This article contains spoilers for Andor episodes 1-3.Andor episode 1 explains the fate of Cassian Andor's homeworld, Kenari, with the Empire's oldest excuse. Appropriately enough for a Rebel spy, Cassian Andor's backstory has always been shrouded in mystery. According to Star Wars Insider, he was believed to have been born on the planet Fest - but evidence suggested records had been altered. The truth is revealed in Andor episodes 1-3, in a series of flashbacks.

According to these flashbacks, Cassian Andor grew up on the planet Kenari. His origin appears to begin at the tail-end of the Clone Wars, when a Republic vessel crash-landed on the planet. One officer survived, but was killed by natives; when scavengers arrived to loot the ship, they expected every one of the natives to be killed in reprisal. They rescued the young Cassian Andor, taking him from his homeworld. And years later, the Empire classified Kenari as site of an unspecified "mining disaster."

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This seems to be the Empire's go-to excuse for any disaster, a lie told whenever any atrocity was committed. When Jedha was destroyed by the Death Star, they claimed it was a planet-scaled mining accident; some tie-ins have suggested the Empire briefly tried to use the same excuse for Alderaan as well. These examples suggest that, although Kenari was used for mining, the official line conceals an intentional atrocity that ravaged the planet. The disturbing question is whether this was actually committed by the Republic shortly after Cassian Andor was taken from his world, or whether it was done later.

Andor's Flashbacks Suggest The Republic Fell Long Before Revenge Of The Sith

Young Cassian Andor on Kenari

The timeline in Andor episodes 1-3 is chilling, simply because the crashed ship is referred to as a Republic vessel - meaning the initial incident took place before the end of the Clone Wars, at a time when the Grand Army of the Republic was still led by Jedi. The salvagers who took Cassian Andor from Kenari expected there to be harsh reprisals for the death of a Republic officer, suggesting the Republic had already become Imperial in all but name by that time. This certainly explains why the Jedi became increasingly blind to the actions of the Sith; emotions like anger, hatred, and fear have a pronounced effect on the Jedi's ability to draw on the Force, and the growing corruption of the Republic Army - coupled with the emotions experienced by victims of this corruption - would have had a significant effect on them. Not to mention the imperialistic nature of the Republic would explain how the Galactic Empire transformed so quickly following the Republic's collapse.

The events in Andor are triggered by Cassian's attempt to find another survivor from Kenari, which may hint the "mining accident" was a later atrocity committed by the Empire following the events of the Star Wars prequels. The Empire reinvigorated the galactic slave trade, enslaving non-human and less developed species across the galaxy. The mining accident may simply have been a cover for a massive slave operation, with every single native taken from Kenari in chains. Andor is clearly showing exactly why the Empire was hated and feared.

New episodes of Andor release on Wednesdays on Disney+.

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