Mundane Evil: Andor Introduced One of Star Wars' Best Villains So Far
One of the most controversial villains in the Star Wars franchise is truly horrifying, but not in the way you might expect.
Disney Plus series, Andor is undoubtedly the most unique representation of the Star Wars universe ever seen on screen. A prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor chronicles the life of one of the film's protagonists, Cassian Andor, and his journey to joining the Rebel Alliance, showing everyday life in the Galaxy Far Far Away during the reign of the Galactic Empire with greedy realism.
There are no flashy space battles, lightsabers or The Force, just the horrors of life under the despotic government, which carries out its dark deeds at the hands of ordinary people like Syril Karn, a deputy inspector for the Preox-Morlana Corporate Authority.
What makes him stand out in a long line of Star Wars antagonists is how eerily realistic his character is.
Syril is not a cyborg in black armor, not a scheming Dark Lord of the Sith, not an ambitious Imperial commander. He is an ordinary man, highly submissive to authority figures, acting aggressively on behalf of those authorities, traditional and conformist in his thoughts and actions. He simply does his job to maintain order, his civic duty, with fanatical devotion.
After an encounter with Cassian that results in Syril being fired from his job, viewers see him returning to his mother's apartment on Corusant, looking for a new job, and eating cereal. Compare that to Darth Vader meditating in his pod or Palpatine sitting in his throne room in the Death Star. Karn is much more relatable in this case, and that is one of the factors that would make an ordinary viewer uncomfortable.
Some fans speculate that his character is a satire of fascist vigilantism.
This theory is supported by the fact that he is highly fanatical to the point of being upset that his superiors want to sweep the whole Andor situation under the rug, so Syril decides to take matters into his own hands, with dire consequences for his team. This point of view may be true, but it does not negate the fact that such people exist in the real world.
Andor has been confirmed for the second and final season, so there is more of Syril's character to explore in future episodes.