WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Star Wars in the age of lost innocence
Star Wars’s most critically acclaimed TV series to date, Andor, returned last month for its much-anticipated second season. In its three-episode debut, Andor pulls no punches on living up to its reputation as the “gritty,” “realistic” take on life in the Star Wars galaxy during the height of the Galactic Empire. Controversy, as usual with Disney‘s Star Wars, was invited.
The same show that opened its first season with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) visiting a brothel in search of his sister also featured a violent attempted rape in its third episode. Fans are bitterly divided over what this means for Star Wars — and they should be.
Star Wars has always been considered entertainment for children and families, but in the age of streaming and market segmentation, stories in a galaxy far, far away have been getting darker and darker. Appealing to people of all ages in one movie theater is no longer a concern of Star Wars, and yet, this old story has always treaded uncomfortable ground and left parents wondering whether they should have shielded their children’s eyes.
Let’s first review what happens on screen in Andor. Cassian’s love interest, Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), finds herself alone on a new planet after fleeing political chaos and persecution on her homeworld of Ferrix. When her abode is visited by a menacing Imperial lieutenant conducting a census of immigrant laborer visas, he forces himself on Bix.
Fans are at each other’s throats, and the subject matter cuts deep. “I don’t want to see rape in Star Wars,” said the powerhouse fan creator StarWarsTheory. The other side of the reaction was mostly to applaud the “bravery” of Tony Gilroy and other Andor showrunners in touching on the topic of sexual violence as part of political oppression.