Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-7 of Andor.Week to week,Andorcontinues to expand what’s possible in theStar Warsuniverse, providing breathtaking spectacle without undercutting character depth and nuance.Tony Gilroyhas deliberately paced this series in order to make the quiet character moments matter as much as the climatic action. The spy thriller series is anchored byDiego Luna, reprising hisRogue Onecharacter Cassian Andor, and stars alongsideStellan Skarsgård,Genevieve O’Reilly, andEbon Moss-Bachrach.
The most recent climax of the series occurs in Episode 6’s “The Eye'' when Vel (Faye Marsay) and her crew infiltrate the Imperial base on Aldhani and steal nearly 80 million credits. Out of the original group, only Cassian, Skeen, Vel, and Cinta (Varada Sethu) narrowly survive the heist. Lieutenant Gorn (Sule Rimi) is shot by Corporal Kimzi (Nick Blood) as Kimzi and the other Imperial officers discover the heist in progress; Tamaryn (Gershwyn Eustache Jnr), the ex-Stormtrooper, dies during the attempted escape from a blaster; the youngest member of the group, Nemik (Alex Lawther),dies due to injuries sustained from the escape. Though these deaths are a blow to the crew, the biggest loss Vel faces is an unknown deception by one of her own crew members– Skeen. Instead of being dedicated to the cause, Skeen planned to take the credits for himself and abandon Vel and the crew.
Skeen’s Betrayal Has Been Laid Out Since the Beginning
Of course, the signs that Skeen’s plans for betrayal were right there all along. When Vel arrives back to camp with Cassian, Skeen is immediately mistrustful of someone else coming in just days before the heist. He does not put his guard down around; in fact, Skeen questions Vel’s leadership for calling an audible so close to the heist. If he was so on board for the cause, Skeen would’ve been able to swallow the pill like everyone else. Even before pulling a knife on Cassian in Episode 5’s “The Axe Forgets,” Skeen’s attitude towards Cassian is aggressive; Skeen needed to blow off some steam but also keep his head down in order to pull offhisplans without a hitch. Not to mention, during the shootout as the crew is trying to escape in Episode 6, Skeen is very fearful to cover Tamaryn, which results in Tamaryn’s death. Skeen’s self-preservation is never hidden from the audience.
Even Skeen’s reason for rebelling was fabricated; he never had a brother who died at the hands of the Empire. This revelation comes after Skeen argues with Vel to take Nemik to the doctor in order to save his life. Though he didn’t have a brother, he did take Nemik under his wing and look out for him. However, the audience now knows he built this level of trust in order to take the heat off of him. It’s his means of survival– project strength but also enough sympathy so no one else sees the game he’s playing.
Cassian tells Skeen in Episode 5’s “The Axe Forgets” that he just wants to win and walk away, and that’s exactly what Skeen was trying to do. Cassian coming clean about being a mercenary was enough honesty to make Skeen trust him in a different way. They are both survivors trying to win the game they’ve been dealt. Instead of openly betraying him, Skeen had a chance to buy off Cassian in order to disappear quietly in the night. If Skeen’s rebellion is really him against the galaxy, willing to pull one over on the rest of the crew, why would Cassian trust him anymore? Skeen attempted to bring Cassian to his level because he sees himself in Cassian; Cassian doesn’t like that one bit. Skeen’s proposal died on his lips as Cassian killed him with a blaster.
Skeen’s proposed betrayal sets in motion for Cassian to leave once again. For a moment, it appeared like he would stay with Vel until he was paid by Luthen. If Skeen was so quick to betray everyone else, can Cassian really trust Vel or Luthen to hold up their end of the bargain? Any trust left dies with Skeen and Nemik, so he has to move on, lest he be double-crossed, too.
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Cassian Kills to Tie Up Loose Ends When Necessary
When audiences met Cassian for the first time inRogue One, he killed an informant to tie up loose ends. All roads for him inAndorare leading toward a beach in Scarif, and we’re seeing Cassian’s progression towards the Rebel spy we know him to be. Part of that journey is him becoming more comfortable tying up loose ends through murder. When audiences meet Cassian in theAndorseries, two men end up dead out of self-defense; now he kills Skeen before he gets the chance to betray him. Cassian Andor is a survivor, and increasingly, he’s being put into situations where the decision between life and death comes down to a blaster.
In the fallout of Cassian abandoning Vel, Cassian is on his own once more. In Episode 7’s “The Announcement” he briefly returns to Ferrix to pay off his debt to Bix (Adria Arjona) and attempts to take Maarva (Fiona Shaw) and B2EMO, voiced byDave Chapman, off-planet with him. When Maarva stands her ground and stays, Cassian flees to Niamos. After a run in with a Shoretrooper, Cassian is arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Cassian has committed murder more than a couple of times at this point inAndor; in fairness, he deserves a more severe sentence than what he received because of it.
After all of his running and looking out for himself, Cassian is still alone; and one has to wonder if he would’ve been in this situation if Skeen hadn’t confided in him about his plans to steal the credits and run. It’s easy to fall back on the “what if” scenarios here, but had Skeen not done this, an argument can be made that Cassian wouldn’t be where he is now. For now though, maybe his time in a prison cell will give him the time he needs to read Nemik’s manifesto and come one step closer to taking up the Rebellion cause.
