COMICSANDS
percolately
georgetakei
secondnexus
george's picks
*WARNING: spoilers for the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian
Since the first film was released back in 1977, the Star Wars franchise has grown into a pillar of popular culture across the U.S. and the entire world.
Sayings like "May the force be with you" have worked their way into common speech. Plastic light sabers abound.
There are yearly Halloween costumes, countless parodies and fan fiction indebted to the series. There is even an informal holiday—May the 4th be with you.
No franchise achieves that status without amassing a core following of very committed fans. And where there are committed fans, there are deep investments and powerful emotions.
So when the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian was released on December 18, it was no surprise to see some tearful responses across the internet.
According to Daily Dot, one of those outpourings came from YouTube channel Star Wars Theory. The channel's creator filmed themself as they watched the final moments of the episode.
Tears welled in their eyes when Luke Skywalker appeared in a surprise moment.
But it didn't take long for Star Wars Theory to find themself in an internet spat with an executive from LucasFilm, the studio that created all the Star Wars films as well as The Mandalorian.
It began when somebody called out Star Wars Theory on Twitter. They accused the YouTuber of "recreating" an "artificial" response after watching for the first time, just to create good internet content.
@DJared2000
But in the midst of that exchange, LucasFilm executive Pablo Hidalgo weighed in to heap more criticism on the YouTuber.
Hidalgo's tweet has since been deleted, but he apparently chimed in to say that "emotions are not for sharing." Hidalgo then stirred the pot even further by making his jab his own header for his Twitter profile.
Star Wars Theory was NOT happy about being on the receiving end of that blow.
They posted a YouTube video about the whole ordeal and issued a call to action to find Hidalgo's comment.
Pablo Hidalgo is chiming in on this thread which is making fun of me for being emotional over Luke Skywalker. I don… https://t.co/RieNHQ0Hkl— Star Wars Theory (@Star Wars Theory) 1609125585.0
And the internet delivered.
@SWTheory66/Twitter
Plenty of Twitter users voiced their support and shared the outrage felt by Star Wars Theory.
@SWTheory66 Somebody high in Lucasfilm making fun of fans crying at the Return of the proper Luke Skywalker.....hel… https://t.co/k01kSeQpoO— Kaibaman41 (@Kaibaman41) 1609129693.0
@SWTheory66 It hurts my soul to know that these are the people running Lucasfilm and SW into the ground. If they ha… https://t.co/N1wJvLmN6A— Weegee (@Weegee) 1609136469.0
@SWTheory66 How the hell he's still employed is beyond me, I've been in jobs where if I went after and mocked peopl… https://t.co/ScSmPoxtyf— Aaron Woods (@Aaron Woods) 1609176177.0
But many people on Twitter replied to share they felt Hidalgo was actually doing the opposite of attacking Star Wars Theory.
They interpreted his tweet as a sarcastic defense in response to the original attack.
@SWTheory66 My first reaction to this is that he is giving a sarcastic answer to the original tweet about you. Not… https://t.co/o9Du3kZWhk— Adam (@Adam) 1609185377.0
@YTJustice_ @SWTheory66 How can so many people think "Don't show emotions in public" was said completely seriously?… https://t.co/CERuzZk1yi— Name cannot be blank (@Name cannot be blank) 1609138018.0
@SWTheory66 I don't think you guys understand, Pablo is most likely defending Theory in this thread, not hating on… https://t.co/5rnngf4krE— Adiaphora (@Adiaphora) 1609126952.0
Unfortunately, there's not much closure to be had.
Though many people brought the issue directly to LucasFilm and Disney—who owns LucasFilm—via tweets, there were no responses.
One thing is for sure, though. The many empathetic voices of support in response to Star Wars Theory's tweet illustrated the Star Wars fandom is alive and well.
@SWTheory66 Bro your reaction was what every star wars fan felt. I cried and damn near everyone I know sobbed. It w… https://t.co/R37xxzTAUc— SYK (@SYK) 1609125837.0
@SWTheory66 As for your reaction, I’m 50, and I was right there with you. My wife commented that the moment allowed… https://t.co/5sxXIhN6kB— Wannabe Films (@Wannabe Films) 1609179559.0
@SWTheory66 Who cares brother. I’ve loved Star Wars my whole life and was standing/screaming over the finale. Actua… https://t.co/hnQwgHgENz— I have come for the Xp (@I have come for the Xp) 1609125976.0
The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 are available on the Disney+ streaming service.