Warning: SPOILERS for this week’s Andor episodes are ahead!
With another week brings another batch of three Andor Season 2 episodes to the 2025 TV schedule. We’re now three-fourths of the way through this final outing for Diego Luna’s title character, and this week saw another major character being killed off following the demise Varada Sethu’s Cinta Kaz last week. Not only was death scene was handled well, it led to my favorite emotional moment that the Disney+ subscription-exclusive Star Wars show has delivered so far this season.
Syril Karn Was Killed On Ghorman
When Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero was put in charge of the Empire’s operation on Ghorman, Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn, her boyfriend, came along for the ride. Still a dedicated servant of the Empire, we watched in last week’s Andor episodes how Syril pretended to be interested in the Ghorman Front, all so he could be lured into the resistance movement and pass along intel about its activities to Dedra. And yet, because he wasn’t as high ranking within the Imperial power structure, he wasn’t looped in on the real reason for why the Empire was on Ghorman.
One year later, Syril finally learned the truth: that the Empire needed to mine the planet’s deep substrate foliated Kalkite, which would coat the Death Star’s reactor lenses. Mining the mineral could render the planet unstable and kill hundreds of thousands of people, but the Imperial leadership didn’t care. Instead, they had propaganda distributed against the Ghorman people, allowing for the indirect creation of a radical insurgency. From there, the Empire would put down said insurgency take full control of the planet and mine as much Kalkite as it wanted, Ghorman citizens be damned.
That finally happened in “Who Are You?,” with the Ghorman Massacre, an already established Star Wars historical event, unfolding. However, before stormtroopers andImperial enforcer droids (one of which will become Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO) started killing Ghorman Front members and innocent bystanders alike, Syril was furious to learn he’d been party to an atrocity he very much did not support. He even went so far as to physically assault Dedra to get her to confirm his suspicions and was furious that she’d hidden this from him.
Eventually Syril ended up on the ground as so many were being killed, and it was then he spotted Cassian Andor, the man he’d been obsessed with apprehending in Season 1. Syril wasted no time attacking Cassian, and their brawl ended with him holding his long-sought-after target at gunpoint. However, when Cassian didn’t recognize Syril, that was enough to get Kyle Stoller’s character to pause and lower his blaster, only to be shot by Carro Rylanz, a Palmo City official and leader of the Ghorman Front.
Dedra’s Reaction To Syril’s Death Was Heartbreaking
I think Andor did a great job with Syril Karn’s death. In his final moments, he realized that his obsession with Cassian Andor ultimately amounted to nothing since Cassian didn’t even know who he was, and he was also grappling with Dedra Meero betraying his trust. It was also fitting for Carro Rylanz to be the one to kill him since he’d chewed Syril out earlier how he’d betrayed the trust of the Ghorman Front and the role he’d played, however small, in the Empire mercilessly killing his own people.
However, what really sticks with me after watching “Who Are You?” is Dedra breaking down over Syril’s death, having learned about it offscreen. While Dedra is certainly a compelling character, I wouldn’t say I’ve felt sympathy for her up to this point. Yes, I understand her desire to prove herself and move up the Imperial chain of command, but that doesn’t change how heartless and ruthless she’s been on numerous occasions, including when she ordered Doctor Gorst to torture Bix Caleen.
And yet, when she was finally alone and away from judgmental eyes following the Ghorman Massacre, that tough and icy demeanor melted away, and in a rare moment of vulnerability, she cried over Syril’s death. Though she was largely dismissive of him in Andor Season 1, she eventually saw a kindred spirit in him after he saved her on Ferrix. Was their romantic relationship weird and sometimes uncomfortable to watch? Absolutely, but that didn’t change the fact that Dedra legitimately had feelings for Syril.
Frankly, before this episode, I wasn’t entirely convinced that Dedra truly cared about Syril, and was only stringing him along to further the agenda of her superiors. But now he’s gone and it’s clear this devastated her. All Dedra has left are her duties for the Empire, and with only three episodes left to go in Andor Season 2, I’m doubtful that this series is going to give her a happy ending.
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