The Mandalorian Season 2 Has Secretly Redefined The Empire

Summary "Long Live The Empire" was first said by Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, but it has since become the Empire's unofficial slogan in Star Wars.

The phrase represents loyalty to the Empire, not Palpatine.

Palpatine believed he was the Empire - this shift in loyalty would have angered him.

The Mandalorian season 2 secretly introduced an Imperial slogan that changed what it meant to be part of the Empire. The Mandalorian proved that, despite the Empire’s definitive defeat at the Battle of Jakku not long after the events of Return of the Jedi, the Imperial machine was still scattered across the galaxy, its most loyal and devious members still working in service of a fallen organization. As the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and The Mandalorian have shown, Palpatine entrusted the continuation of his life, legacy, and power to a few key members most loyal to him within the Empire.

The Empire was his, after all. Everything that the Empire did was part of his drawn-out, thoughtfully considered plan to obliterate the Jedi and take control of the galaxy. But as the Empire grew, it morphed into something even larger and more unhinged, and its members slowly became more loyal to the idea of the Empire rather than fearful of and loyal to Palpatine himself. Eventually, it grew even beyond the Emperor’s control, and one key but easily missed moment in The Mandalorian season 2 proves why.

Related The Mandalorian Cast & Characters Guide The Mandalorian has created a long list of new Star Wars characters and brought back some familiar ones, with an incredible cast to match.

"Long Live The Empire" Has Become The Empire's Slogan

In The Mandalorian season 2, episode 3, “Chapter 11: The Heiress,” two Imperial officers says “Long live the Empire.” Though it may not have seemed all that significant at the time, this phrase was later adopted by several other canon Star Wars properties, including the upcoming Star Wars show Star Wars: Tales of the Empire – in the trailer, it is Grand Admiral Thrawn who speaks these pivotal words out loud – Andor, and Ahsoka. Since being used in The Mandalorian season 2, “Long live the Empire” seems to have become the Empire’s unofficial slogan.

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Interestingly, “Long live the Empire” was first said out loud in The Mandalorian by Moff Gideon. Though it wasn’t yet clear at the time, Moff Gideon was later revealed to be working for himself, despite being in close contact with the Imperial Shadow Council – the council which, by all accounts, has been working diligently on Palpatine’s resurrection, otherwise known as Project Necromancer, during the time of The Mandalorian. Gideon, however, took the resources needed for Project Necromancer and utilized them for his own purposes, as depicted in The Mandalorian season 3. Moff Gideon’s usage of the “Long Live the Empire” slogan, therefore, is particularly telling.

"Long Live The Empire" Goes Against Everything Palpatine Wanted

Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Essentially, “Long live the Empire,” indicates loyalty to the overall Imperial organization rather than the man in charge of it. Emperor Palpatine believed he was the Empire, just as he believed he was the Senate. Without him, the Empire would no longer have a purpose, which is why he implemented Operation Cinder after his death. Operation Cinder ordered a series of attacks on various Imperial strongholds and resource-rich outposts, causing untold devastation to not only the planets themselves but to the Empire as a whole, too.

Palpatine wanted those who worked for him to be loyal to and fearful of him. In his opinion, the oppressive power of the Empire was nothing compared to the power of the dark side. However, as Palpatine’s ambitions grew, the Empire grew out of necessity, too. The more it grew, the further those within it became removed from Palpatine’s direct influence, and the more they began to see the Empire as a distinct organization. Palpatine would have hated the idea of Imperials pledging loyalty to the Empire rather than him, and he would have been angered after hearing Moff Gideon utter those fateful words in The Mandalorian season 2.