it seems far-fetched. But consider this:
The Rebel Alliance didn’t want to go after the plans or the Death Star and Jyn tried to convince them. They still said “no”, so she did it anyway.
Jyn has some serious skills that we don’t get to see too much of. She manages to take out 5 or 6 storm troopers on her own with nothing but a stick:
Later on in the scene she shoots a storm trooper without even looking. She’s more than just a good fighter. Her skills at fighting are only rivaled by Chirrut, who’s force-adept but not a Jedi. In a way, he’s her equal in the story line.
Vader could have blown the admiral’s ship out of the sky to ensure the plans were destroyed — but he decided to go aboard the ship himself. You could read this as his incompetence, or that he was ensuring the plans got off safely. If he’s aboard, they won’t blow the ship up.
There’s nothing to suggest that Jyn is somehow working with Vader on this whole thing, but it does make more sense in terms of a plot. We don’t know anything about her really — just that she was left behind by Saw Garrera somewhere.
This made her more than a bit angry, as we saw in the film. The daughter of the Death Star engineer… orphaned, angry and alone.
Nah. I’m sure it couldn’t be.
Those pesky plans!
It’s hard to reconcile just how bad-ass Vader is in the final scenes with the notion that he just can’t seem to find these Death Star plans!
Meanwhile, Tarkin, Krennic, Motti and the Death Star all get blown to pieces. Nice and clean.
I expect you not to rest until you can assure the Emperor, that Galen Erso has not compromised this weapon, in any way.
Rob Conery is the author of The Imposter’s Handbook and thinks about movies way too much.
