The galaxy depicted in the Star Wars series experienced a profound event in “Andor.” The question remains whether the galaxy comprehends the significance of the moment portrayed, as should viewers on Earth.
In season 2, episode 8, titled “Who Are You?,” “Andor” delivers what is arguably the darkest scene in the Star Wars saga. On the planet Ghorman, known for its valuable minerals critical to the Empire’s Death Star, stormtroopers assault a group of unarmed protestors. This incites a conflict wherein both the Empire and the rebels vie for a propagandistic advantage.
The scene is prefaced by a tense buildup as brave protestors assemble in a square previously marked by an Imperial massacre. They chant “We are the Ghor! The galaxy is watching!” in anticipation of wider observation. Officially, a few journalists cover the events live, though, as confirmed by showrunner Tony Gilroy, they are aligned with the Empire’s Ministry of Enlightenment.
According to Gilroy, these journalists aim to propagate the story of a fabricated rebel attack on an Imperial facility. Later, their reports highlight “Imperial martyrs” — stormtroopers and employees of the Empire. The episode grimly remembers Syril, nearly uncovering the truth, and the entire planet Ghorman, which Senator Mon Mothma later labels a victim of “genocide.”
The phrase “the galaxy is watching” carries significant weight. Gilroy intentionally mirrors it with the protest slogan “the whole world is watching,” famously used during the Occupy Wall Street movement and potentially originating from the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. The chant gained prominence through Bob Dylan’s music and was notably broadcast during the 1968 anti-Vietnam War protests in Chicago, which ended violently despite widespread attention.
In linking “Andor” to anti-Vietnam protests, Gilroy aligns with Star Wars’ conceptual roots. George Lucas, initially poised to direct “Apocalypse Now,” envisioned the Empire as a metaphor for the U.S. military in Vietnam, illustrating a defeat by less technologically advanced foes.
Despite the grim nature of “Who Are You?,” this isn’t the franchise’s first depiction of genocide. Gilroy notes the large-scale destruction portrayed in the original Star Wars films: the obliteration of Alderaan and the Death Star, which included countless lives. He remarks on the lack of cameras on Alderaan, suggesting that focusing the narrative from a ground-level perspective, rather than from space, intensifies its impact.
