Saw Guerera: Patriot or Menace?

Some fans have considered Saw Guerera to be doing more harm than good with his more "extreme" methods, while others might think he was fine.

After all, let's be blunt, with the Empire doing things like enslaving Wookies and building weapons like Death Stars to attack planets, the Empire wasn't exactly being that civil either. So sometimes political measures, which may take longer, rather than more direct action, which may lead to civilian casualties but which may be more necessary to winning the war.

For instance, Saw Guerera's attack upon the Empire's gathering of kaiber crystals no doubt slowed down the progress of the Death Star. While, in the end, it didn't stop the Death Star from destroying Jedha City or blowing up Alderan, it may have stopped them from having the Death Star sooner, which may have meant worlds like Mon Calimari would have been wiped out too, or even that the Empire could have scared enough systems out of wanting to join the Rebellion that the Battle of Yavin could have ended in defeat and the end of the Rebellion.

The Rebellion seems to be somewhat like the American Revolution, where smaller scale fighting happened at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, but a formal declaration of independence came about two years after the fighting first started.

In the same way, it seemed that some in the Rebellion wanted a more reformed Empire or a peaceful return to the Republic and the end of more extreme measures such as the enslavement of Wookies; they were wary of having another bloody full-scale war like the Clone Wars if they could help it. Others believed that a full-scale war was necessary and that the Empire was too evil and dangerous to negotiate with and would have to be defeated outright.

 

Saw was better than most Imperials, but he was still a menace in many ways. His conversation with Mon highlights that. He is fine with civilian targets (not saying the Alliance always stayed clear of them) and would sometimes kill those who surrendered. Fighting the Empire is usually a good thing, but it's how you choose to fight.

 

He poisoned our water supply, burnt our crops, and delivered a plague upon our houses!