Star Wars' Latest Retcons Make One Story Absolutely Irresistible To Me

Star Wars has introduced a shocking number of retcons with very minor details in the brand-new canon game Star Wars Outlaws, and it makes one untold story in Star Wars movies and TV shows absolutely fascinating to me. Specifically, Outlaws confirmed when the Purge of Mandalore happened, placing it around 3 ABY. This means that this tragic event took place approximately one year before Return of the Jedi in the canon Star Wars timeline.

This surprising information has altered a number of Star Wars stories, ranging from Ahsoka Tano’s whereabouts in the original Star Wars trilogy to rewriting the end of Star Wars Rebels. However, these updates have also led to massive questions in the Star Wars universe, especially regarding events linked to the original trilogy. In particular, the new information provided in Outlaws raises serious questions about the Purge of Mandalore, leading to one Star Wars story I’m absolutely desperate to see on screen.

Why Did The Empire Bomb Mandalore… When Mandalorians Weren’t In The Rebel Alliance?

The Great Purge of Mandalore, also referred to as the Night of a Thousand Tears, was first mentioned in The Mandalorian season 1, and it has since been fleshed out even more in The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. This terrible event was a ruthless attack on Mandalore by the Empire, the death toll of which is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. However, this attack, particularly given the extent of its devastation, is surprising.

Notably, this attack targeted the entire planet of Mandalore, yet the Mandalorians were not predominantly associated with the Rebels. Yes, there were clearly Mandalorians who fought alongside the Rebels (Sabine Wren being a very prominent example), but there were also plenty of Mandalorians who supported the Empire. In fact, Sabine herself had first worked for the Empire, joining the Imperial Academy on Mandalore. Most often, though, Mandalorians remained neutral during the Galactic Civil War.

This makes this terrible onslaught all the more shocking. Presumably, Mandalore would not be a priority for the Empire as they were working to crush the Rebellion. However, it also seems as though Star Wars is changing the story of the Purge of Mandalore in the canon. After all, this information in Outlaws not only offers brand-new insights into the tragedy but also represents a full retcon.

In Ahsoka, the Purge of Mandalore was time-stamped as taking place just after the Emperor’s death and being linked to Palpatine’s disturbingly sinister Operation: Cinder, which was a contingency plan essentially meant to wipe out multiple planets, including those loyal to the Empire, following Palpatine’s death. However, now, Outlaws has suggested that the Purge instead took place about a year before Palpatine died, calling into question whether this was really linked to Operation: Cinder at all.

How Did An Imperial Moff Get Such Powerful Command Of Military Resources?

The Purge of Mandalore also extended beyond Palpatine’s story, as The Mandalorian revealed that Moff Gideon was also a key player in this terrible attack. Specifically, The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7, confirmed that it was Moff Gideon who initiated the attack on Mandalore. In fact, this was how Moff Gideon obtained the iconic Mandalorian Darksaber.

Early in the Purge, Bo-Katan Kryze had actually met with Moff Gideon, attempting to end the attack before it caused too much damage. Bo-Katan even offered to surrender, and, despite tricking Bo-Katan into believing they had reached a truce, Moff Gideon betrayed her and carried out the massacre. In addition to this revealing how sinister Moff Gideon was, this also came as a major surprise.

As a Moff, it’s more than a little shocking that Gideon would have the agency to have a planet destroyed by the military. If this was indeed Moff Gideon carrying out an order from Emperor Palpatine posthumously, in light of Operation: Cinder, that would almost explain Gideon’s ability to make this call. However, given how scrambled Outlaws has made this timeline, it’s unclear whether that was the case or whether Gideon truly had agency in this situation.

While addressing this question is certainly interesting and will no doubt need to be explored in upcoming Star Wars stories, presumably the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu movie in particular, there’s one Star Wars story tangential to this that I am much more interested in. Specifically, the Ahsoka show revealed that Sabine Wren blamed Ahsoka Tano for the Purge. However, it’s unclear why Sabine would put that on Ahsoka, particularly in light of this newfound timeline.

Why Did Sabine Blame Ahsoka For The Purge Of Mandalore?

Ahsoka surprised viewers (myself included) by revealing that Sabine Wren had become Ahsoka Tano’s Jedi Padawan at some point between Rebels and Ahsoka, despite not revealing Force-sensitivity prior to the new show. However, Ahsoka also proved that the former master and apprentice duo had clearly not had an easy time, as Sabine ultimately didn’t complete her training, and there seemed to be some bitterness on both sides. Fascinatingly, though, Ahsoka implied that part of the reason this master and apprentice duo developed bad blood was because of the Purge of Mandalore.

It’s heavily hinted in Ahsoka that Sabine partially blames Ahsoka for what transpired, which suggests that Sabine had some degree of warning or inclination about what was going to happen on Mandalore, but, for whatever reason, Ahsoka didn’t listen or didn’t act. Given Sabine’s status as a Jedi Padawan at the time, there are a number of reasons Ahsoka could have ignored a warning about such an event. For one, especially given Ahsoka’s history with Anakin Skywalker, it’s possible she had concerns that her Padawan was acting out of fear alone—the dangers of which Ahsoka had seen firsthand.

Related to that concern, Ahsoka may have chosen not to act because Sabine’s fears were undoubtedly linked to attachment. After all, Sabine’s family was on Mandalore at the time, and, tragically, they did die in the Purge. This would certainly explain Sabine’s animosity towards her former master. Potentially, Sabine blames Ahsoka for the death of her family.

Yet, this is only speculation, which makes me all the more eager for Star Wars to tell this story. In part, addressing why the Purge of Mandalore drove a wedge between Sabine and Ahsoka may clear up this now quite confusing timeline. Moreover, it would more fully address why Sabine and Ahsoka parted ways and what Ahsoka’s role may have been in the massacre on Mandalore. Perhaps the upcoming Ahsoka season 2 will finally reveal the lingering Star Wars questions regarding the Purge of Mandalore.