I was thinking the other day about the final scene of ANH, particularly how it might be treated in an Andor-style show set just after ANH.

I’ve always assumed that the medal ceremony was a great way to end a film but a terrible decision from an in-universe tactical viewpoint, but actually it could serve a critical propaganda role. If that ceremony were broadcast out into the universe, it would send the message that not only did the Rebel Alliance destroy the Death Star, but it was destroyed by just a single lowly pilot with the aid of his friends. Furthermore, the Alliance feels so confident in their victory that they are willing to remain at their base even as the Empire moves to regroup and strike back.

I can imagine a Nemik-style manifesto inspired by this:

“And so in a single brilliant flash worlds across the despairing galaxy saw something impossible; not the quarreling factions of the so-called Alliance, but a vision of unity. A farmhand, a smuggler, a Wookiee, even two lowly droids, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the leaders of the Rebel Alliance and a Senator of the assassinated Old Republic. This was the real coup that turned Imperial blood to ice. The loss of their superweapon was a blow to the Empire’s materiel and money…but this vision of unity in the face of annihilation obliterated their thesis of order, the crucible of their unassailable power.”