Andor Walked a Delicate Line With Its Latest Tragedy

The 2nd enactment of Andor play two, among galore different things, reunited insurgent lovers Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz arsenic portion of Luthen’s attempts to scope retired absorption to the Empire connected Ghorman. Separated for years aft the events of play one—save from a distant “reunion” astatine the climax of play two’s opening trio of episodes—when Vel and Cinta conscionable again crossed these episodes, they are fixed a accidental to bespeak connected some their narration to Luthen and the increasing Rebellion, and yet to each other, culminating successful a tender moment: 1 that, aft the casual queerness of their arc crossed play one, handily became what is arguably Star Wars‘ astir salient and explicit showcase of on-screen queer intimacy yet.

Alas, it was not to last. Almost instantly aft Cinta and Vel get to stock a infinitesimal of passionateness together, calamity strikes. Dealing with anxious and unprepared members of the Ghorman absorption to signifier a heist of Imperial weaponry, an altercation betwixt 1 of the guerrillas, Samm, and a section Ghor leads to an accidental blaster discharge, a stray bolt that catches Cinta cleanable successful the chest, sidesplitting her instantly (banner week for Varada Sethu being shot, apparently, betwixt this and the latest Doctor Who).

It’s simultaneously some an fantabulous melodramatic moment—especially the aftermath of Vel’s grief, wherever she ruefully hangs the trauma of Cinta’s decease connected Samm’s conscience, a greater symptom she tin woody successful the infinitesimal than simply sidesplitting him successful turn—and an incredibly precarious 1 for Andor to navigate. No substance nevertheless it could beryllium handled, the infinitesimal inactive brushes up connected a arguable trope of disposing LGBTQ characters that has plagued treatment of queer practice successful media for years: the thought of “Bury Your Gays,” in which a queer quality is introduced and past killed disconnected for daze worth erstwhile they person checked a container disconnected for divers practice alternatively than being fixed overmuch of a quality arc.

Star Wars, particularly successful on-screen material, inactive has a agelong mode to spell successful introducing salient LGBTQ characters, 5 years connected from its painfully lackluster watershed moment with Rise of Skywalker‘s fleeting sapphic kiss. While queer characters surely beryllium plentifulness successful Star Wars media more broadly these days, from comics, to books, to games, Star Wars is inactive successful the eyes of galore inactive chiefly a franchise of movie and TV, and Vel and Cinta were arguably by acold and distant the astir salient on-screen LGBTQ characters it had delivered successful the past decade. Giving 1 of them a tragic end—especially astir instantly aft allowing them a infinitesimal of blessed reconciliation and romance—would ever person stung for queer audiences successful this context, careless of however good it was handled, and particularly careless of however Andor itself is often consenting to deduce hostility successful its spy thriller narratives by making it wide to audiences that the immense bulk of its formed are seldom guaranteed safety.

© Lucasfilm

But connected the different hand, Andor does not dainty Cinta’s decease arsenic specified daze value. The infinitesimal is presented with tremendous weight, a meaning that the arc itself is built astir successful the tensions of what it truly means for radical to instrumentality absorption into their ain hands. Cinta’s bravery could’ve earned her a hero’s death, a blaze of glory reflecting the choices she had made to combat backmost against the Empire, but the bitterness of her decease is that radical successful conflicts like Andor‘s don’t get the liberty of the decease they’ve earned. It tin beryllium sudden, and messy, and indelicate, due to the fact that that is simply the world we each look successful the shadiness of the large equalizer. Her decease is not lone a harsh acquisition for the Ghorman Front, but for Vel and the assemblage too: gyration is seldom cleanable and seldom without cost.

Vel and Cinta are 1 of respective romances Andor explores, and often fractures, arsenic they are caught up successful this question of the necessity of resistance—and arguably adjacent arsenic their narration forms a important portion of that questioning, its quality arsenic an explicitly queer 1 is not the sole defining facet of that lens. In chiseled opposition to Rise‘s fleeting, easy discarded queer moment, Andor treats some Cinta and Vel arsenic enriched, fleshed-out characters who happen to beryllium queer, alternatively than capital-Q, capital-C Queer Characters whose beingness lone hangs connected the metatext of the franchise getting to accidental “look, lesbians!” and past having small other to accidental done them earlier they tin beryllium discarded. That doesn’t erase either character’s queerness, but conscionable makes it 1 facet of their whole.

Andor‘s communicative treating them some successful this regard, adjacent arsenic Cinta and Vel look the pugnacious imaginable of inactive being 1 of the precise fewer on-screen queer couples the franchise has had truthful far, besides means that the amusement treats the some of them similar it does astir immoderate different subordinate successful its cast. In Andor‘s case, that means giving them the communicative close to beryllium jeopardized, to beryllium enactment successful harm’s way, to acquisition random calamity arsenic overmuch arsenic immoderate different heteronormative quality would. And adjacent arsenic Star Wars inactive continues to instrumentality tiny steps towards amended representing a plethora of queer characters, it’s conscionable arsenic vitally important that it doesn’t consciousness similar it cannot risks with those characters simply due to the fact that of typical importance. Neither Cinta nor Vel had to beryllium doomed by the narrative, but successful the communicative that Andor is telling in Star Wars, the information that they tin beryllium is simply a testament to the bid treating them arsenic much than conscionable a checked container connected database of divers representation.

Star Wars should person much cheery radical successful it, absolutely, truthful the nonaccomplishment of immoderate astatine this constituent is ever going to hurt. But portion of that travel to tangible, prime practice besides means that those queer characters request to beryllium capable to beryllium arsenic messy, complicated, and nuanced arsenic their consecutive counterparts, to beryllium treated arsenic existent characters to whom queerness is conscionable 1 quality, and 1 story, among galore they tin beryllium utilized to explore. And sometimes that besides means, for amended oregon worse, being capable to enactment them successful harm’s mode and acquisition tragedy, alternatively of leaving them safely tucked distant connected a shelf.

Andor play 2 is present streaming connected Disney+.

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