Star Wars Fans in Mourning After Andor’s Surprising Death Scene (But Not for the Reason You Think)

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Andor Season 2

The latest batch of Andor Season 2 episodes contains another shocking character death, and Star Wars fans are processing their feelings about it in the aftermath. The episode titled “Who Are You?” features the end for Syril Karn, who is killed by Carro Rylanz during the hysteria of the Ghorman massacre. It’s a tragic fate for Syril, who had come to the harrowing realization that he had been used as a pawn in the Empire’s horrific and tyrannical plans. Just as Syril seems to be reconsidering his allegiances, he’s overcome by rage upon seeing Cassian Andor on Ghorman and — much to Cassian’s surprise — brutally attacks him. During their fight, Rylanz is able to spot Syril and shoot him. Fans on X are talking about Syril’s role in his own demise.

“Syril was gifted the opportunity for one of the greatest character redemption arcs EVER on a silver platter and he threw it all away over a petty grudge that he realized was pointless at the end,” one user wrote. “Will forever wonder what would’ve happened had he not seen Cassian and crashed tf out,” another added.

“Syril was so close to fully understanding what the Empire has done but his hatred of Cassian overrode it and cost him his life,” summed up another X user.

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In Andor Season 2, Syril continues to work at the Imperial Bureau of Standards and is stationed on Ghorman. He unwittingly is used to stoke the flames of rebellion on the planet, feeding Ghor resistance fighters information to help incite insurgent activity. Syril’s actions aid the Empire’s efforts to build a narrative about Ghorman, giving the Imperials a reason to use excessive force and take over the planet so they can secure materials for the Death Star.

Syril, who prided himself on his pursuit of justice and order, is appalled to find out the Empire intends to slaughter the innocent Ghor. Despite having his perceptions shifted, he can’t resist the urge to lunge himself at Cassian, who Syril relentlessly hunted over the course of Andor. That ended up being the death of Syril; Rylanz killed him for his role in the Ghorman massacre.

Star Wars canon includes instances of Imperials defecting and joining the Rebel cause. One of the more notable instances is Agent Kallus on Star Wars Rebels, who starts the show as a member of the ISB before becoming a Rebel spy. For a moment, it seemed like Syril was destined to follow a similar path, but his emotions got the better of him. One of the more tragic elements of Syril’s death is that he blames Cassian for what happened to his career. Prior to joining the Bureau of Standards, Syril attempted to bring Cassian to justice as a Deputy Inspector, and the Ferrix incident blew up in his face. In Syril’s mind, Cassian was the reason why he was on Ghorman in the first place, unknowingly helping cause mass genocide.

It’s understandable that Syril wasn’t able to put his personal feelings about Cassian aside, but it would have been interesting to see what might have happened had he more control. An arc of Syril and Cassian forming a tense partnership to go on missions for the Rebellion would have given Andor a meaty dynamic to explore as the two would have had to overcome their differences to work together. It would have been fun to watch those two play off each other given their history, but Syril’s ending was a tragic and poetic demise for the character.