We’re in the endgame of Tony Gilroy’s Andor, and while season 1 of the Star Wars spy thriller played out across 12 weeks, things have been moving at a breakneck speed as each three-episode arc covers a year in the run-up to the cataclysmic events of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Proving it’s much more than just biding time until we get to a presumably shocking finale that cues that fateful mission to Scarif, Andor continues to dip into the forgotten annals of Legends canon to bring back the forgotten past of the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars has been spinning out from the mainline Skywalker Saga for decades, but when Disney bought the rights in 2012, the House of Mouse tightened the reins and attempted to bring everything under one roof. Although some of the best Star Wars stories and characters were confined to the defunct Legends continuity, there’s been a recent influx of these concepts being brought back under Disney’s canon. From Grand Admiral Thrawn to Boba Fett’s survival, we’ve also seen Andor do it with throwaway mentions of the Rakata and neatly setting up James Mangold’s Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi.
The Tarkin Massacre Explained
Andor season 2 has continued to dabble in Legends, with the much-discussed Ghorman Massacre making a beloved video game relevant again. The final season starts in 4BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), which immediately puts it at odds with Legends due to the Ghorman Massacre supposedly taking place in 18 BBY. Set shortly after the fall of Anakin Skywalker and his transition into becoming Darth Vader, this represents a period where there were numerous rebellions against the Empire’s rise to power. One of these took place on the peaceful planet of Ghorman, and in response, Wilhuff Tarkin was sent to deal with the uprising. "The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook" roleplaying book for 1990’s Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game makes a brief mention of how Tarkin landed his ship on top of the protestors and killed hundreds at the behest of Emperor Palpatine.
The Ghorman Massacre was first mentioned in canon for 2016’s “Forced in Battle” sourcebook for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Age of Rebellion, but is remembered more for its role in Star Wars Rebels. Both go against Legends by revealing how Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) defected from the Imperial Senate in response to the Ghorman Massacre that takes place in 2BBY. April 29’s "Ever Been to Ghorman?" clears up the confusion and confirms there were actually two Ghorman Massacres. Will those poor Ghormans ever catch a break? There’s a monument in the center of the Ghorman's capital city of Palmo that honoring the “Tarkin Massacre”, meaning the Ghorman Massacre that forges the Rebel Alliance from blood, sweat, and tears, is still to come. Importantly, we could have some real crossover with Rebels if we get to see Mothma’s stirring speech recreated in live-action.
The Gorman Massacre is what turns Bail Organa to the rebellion, and inadvertently, puts the planet of Alderaan on the path to Tarkin destroying it with the Death Star in A New Hope. An uncanny valley version of Tarkin was played by Guy Henry in Rogue One, and although there’s no mention of the character stopping by in Andor, Gilroy told Entertainment Weekly how Benjamin Bratt will be taking over from Jimmy Smits for multiple episodes of Andor. As Bratt has only appeared in episode 6, expect to see more of Bail as the story continues. Considering the Ghorman Massacre was such a tiny part of an obscure corner of Legends canon, it’s impressive to see how it’s become such a crucial part of the Rebel Alliance’s formation - even if some of you were a little confused.
Speaking to Collider, Gilroy confirmed how Andor has been given a chance to tidy up the timelines of the Ghorman massacre, telling the outlet how things will play out over five episodes: “There's a lot of confusion within canon. So, it was an opportunity to rebuild in a really significant way. It's a very significant part of our show that can do a lot of different things for us….I'm really confident that the really deep, passionate Star Wars community will appreciate how we've straightened out that story.
Footage from the season 2 trailers shows the likes of Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) seemingly in the midst of the Ghorman Massacrew, and as neither of them appears in Rogue One, could it be time to say goodbye to one (if not both) of Andor’s big bads? Either way, much like all roads of Rogue One were heading toward Scarif, it looks like Ghorman could be where everything goes down in the next block of episodes.