It is easy to fall into the trap of black-and-white thinking when it comes to Star Wars, especially since the constant struggle between good and evil is such a prevailing theme. While the franchise has its share of characters who are undeniably good and undeniably evil, sometimes they can appear where they aren't expected. It is, for instance, easy to view the Galactic Republic as the good guys. Living under the republic certainly seems preferable to some far worse regimes.