Which Imperial Prison Is Worse: Tantiss Or Narkina 5?

Narkina 5 prisoners

Image Source: StarWars.com

Prison is a place no one ever wants to go, whether real or fake, it's not a place you want to end up. Star Wars recently has shown us inside two of their Imperial prisons. Both are quite different, but still terrible. Is one worse than the other though? Let's take a look and find out.

Narkina 5 Imperial Prison Complex was a prison for convicts who were deemed labor-worthy. The prison comprised seven separate facilities and was situated in the middle of a lake on the moon of Narkina 5. Each facility contained 5,000 prisoners divided into 98 work teams and guarded by more than 84 prison guards. Security was enforced by tungstoid steel-coated floors, which enabled security to electrify the floors in moments if the prisoners misbehaved. These floors required special boots to survive the torture. The combination of shocks, which could be lethal, and the rewards offered to hardworking inmates, resulted in extremely low rates of disobedience. We saw this prison firsthand in Andor. Cassian Andor was wrongly imprisoned for six years on Narkina 5. With the other prisoners' help, he staged a successful escape.

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Narkina 5

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Tantiss Base, known as the Weyland Facility, was a scientific complex under the Galactic Empire. Details of the facility were classified and the exact coordinates remained hidden. The base consisted of two rings comprising multiple hangars dug into the mountains. These hangars provide ample space for landing ships. The base also doubled as a detention center and prisoners were guarded by clone commandos. It contained a communication center and a command center. This enabled the Empire to monitor the prisoners. Spartan cells were also included, which housed former clone troopers, who were used as test subjects. The clone prison was arranged in a cross shape, and guarded by two TK stormtroopers, who monitored the clones from a central command console. This prison was most recently shown in the final season of The Bad Batch. Crosshair and Omega were both imprisoned here and successfully escaped. Unfortunately, Omega was captured once again. During the finale, Clone Force 99 rescued Omega, and freed many imprisoned clones. Kaminoans Nala Se and former Prime Miniter Lama Su were both held there

Both facilities are absolutely terrible, but the average person is less likely to spend time in Tantiss Base unless they think you could be a match for their cloning program. Those who are imprisoned there, have to undergo horrible experiments for the sake of the Empire. Out of the two places, I do think Narkina 5 is worse. You are subjected to doing labor, with minimal time to rest. If you stop, for even a second to take a breather, you will be reprimanded, and may not return. Even if your sentence is a couple of years, it seems impossible that you would ever leave. Those who do their job properly, and are a “model prisoner” are given rewards, like flavoring in their food. It’s definitely a place you wouldn’t want to end up in. 

Tantiss Base

Image Source: StarWars.com

Recently, prisons have been seen more in Star Wars. While they always existed, they weren’t a focal point, like they are now. We’ve seen various instances of people being arrested and in cells in different Star Wars content. Andor and The Bad Batch both take place right after the Empire rose to power, so they imprison anyone who may dare to go against them. If you’re a clone, you will spend the rest of your days on Tantiss, but if you’re an average Joe, then Narkina 5 may be in your cards if you commit a crime. 

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