It's unnecessary, like when DC shoved the Sue Dibny thing in everyone's faces in Identity Crisis and then wouldn't shut up about it for YEARS. It's all "Look at us, this isn't YOUR FATHER'S [whatever the thing is], this isn't for kids, it's ADULT." Only the juvenile scream about how adult they are.
It does a good job drawing parallels between the Empire and what we're going through now, which is the show being adult in the best way. But I don't need the other stuff.
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First and foremost, Star Wars should be FUN!