Star Wars: Rogue One - 9 Ways It Actually Improves The Original Trilogy
7. Shows The Fragility Of The Rebellion
In the original trilogy, we're shown the Rebel Alliance as this plucky band of freedom fighters, valiantly fighting the good fight against an evil and tyrannical galactic power. They laugh, they joke, they pull themselves out of impossible situations without ever compromising their good-guy status.
The Rebel Alliance in Rogue One is a rag-tag band of thieves, criminals, armchair generals and murderers. They lie, they steal, they meet in shadowy alleyways and kill innocent men to cover their own tracks. They are desperate, fractured, and at times feel like they're clinging on in this war by the skin of their teeth. Their leaders argue, and panic, and cower, and the film's protagonists quite literally have to go rogue in the film's final act.
Previously you could have been forgiven for thinking the two sides of the war were quite even - the Death Star being the Empire's trump card, swinging the balance of power - but here we're presented with a far more interesting paradigm. The Rebellion is suffocating under the weight of a galaxy-spanning Empire and are fighting tooth and nail just to survive.