This article contains spoilers for Andor Season 1 Episodes 1 through 3
AndorSeason 2 has debuted on Disney+ and, just like its predecessor, it has generated extremely positive reviews, earning some of the best reviews in the franchise’s history. Season 2’s three-episode premiere picks up one year after the events of Season 1, set four years before The Battle of Yavin, aka the events ofRogue OneandStar Wars. This time jump allows the audience to play catch-up, discovering what has happened to the characters since they last saw them. One big reveal pays off something fans have been asking for since Season 1, confirming a romantic relationship… yet it isn’t between Cassian Andor and Bix, but Imperial officers Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller).
Introduced in Season 1,Dedra and Syril are loyal members of the Empire but work two distinctive jobs, as she is rising through the ranks of the Imperial Office. At the same time, he has recently been demoted to a clerk after an overreach inAndor’s first three episodes. Shortly after the two characters' first meeting on the show, fan edits were made pairing the two together romantically, in a term fans like to call shipping. One notable example featured Taylor Swift’s “Mastermind.” Shortly afterAndorSeason 1 ended, Jenna Busch wrote forSlash Film, “Is it Wrong That We Want to See Dedra and Syril to Kiss Already in Andor?” which broke down what it is about this seemingly odd, despicable pairing between two Imperials that is so appealing for audiences.
Though a romance between two Imperial bureaucrats might seem like the last thing fans would want inStar Wars, it has captivated the fandom. Here is what makes these two characters' romance so interesting, how it compares to the rest of theStar Warsfranchise, and how it seems destined to end in tragedy.
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The most obvious element that sticks out about Dedra and Syril’s romance is how it contrasts with howStar Warstraditionally depicts its villains. This is a franchise whose villains consist of Sith Lords and bounty hunters, not ones prone to love. They are passionate, but love is not traditionally one of those passions, as these characters tend to traffic in hatred, revenge, and a lust for power. Despite Darth Vader’s past with Padme, the black armored villain doesn’t show romantic love to anyone in the original trilogy. Characters like Maul, Boba Fett, and Palpatine have no place for love stories. Typically, romance is used to frame a villain being redeemed, be it Asajj Ventress or Kylo Ren / Ben Solo.
This certainly makes the relationship between Dedra and Syril fascinating, as it is between two characters who are not only villains but also work within the Empire, a fascist government that seeks to suppress freedom across the galaxy. It certainly seems odd for a romance between two cogs in such evil machinery to be such a fascinating source of interest. However, some can’t help but root for these two to be together. Yet pairing Dedra and Syril as a couple aligns withAndor’s broader portrayal of the Empire.
Was Andor as Popular as Other Star Wars Series?
Despite multiple Emmy nominations, a previous report indicated Andor was not drawing in as many viewers as the previous Star Wars series.
In the original trilogy, the Empire was a one-note villain, destroying planets with powerful superweapons and being led by dark wizards who seemed obsessed with acquiring and wielding power.Andorhas shown the banality of evil, the day-to-day bureaucratic workings of the Empire. It doesn’t so much humanize the Empire’s associates, but instead shows the various people needed to make the Empire function. These are not faceless Stormtroopers or nameless officers without personal lives. Showing a fully fleshed-out romance, including a couple living together, shows a new side to villainy.
WhileAndorhas shown the heroes of the Rebellion can be capable of doing terrible things in the name of freedom, it has also revealed that members of the Empire can have moments of seemingly human kindness. Their romance does not redeem them or wash away their crimes. If anything, it asks the viewer to consider that being in love, or feeling love for someone, does not automatically make a person good. A person who feels love for their spouse does not mean they are incapable of acts of evil.
Love in a Galaxy Far Far Away
The pairing of Dedra and Syril contrasts with the romance between Cassian Andor and Bix Caleenand how love is typically portrayed throughout theStar Warsfranchise. Despite Syril and Dedra living together, they seem stiff around one another. Dedra does seem to care for Syril, so much that she tells his overbearing mother off. Yet the two don’t appear close, both intimately and in that their work with the Empire seems to keep them at a distance. This contrasts with Andor and Bix, who, despite being apart for most of the first three episodes, have a passionate embrace and chemistry that cannot be denied.
Star Warshas had an interesting relationship with love. The prequel films seemingly paintAnakin’s love for Padmeas the reason he fell to the dark side, but that was undoubtedly part of a more significant issue as it was coupled with the Jedi being a flawed institution that didn’t give him a place to feel like he could go to them for help or guidance, allowing Palpatine to manipulate him. Yet for many fans, Anakin became Darth Vader because his love for Padme blinded him. This stands in direct opposition to the original trilogy, where Luke’s love for his friends saves the day, as well as the passionate romance between Han Solo and Leia. Love is often associated with the light side of the Force, while the Dark Side is run by hatred.
Ahsoka vs Andor: The Benefits of Different Takes on Star Wars
The new Star Wars shows Ahsoka and Andor provide two vastly different approaches to storytelling in the galaxy far, far away.
Aside fromSolo: A Star Wars Story, romance has been largely lacking in many of Disney’sStar Warsprojects. Fans certainly gravitated towards the chemistry betweenJohn Boyega’s Finn and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, or the popular Reylo ship of Rey and Kylo Ren, but the movies seemed to downplay or ignore these fan desires outright.This is one reason why the confirmation of the romance between Dedra and Syril feels like a miracle, as Disney and the creative team at Lucasfilm listened to fans and built on a natural story setup.
These two characters have found each other, and despite their flaws (which cannot be overstated, and are plenty), they care for one another more than they likely expected. Against the backdrop ofAndor’s espionage and political dealings, the romance between Dedra and Syril is an oddly refreshing change of pace that gives the show a new element to play with. What does romance look like for villains, and particularly for the Empire? Dating a co-worker is always tricky, but what happens when the workplace is a fascist regime that is hiding many secrets? Which is more important to them, the Empire or each other?
A Doomed Romance in ‘Andor’
Unfortunately,Dedra and Syril’s romance feels destined to end in tragedy. Given neither character is present inRogue Oneor the original trilogy, it certainly feels safe to say one or both characters will not live to see the construction of the Death Star completed. There is a chance they could survive, but they have never been mentioned during the original trilogy. That wouldn’t be the first timeStar Warshas done this. Lookat Ahsoka Tanoor the Crew of the Ghost fromStar Wars Rebels. Yet it does feel like part of the motivation for pairing Dedra and Syril together is that their “love” story is doomed.
There might be something darkly poetic in that. These two individuals might give everything to the Empire, including the only people who seem to care for them. Despite the Empire not caring about them,these two might be so loyal to the idea of the Empire that their quest for power will drive a wedge between them, causing them to turn on one another. What, in the end, will it accomplish? Nothing. The Empire likely won’t notice, and they will be replaced. Romance and love cannot thrive in the Empire, or the Dark Side of the Force.
Fans waited three years for confirmation that Syril and Dedra would be a couple, and now that they got it, one can’t help but feel this is the beginning of the end for them. IfAndorcan make the audience feel heartbroken over the two villains' love story coming to an end, then it speaks to the show’s power to get the audience invested in the most unconventional romance.Andoris streaming onDisney+.
