Just as Tony Gilroy’s Andor gets into its stride, it’s time to accept that the story is nearly over. While the first season played out over 12 thrilling episodes set in year 5 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), the final season has leaped through the galaxy far, far away at breakneck speed. Even though we’ve enjoyed having our own mini Star Wars movie every week, releasing three-episode blocks, with each covering a different year, means there’s been a lot to pack in.
Gilroy previously told Empire how Andor will lead directly into the events of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. As well as Diego Luna leading the charge as the titular Cassian Andor, Rogue One alumni including Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), and Bail Organa (recast with Benjamin Bratt) are neatly knitting things together. The question is, what happens to the rest of the gang? Major players like Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael and Denise Gough’s Dedra Meera are notably absent from Rogue One, leading to obvious fears they won’t be making it that far.
The Tragedy of Syril Karn
Andor episode 8 just cleared up one character arc, with May 6’s “Who Are You?” waving goodbye to Kyle Soller’s sniveling Syril Karn. We’ve been hearing about the fabled Ghorman Massacre since Star Wars Rebels, knowing that this devastating event is what forces Mon Mothma out of the Senate and to recruit Bail Organa into the forming ranks of the Rebel Alliance. Andor has been clearing up the continuity confusion and leading toward a live-action Ghorman Massacre that didn’t fail to disappoint. Things came to a head in an emotional scene where Syril realized he’d effectively been used by Dedra, and how he was little more than a cog in the Empire’s machine of destruction. There are some near parallels here with how the prisoners of Narkina 5 all had their own lives, but were nothing other than tiny parts helping build the Death Star.
Star Wars is full of tragic characters like Count Dooku, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, but in a single line, Syril becomes one of the most tragic. When he finally gets the drop on Cassian and attempts to take out years of rage where he blames Cassian for his current downfall, the Rebel spy simply says, “Who are you?” Iconic lines like “No, I am your father,” and “It’s a trap” have become synonymous with Star Wars, with “Who are you?” sure to cement itself alongside the best. While Cassian has been an obsession of Syril’s since he lost his job way back in the first episode of Andor, the downtrodden Imperial Bureau of Standards civil servant hasn't even registered on Cassian’s radar. Importantly, tying Syril’s death to the episode will immortalize him as an important part of Star Wars history, despite a sense of irony that he won’t be remembered. Episode 9 features a throwaway line during the climactic Senate scene where the Senator from Coruscant mentions losing one of their own during the Ghorman Massacre. It’s never confirmed whether this was Syril, but if it was, it’s even more tragic that he’s not directly honored.
Discussing Syril’s swansong, Soller spoke to Collider and explained how he basked in the irony that it’s not even his fight with Cassian that gets him killed. Instead, it’s a bullet to the head from Ghorman leader Carro Rylanz (Richard Sammel). Soller admitted: “It is genius, the web that was woven that Syril didn't even realize he was a part of, and the lives he was affecting, and ultimately, the crushing realization that he is not as great and powerful as he thought he was.”
He also reflected on Syril being little more than a footnote, adding: “It ultimately captures the many, many, many, many people in history who've been forgotten, people who actually did much greater things than Syril, who have been forgotten and never get a second look.” Syril will live on in some form, with both Dedra and his hard-faced mother, Eedy Karn (Kathryn Hunter), showing genuine affection following his death. That’s just it, though, neither of these characters showed Syril their love when they had the chance.
All Roads Lead to Rogue One
Syril is now out of the picture, but we expect more tragedy to come. While Luthen’s stirring “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see” speech suggests the spy known as Axis isn’t long for this world, we can’t see Gilroy killing off Syril, Luthen, and Dedra. Then again, the fact that Rogue One is a veritable bloodbath where none of the main characters survive, Andor could be just as brutal. Syril’s ticket has already been punched, and considering Dedra seems so entrenched by Krennic’s side, it suggests something goes seriously wrong. Although Dedra doesn’t appear past this point in the expanded Star Wars media, it would be more justified to have her cast out from the Empire and left as a lonely outcast rather than get the freedom of death. Still, with the repeated imagery of Dedra’s PTSD after getting choked in season 1, could this be foreshadowing a Darth Vader cameo and a grisly Force choke demise?
George Lucas has reiterated how everyone in Star Wars has a destiny laid out for them, but away from Anakin being the Chosen One, Andor has hammered this home more than most. The moment where a Force healer senses Cassian’s purpose lays out his roadmap in helping steal the plans to the Death Star, inadvertently pushing Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi Knight, and shaping the future of the galaxy. Syril saved Dedra from being killed (again), suggesting that she still has a part to play before all roads lead to Scarif. With just three episodes of Andor left, Gilroy doesn’t have long left to tie up all the loose ends. Still, if Andor’s final arc is anything like what’s come before and the action of Rogue One, this could be a spy thriller for the ages.