When I first watched Andor back in 2022, I was a fan of almost all the characters. Regardless of whether they were on the side of the Rebellion or the Empire, I could find something about each character that I could enjoy. Syril Karn was the exception; I hated everything about this suck-up police reject, and I audibly groaned every time he showed up. This wasn’t because Kyle Soller did a bad job, though; the opposite, in fact. He played the character too well. The character’s existence is what pissed me off. So when Season 2 started, and I saw Syril’s punchable face pop up again, I was ready for a whole new season of hating. But to my shock, I didn’t hate him as much by the end of the season.
Somehow, Andor Season 2 has made me do a 180 on my Syril Karn opinion.
SPOILERS FOR ANDOR SEASON 2
Like I said before, I despised Syril in Season 1, and if you go back and read my episode recap articles, I’m sure you’ll pick up on that. I hated everything about the character, from how he presented himself to how he interacted with others. Especially his fascination with Cassian (Diego Luna) and Dedra (Denise Gough). The Cassian one kinda made sense, but his singular focus not only screwed his security team out of a job but it also caused the Empire to roll into Ferrix. And then he proceeds to spend the entire rest of the season just bitching and moaning about how unfair everything is. Bitch please, shut the fuck up. Nobody has time to listen to your complaining when interesting stuff is happening.
And then there’s his borderline stalking of Dedra because she gets assigned the Ferrix case. Like, this man straight up memorised her daily habits to talk to her. Shit was creepy, and when it was hinted that they might become a thing, I threw up a little. By the end of Season 1, Syril was my most hated character of the entire show.
With my opinion of Syril already at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, how was Season 2 able to make me care even a little bit about this whiny Imperial twink? Well, they gave him more to do than bitch and moan, for starters, and it’s funny how much that changed my perspective on the guy. I was initially still disgusted by the fact that he hooked up with Dedra, but the more I saw of their relationship in the first arc, the more I was won over. It’s an oddball relationship that, on the surface, doesn’t look like it should work. But when Syril dissociated on the bed during a meal with his mother, I couldn’t help but feel a level of camaraderie with the poor guy. Then Dedra defends Syril from his mother (Kathryn Hunter), and I was suddenly rooting for this Imperial power couple to succeed.
Then comes Syril’s time on Ghorman, which not only changed Syril as a character but further shifted my opinion of him. He’s initially sent there by Dedra to aid in her plan of causing an uprising so the Empire can justifiably take control. Syril is unaware of the true reasoning, but he’s earnest in wanting to help Dedra and the Empire (which is misguided but kinda admirable). But then he interacts with the people of Ghorman, and you start to see the seeds of doubt being planted in his mind. He begins to question why he is there and, after being there for over a year, starts to see the true horror of what he helped cause.
During the Ghorman Massacre, he shows genuine disgust for Dedra’s plan and the role he played in it, choosing to leave the safety of the Imperial building and wander into the chaos unfolding in Palmo Plaza. It’s at this point that everything Syril ever knew was crashing down before his very eyes. Everything he knew was a lie, and he didn’t know what to do. It was at this moment that I was fully on board with a Syril redemption arc. Across these eight episodes, Syril became more than a little bitch from a random security detail; he had become someone who I could see actually wanting to do some good for the Galaxy after being used by the system he devoted his life to. I was actually hoping that we would see him grow into a better person by the end of the season, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.
As Syril was seemingly coming to terms with the consequences of his actions, I thought he was going to start his redemption arc, but then, in the middle of the chaos on Ghorman, he spots Cassian. At that moment, Syril defaults to his original objective: to bring Cassian Andor to justice. Is Syril aware that Cassian is there to kill Dedra? Who knows, but what matters is that Syril, as the world he knew is crumbling around him, latches onto the one consistent part of his life for the past several years. However, after finally having Cassian dead to rights, it’s revealed that Cassian doesn’t even know who Syril is, which throws Syril further into turmoil, maybe even finally fully reflecting on himself. But then, in a second, he is shot in the head by the leader of the Ghorman Rebels, Carro Rylanz (Richard Sammel), marking the end of Syril’s story.
This was low-key heartbreaking because the massive growth that Syril went through in the episodes leading up to his death was making me care about him more and more. He was finally seeing through the façade of the Empire and could’ve maybe become an ally to the Rebellion. Hell, if he didn’t stop Cassian from killing Dedra, Lonni (Robert Emms) would’ve never learned about the plans for the Death Star, and the Rebellion would’ve never succeeded. But this is war, and sometimes, that flicker of hope in a person is snuffed out prematurely.
Going into Season 2 of Andor, I expected to hate Syril, but he ended up being a highlight of the series. From his awkward but endearing romance with Dedra to seeing through the Imperial façade that has governed most of his life, it made him feel human. It’s a shame he didn’t get the chance to make amends for his actions and that he was unceremoniously killed on Ghorman. However, Syril Karn is no longer my most hated Star Wars character. In fact, he may even go down as one of my favourites.
What do you think about Syril Karn? Are you a fan? Did Season 2 change your mind? Let us know in the comments where we can talk all about this fascinating character.
