If there has been one discussion Star Wars fans have come back to time and time again, it’s got to be the safety standards of the Death Star. For instance, how on earth did the design for the Death Star end up approved with one cheeky exposed vent which could send the whole installation to kingdom come?
Mind you, this particular burning question ended up being addressed and answered in the Star Wars mythos during Rogue One when the death star’s architect Garlen Erso revealed the design flaw to be intentional as a last-ditch effort to stick it to the Empire.
But, that’s not the only issue we as a collective Star Wars workplace health and safety inspector have noted over the years. Specifically, why on earth are there no safety railings in areas where unassuming Storm Troopers can clearly fall to their death?
Even Family Guy went out of its way to point this one out.
It turns out the answer to this one may have been staring us in the face all along. It all started with a Reddit thread attributing the design of the Death Star to the Geonosians.
Now, I’m admittedly not the most well-versed connoisseur of Star Wars lore, so the above somewhat contradicts what I said earlier about Garlen Erso. But I’ll reconcile my own headcanon by saying the Geonosians were responsible for the floor plan and Erso looked after the nuts, bolts, and overall functionality of it.
In any case, a few Redditors were quick to the punch by pointing out the obviousness of this trivia, to amusing effect.
But one comment stood out above all the rest – and shattered our collective perception of why the Death Star is designed the way it is.
The Geonosians clearly had themselves in mind when designing the Death Star, and the kicker of course – is that Geonosians have wings. Why would they consider flightless bipods that can tumble to their death when you can just fly from point A to point B, or at least flap your way out of a predicament involving a trip hazard?
I think this issue now goes beyond health and safety and now falls under the inclusion and diversity banner. Hopefully, when deciding on a contractor for future weapons of mass destruction, the Empire will consider hiring someone who will think about earthbound AND winged entities. Because I’ll stand for it no longer, and quite frankly, nor should the Empire.
As far as more Star Wars goes, the first episode of Andor will be hitting Disney Plus in just under a week’s time on Sept. 21.
