Rogue One [Official Info] Mads Mikkelsen (Galen Erso) in Rogue One

Thanks you, Mads, for a great (if not brief) performance in Rogue One! I would love to see an extended version of Rogue One, one day, with your character doing work on Kyber crystals or speaking with Krennic in better times. Great character!

 

I like that Galen has been given the middle name Walton. Just like The Maker!!

 

Thought Mads did a really good job as Galen, and I Judy wish we'd have seen more of him.

 

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2017/02/...gue-one-spoilers-reshoots-and-more-galen-erso

 

You guessed it!

 

Looks like you and Saw think alike.

 

"I have so much to tell you..."

Dies in Jyn's arms, and never gets to tell her.

 

No one even knew the name until he said "They call it the Death Star"..... loved that whole section of dialogue

 

The way he pronounced those words was odd. He was saying somthing like "We call it the Deehth Star" during the hologram scene. lol

 

It's not particularly odd. It's just a Danish accent...

 

Off-topic, but Mads Mikkelsen is in an upcoming video game by Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, "Death Stranding". Only two teasers sofar about what the game's setting and atmosphere will be like, but I love when excellent actors are used. Very provocative role.

 

I Loved the use of cross-cutting between Jyn watching her father's hologram, and the Death Star firing its Super Laser, in that scene. Hearing Galen's speech "They call it the Death Star, for there is no better name..." over the destruction of Jedha's Holy City is truly chilling, especially on the big screen.

 

Mads is great in pretty much everything but I think my favourite bit he does in the movie is the hologram message. It's a ton of exposition (well, not a lot for Star Wars geeks cuz we know what he's talking about) but he instills it with so much heart that it becomes fantastic.

 

Couple of things I've recently realized about Galen.

His character vastly undermines how we as the audience view the Empire and the confidence they have in themselves to rule the galaxy. When I was watching ANH recently, during the roundtable discussion on the Death Star with Vader, Tarkin, and the other Imperial Officers, as they discussed matters like what to do with Leia and how to utilize the Death Star, they talk in rather grandiose terms about themselves. How the Death Star is the ultimate power in the universe, how its operational functionality will allow them to be supreme rulers of the galaxy, and how they plan to use it to begin that reign. Thing is, that whole time I'm watching this dialogue play out, all I can think of was how Galen had intentionally placed a flaw inside of it, and how it's not really as powerful as they think it is. That's great and all, since it highlights their arrogance and ignorance to their own weaknesses. But at the same time, from an audience perspective, I feel like in a lot of ways we are supposed to believe in how the Empire thinks of itself as this overarching ominous force with the capacity to rule over the entire galaxy. Which in the end makes their initial defeat that much more impactful. But instead, as the audience, we now know all along what their weakness is, that it was placed there intentionally by one of their own, and that it will eventually be used against them.

Which raises another issue, that the Rebels knowing about this weakness and that it was placed there intentionally also kind of weakens their victory against the first Death Star. As opposed to, say, someone in the Alliance thinking up and formulating a mission based on his or her experience and knowledge, and the presumption that such a weakness in this type of super weapon is likely to exist. They carry out the operation to steal the plans, analyze the plans, figure out the weakness on their own, and do it in time for the Alliance to launch the assault against it. Don't get me wrong, it is honorable for Galen to have done what he did, and in war, any advantage that can be known about ahead of time should obviously be utilized. But in some ways, with Galen having intentionally put in this weakness, it's as if the Alliance is almost gifted it, and doesn't make it seem quite as earned.

The other thing I noticed with Galen is that I feel like the wrong language was used during the message he sent to Saw and Jyn. When he explains what happened after he was taken by the Empire, he says "I did the one thing nobody expected" and continues with "I played the part of a beaten man resigned to the sanctuary of his work, I immersed myself, I made myself indispensable, etc., etc." But really, isn't that EXACTLY what was expected of him when he was brought back to the Empire? Wasn't that the very reason Krennic came to get him, because Galen was supposed to again fill that role? It is true in the message when he says that he learned to lie and to the play the part convincingly. But shouldn't he have said something more like "I had an idea. Instead of refusing, I did exactly what they expected. I played the part, immersed myself, made myself indispensable, etc., etc."? Because I highly doubt that what was actually expected of Galen was for him to reluctantly and unwillingly take on his role again. That would have placed a lot of distrust in his work, and all those things that were listed about the possibility of Krennic realizing he didn't need Galen would have in fact been realized had Galen continued to show how reluctant and unwilling he was in his duties. I don't know, I just don't see why Galen would preface his description of what he did for the Empire as being what nobody expected him to do.

