There are several marginalized groups in Star Wars. In fact, Star Wars started as a marginalized group — the Rebel Alliance — fighting against the oppressive Empire. Since then, we’ve seen fights for independence from clones in The Bad Batch, inter-species fights on countless planets, and racism against the Indigenous Tusken Raiders in The Book of Boba Fett. Even the Mandalorians were forced into hiding after the rise of the Empire.
But there’s one downtrodden group whose struggle goes unsung throughout the entire Star Wars universe: droids. The Mandalorian and its short-lived IG-11 is one of several Star Wars shows to use a droid as a fully-fledged character, but Season 3 Episode 6 gives us a glimpse into droid culture in a way we’ve never seen before.
After the Clone Wars were fought against a droid army, there was prejudice against droids in the Star Wars universe. Propaganda posters warned owners to wipe their memories on a regular basis, and even Din Djarin said he doesn’t work with droids. But Episode 6 proved that battle droids could find a better purpose in life.
When Din Djarin and Bo-Katan research the rogue battle droids, they suspect the droids are unhappy with how they’re treated. Their search takes them to a place that droids, quite famously, tend to be banned from in Star Wars: a cantina. But the Resistor is a cantina for droids, and it’s a fascinating glimpse into a culture that shows them to be far more than just snarky appliances. Here, they have an entire bustling community.
In conversation with the bartender droid, it’s clear that unrest is the last thing on these droids’ minds. “Some droids on Plazir date back to the Separatists,” it says. “The New Republic would send them to scrap. But here on Plazir, they are given a second chance.”
To these droids, servitude is a way to stay alive. They’re happy here, and have no reason to rebel. It’s a fascinating glimpse at droid culture, especially after the introduction of conflicting attitudes from characters like L3-37 in Solo. Droids may be sentient creatures who deserve rights, but that also includes the right to just work and be happy.
The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+.
