There are spoilers ahead for the first three episodes of Andor season 2! Don’t go any further if you want to remain unspoiled.
As dark as Andor season 1 was, it was still largely in the sci-fi/fantasy parameters that George Lucas set up in Star Wars nearly five decades ago. Andor season 2 has already pushed things further with Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen. The second season premiere established that Bix is still traumatized by the torture she endured as a captive of the Empire in season 1. But after the events of season 2, episode 3, Bix has now had to endure an attempted sexual assault.
Krole (Alex Waldmann), a lieutenant for the Empire, cornered Bix in the third episode and confirmed that he knew she was on the planet illegally. He offered to keep quiet in exchange for having sex with him. When Bix refused, Krole attempted to force himself on her before they engaged in a vicious brawl. It’s the first scene of its kind on the Star Wars universe, but Arjona praised the way it was handled by director Ariel Kleiman while speaking with Entertainment Weekly.
“We had an amazing stunt team and partner in Ari as a director, who shot that scene scientifically and in such a precise way so as to save us from doing a million takes,” said Arjona. “It was challenging because everyone involved in the creation of that scene felt the importance of what this scene meant, not only for the show, but for Star Wars. But I also felt incredibly safe and cushioned in the process of doing it. It’s something Tony Gilroy does. He brings this mirror effect that [shows] the things that happen in our world can also happen in a galaxy far, far away.”
Arjona noted that she prepared for this season’s stories by researching real accounts of women who endured rape and torture, and found inspiration in the way they faced their trauma.
“I felt like I went through the acting Olympics,” said Arjona. “The research was heavier. I’ve read so many interviews and I saw so many videos of people that have actually gone through this. That process was the most draining, and it stayed with me. By the time that I was doing the scenes, it felt like I was telling a little part of the story of the five individuals who I really honed in on their stories. [People] that no one really knows about. It felt like I was making them proud. They have no idea who I am, but it was a little homage that I was carrying through.”
Gilroy, the showrunner and creator of Andor, recently indicated that he plans to leave the Star Wars universe after the completion of the series. Three new episodes of Andor season 2 will be released weekly on Tuesday evenings through the end of its 12-episode season, which will also wrap up the series.