 

I don't think it cheapens the Rebels' victory in any way. First of all, a good part of the council was skeptical about Jyn's call to action, with only Cassian and a handful of Rebels backing her up, followed by Raddus and some X-wing squadrons.

Even then, they didn't know where to find the flaw and even Leia was slightly doubtful. And once the flaw was found, it wasn't exactly a walk in the park, as proven by the fact that only Luke and Wedge (as X-wing pilots) survived the attack on the Death Star.

 

All of your problems with this fall away if you simply accept that Galen was a part of the Rebellion, and not really an Imperial...

 

That is certainly a way to interpret it. And there's nothing wrong with it and it wouldn't be totally off base if that is how somebody wishes to see it. But that's really all it is, an interpretation.

The fact of the matter is that Galen was an Imperial. I'd view him as more a traitor to the Empire, as opposed to being a secret Rebel all along. Remember at the beginning of RO Galen was seen as being a vital component to the Empire's weapons development program and a tool of the Imperial war machine. Cassian was ordered to kill him. In their eyes, Galen was an Imperial, through and through. It's all well and good after the fact for the Rebellion to acknowledge what Galen did, and they can hail him a hero for their cause all they want. But that still doesn't make Galen not an Imperial. The same would go for Bodhi.

I'm not in any way trying to say that Galen having intentionally placed this weakness in the Death Star completely negates the victory of the Rebellion against it. Just that it would have been that much more earned if such a slam dunk route to victory wasn't just placed there for them to specifically exploit. Sure, they had to come and get the plans and information on it, which obviously warrants its own praise for the soldiers who did so. But it's not like the weakness was figured out through any sort infiltration by an actual Rebel spy into the Imperial ranks, the capturing and interrogation of an Imperial which leads to that information being leaked, or any other sort of due diligence on the part of the Rebellion. Prior to the Rogue One story being told like this everyone had already known what the Rebels had gone through in order to get the plans. The thing is now we have to determine what it means for that weakness to have been placed there intentionally, versus them having somehow discovered such a weakness through other means. Because the same story told in RO about them actually getting the plans could still be told either way. The only difference would be in knowing how that weakness came about and how it was discovered by the Rebellion. Watching ANH long before RO was ever even a thing, I'm doubtful that the majority of SW fans would have placed a traitorous Imperial engineer as the most likely scenario for how the weakness in the Death Star came about. I think the majority of people would have said that the supposed weakness is what gave the Death Star it's central source of power, and was thus needed for it to operate. And once the Rebels figured that out and saw that power source as basically the heart of the Death Star, they determined that was their best route to destroy it. But now that we know precisely that the weakness was placed there intentionally, and that specific efforts were made by Galen and Bodhi to give that information to the Rebellion, I do think it changes things a bit. Like I said, watching ANH now I can't help but have Galen in the back of my mind when it all plays out. Whereas prior to RO, I didn't have that, and would probably have assumed otherwise as to how this all came to be.

 

Well, Bodhi blows up a bunch of stormtroopers and K2 proclaims "Well, you're a Rebel now!" So both Bodhi, Galen and even someone like Kallus are Imperials but that's only on the surface because, once they turn traitor or actively act against the Empire "Well, you're a Rebel now!"

As for Galen intentionally placing a flaw, it does actively subvert and change the context of the Death Star in A New Hope. some viewers, and the filmmakers would probably land on this side of the debate, thought it was kind of an unbelievable stretch that the All Powerful Death Star could be taken out by a single torpedo. So Rogue One having Galen intentionally sabotage the Death Star means that there is a critical flaw built in the system as opposed to in ANH where they just find out that the Empire's battlestation had a "weakness" by analyzing the plans.

 

What you're describing is Rogue One's strength. Like all historical events, the events of Rogue One came about due to the heroic efforts of a broad range of people who decided to take risky, moral actions. Rosa Parks was working as part of a well-coordinated movement of brave people. She didn't just decide to sit in the front of a bus one day. But many don't know that based on how history is often taught. To me, Galen's sacrifice, combined with the efforts of the Rebellion to exploit the fruits of his sacrifice, make the entire Rebellion vs. Empire story that much more believable and compelling.

 

That seems more like a hoorah pat on the back kind of symbolic expression, versus actually designating to that person that they are now in fact a Rebel.

Galen's involvement does make the gaps in the story more linear. But to be honest, one of the things I've always liked about ANH was the sort of fantastical nature of the colossal defeat of the Empire and the epic victory of the Rebels. Now that context is changed on both sides. It makes the Empire's defeat seem less impactful and less like this all powerful force has been brought down. And it makes the Rebels seem less like underdogs by actually having this strategic advantage that was placed their specifically for them to exploit. Them finding out the Death Star had a weakness just by analyzing the plans, again, really gave it that archetypical feel of being an epic space fantasy where the good guys win.

