While many consider Disney+'s Andor series to be about as close to perfect as a TV show can get, there is one thing it did wrong. The Tony Gilroy-created star-faring spy drama has been acclaimed as one of the best Star Wars series, sitting amongst the likes of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and The Wire as some of the best-reviewed TV ever.
Some fans have spotted one glaring criticism of Andor (specifically Season 2), potentially poking holes in its case for joining the all-time TV pantheon. While much of the series focused on Diego Luna's Cassian Andor's emotional journey as he gave up everything for the Rebellion, there are a few other big characters the show spotlights, and that is where this particular critique comes into play.
Andor Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Disney+, recounting the origins of Diego Luna's Rebel spy before fans see him steal the Death Star plans in the beloved Star Wars: Rogue One. Luna was joined in the acclaimed series by A-list acting talents like Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, and Kyle Soller (read more about the Andor cast here).
What Did Andor Season 2 Do Wrong?
Andor's record is nearly spotless when looking from afar. It delivered tense action unlike anything seen in Star Wars history, gripping performances from its entire cast, and prescient writing that cut to the core of several real-world conflicts (both current and past). However, it was not perfect.
Andor Season 2, sadly, falls into one of the biggest traps in narrative fiction: The Bury Your Gays trope. One of the show's second season's biggest ongoing plotlines has to do with the ever-unfolding relationship between Faye Marsay's Vel Sartha and Varada Sethu's Cinta Kaz.
The Rebel recruits were introduced in the show's first season as two members of the Aldhani heist team with Diego Luna's Cassian Andor, who happened to be in a committed relationship with one another (or so they thought).
After the Aldhani escape, it becomes unclear where the pair stands with one another. Vel seems ready to commit to Cinta, but Cinta is more focused on the task at hand: bringing down the Empire.
This all culminates in Season 2's second arc, as Cinta comes back into Vel's life during an operation on the ill-fated planet of Ghorman (which also appeared in the beloved Star Wars Rebels series).
After years apart, Vel and Cinta reconcile and declare their love for one another, opening the book on their relationship once again; however, tragedy strikes then.
During a mission in the streets of the Ghorman capital, Cinta is gunned down and killed when a local insurgent accidentally fires off his blaster in a tussle with another Ghorman guerrilla soldier.
This has proven a major red flag for some fans, as it plays into the ever-present Bury Your Gays trope. This narrative crutch sees LGBTQIA+ characters often killed off over non-queer characters in media as they are perceived as expendable.
Vel and Cinta's relationship is handled well in Andor, and even its end feels suitably tragic for the characters. However, it's unfortunate that the show falls into this disappointing narrative trope that has plagued media for decades.
As perfect as Andor seems (and might I say, it is excellent), this is just another disappointing instance of queer characters being thrown to the wayside.
While it may seem like small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, it is not. There are reasons stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination are still as prevalent as they are in the world, especially toward the queer community.
One would like to think this was completely unintentional from Tony Gilroy and the rest of the writing team, and it most likely was. A lot of people die in Andor. This is a story of the sacrifices one must make (including the ultimate one) for a revolution to work.
No one in Andor gets a happy ending, and that is the point. So, one can see how the creative team would get to killing off Cinta (the only thing that matters to Vel) to further Vel's story. Still, it's instances like this that continue to perpetuate the notion that queer characters (and thus queer people) are not as important or valuable as hetero-normative ones.
