Andor's Most Tragic Character Never Got The On-Screen Redemption They Deserved

For a show that never pulled its punches, it's only fitting that "Andor" saved its hardest-hitting moment for the most tragic character of all. While primarily focused on Diego Luna's title character and his steady progression into the Rebellion leader we knew and loved from "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," the Disney+ series also kept a long-running, one-sided rivalry simmering in the background: Cassian Andor versus Kyle Soller's Syril Karn. The security officer-turned-Imperial-stooge represented one of the most fascinating arcs throughout the entire story, showing us all how seductive a fascist regime can be to those who don't pay close enough attention. And, ultimately, he received the horrible ending he deserved all along during the climactic moments of the Ghorman Massacre during season 2.

But what if his journey didn't reach its bloody conclusion at the wrong end of a blaster? It's difficult to imagine a more fitting send-off than his arch nemesis Andor bewilderingly asking "Who are you?" right when it should've been Syril's shining moment. But this is a show all about the shades of grey, even in a galactic revolution, so perhaps we underestimated this weaselly villain and his capacity for good.

That's what "Andor" writer Dan Gilroy, brother of series creator Tony Gilroy, staunchly believes. In a recent podcast appearance on Script Apart with Al Horner, Gilroy opened up about Syril's abrupt and undignified death. Describing the character as in "freefall" following his breaking point with former lover Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and the realization that he's responsible for aiding and abetting the Empire's evil on Ghorman, Gilroy goes on to explain what went into this sequence and where Syril could've gone next ... if only things had gone differently:

"The way we crafted it, and it was certainly in Tony's outline, [Syril] has a moment of epiphany when [Cassian] says, 'Who are you?' because that hits home. He doesn't know who he is and he's going to lower the gun. I always believe that he probably would've become a Rebel. I think he's much more inclined to be a Rebel than to be an Empire soldier or acolyte. However, in his moment of epiphany, he's killed."

The idea of a sniveling, authoritarian-sympathizing villain like Syril Karn experiencing a change of heart and breaking good might sound implausible at first blush, but the setup for this possible character turn is actually fairly evident throughout season 2 of "Andor." His experiences with the Ghorman Front of undercover rebels seem to leave a mark on him, even to the point of making him genuinely concerned for their safety as the Empire tightens its grip on the planet. His violent outburst towards Dedra Meero, likely the only person he's ever forged a true connection with, proves that even this bootlicking toady has his limits. And, in the end, the fact that he actually lowers the weapon he had been pointing at Cassian Andor implicitly suggests the "epiphany" moment that writer Dan Gilroy alludes to.

Later in the podcast, Gilroy goes on to describe how the template for this trajectory was actually established decades earlier in director David Lean's unforgettable 1957 war epic, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai." Alec Guinness stars as British commander Colonel Nicholson, a prisoner of war taken hostage by the Japanese and forced to construct the all-important bridge. According to Gilroy, "He decides he's going to show the Japanese what the British will can do and he's going to build a great bridge [...] but he's doing it for himself, emotionally." It takes a daring mission by the Allied forces to blow up the bridge and several acts of sacrifice to finally wake Nicholson up from his stupor. Gilroy goes on to say:

"Syril wakes up and goes, 'Oh my God, my [emotional] need blinded me into doing this.' And how human is that? How many situations do every one of us wind up in because we have blindness?"

Interestingly enough, actor Kyle Soller has gone on record saying that he believes Syril wouldn't have become a Rebel had he survived. As he once told The Hollywood Reporter, "I still don't think he would've joined the Rebel side. I don't think he would've joined a side at all. I think he would've been so traumatized by those last ten minutes [of the episode] that he would just wander off somewhere to live alone." You know what? Fair enough. Agree or disagree, both seasons of "Andor" are currently streaming on Disney+.