I'm not really arguing about the changes in a good or bad, right or wrong kind of way. Just pointing out that it does change things.

That said, I think there's still ways to have made it believable and just as compelling with the weakness not having been placed there intentionally. Perhaps an actual Rebel spy who was able to infiltrate the Imperial ranks and gain access to this information. Or just somehow finding this information due to other intelligence gathering techniques, like finding a defector. Which was partially done in RO. But it's not like the defector was discovered and coaxed by the Rebels into turning to their side. He was specifically sent by Galen to contact the Rebels. And then, again, the weakness itself was placed there intentionally. Versus the same sequence of events being able to occur without it being placed there intentionally.

It's a great side story. With Jyn, her father, him doing this to the Empire, long lost family bonds, wavering allegiances, etc. And that in itself is great. Don't get me wrong, I love RO, I've spent the last four months obsessing about it on here. But as far as the main saga story line goes, it's not lost on me that all that could have still taken place without the side story told in RO. But now that side story is there, so it does kind of change the context of what happens in ANH.

 

But I like the concept that "rebellion against oppression" and "doing the right thing" is in the hearts of many, not just those who chose to join the ranks of an organized Rebellion. Galen is a Rebel in all ways, except that he did not join the specific "organized system" of the Rebel resistance to the Empire. He followed his bliss as far as he could, and encouraged Bodhi to do the same (who ultimately took Galen's message to the Rebellion, and became a member of the organized Rebellion himself). It's all wonderfully Campbellian and Star Warsian. And in that context, I'm glad it wasn't just an anonymous member of the existing organized Rebellion that sacrificed himself for galactic humanity. It was a participant in the Imperial system who rejected that system, but did so in the most selfless, least egoistic way. By completely sacrificing his life to undermine it. Great stuff, IMO.

 

Great point. And I agree, it's a great characterization and story.

But again, I'm just saying that the weakness having intentionally been placed in the Death Star changes the context through which we see the Rebels victory against the Empire in ANH. A lot of those things you described about Galen could still be said about a character in similar circumstances. And the weakness could still have not been placed there intentionally, which I imagine was the assumption for most people long before RO as we now know it ever came to be. So I guess that's where my real focus lies, not so much in the characters around it, but in the intentional vs non-intentional inclusion of the weakness, and how it impacts how we view the events of ANH.

 

Agreed. I just believe it strengthens the story in ANH. Not because "it's silly to think the Empire would build a weakness into the DS." I never bought that complaint. It simply reinforces the Imperial arrogance we see in ANH. Not only can they not conceive of the "insignificant Rebellion" defeating their DS, they're also too arrogant to consider the possibility that someone in their ranks would seek to undermine them. The Empire being arrogant was always a core element of its villainy in ANH, and I see RO as reinforcing that.

 

Agreed.

Just one thing, I never thought the Empire was silly because it built a weakness into the Death Star. I always thought that the supposed "weakness" in the Death Star was actually its power source, its heart so to speak. And once the Rebels figured that out and determined it was the power source that needed to be struck did it simultaneously become the Death Star's weakness as well as its strength.

But I do think that the weakness being placed there intentionally does undermine how we as the audience view the Empire and their arrogant presumptions about themselves. Because again, watch the roundtable discussion in ANH, and you can't not think of Galen now and how he placed this weakness there intentionally, thus undermining everything being discussed in that scene. So rather then seeing them as this omnipresent unbeatable force, we already know that just isn't the case. Whereas prior to the introduction of Galen, our understanding was basically that they were an omnipresent unbeatable force. Which made the Rebel's victory over them that much more impactful.

 

Ah, but herein lies our different interpretations. The arrogance of the Empire, IMO, centers on an assumption of its unbeatable power. And yet they are beatable. But not by conventional means. Rather, by unconventional means. By the actions of a lone scientist, the bravery of his daughter, and the spirit of a young farmboy. But the Empire, like Sauron, cannot even fathom that an underling and a few puny nobodies, could bring the down.

The strength of ANH's story did not lie in a perception of the Empire as unbeatable. Indeed, Luke, Han and Leia spend most of that film outwitting, out-gunning and our-running the Empire. The story works because these characters poke a hole in the raw underbelly of the Empire through sheer will. And IMO, Rogue One strengthens that.

They said, Rogue One certainly doesn't make the Empire seem THAT weak. They destroy a whole city, destroy their a base, kill all the Rogue One Rebels, kill a lot of other Rebels, and then just barely let the plans get away. If anything, when I see Vader enter the Tantive IV in ANH now, I am more intimidated, not less.

In short, I don't think Rogue One either diminished the Empire's seeming strength or its arrogance. I sorta feel the opposite.