Was Lack of Subtitles in Andor's Kenari Scenes Intentional? Fans Think So
Solid ratings, fan excitement, and countless Reddit discussion threads: three things you can expect from any Star Wars Disney+ show.
Andor, the newest installment of the franchise, lived up to those expectations after its first three episodes' release on September 21. A prequel to a prequel, Andor follows Cassian Andor becoming the heroic rebel viewers saw in 2016's Rogue One.
Only hours after release, it seems every r/StarWars thread wants to know the same thing: What's up with the subtitles?
Across all three episodes, viewers see Cassian on his childhood planet, Kenari. Star Wars ' version of the basic language isn't spoken on Kenari, but there are no subtitles for the foreign language. This isn't new on a small scale. Conversations between Chewbacca and Han Solo, for example, went untranslated. It is, however, on a much wider scale in Andor. It's more than one person's single line; it's an entire scene.
Redditors took to the keyboard to voice their opinion.
The sole consensus was that it was intentional, an artistic decision to allow the audience to empathize with Cassian's culture shock when taken from Kenari as a child, or to evoke a sense of building dread.
Some agreed with the absence of subtitles. After all, there have always been characters we don't understand. They argued that conversations with R2-D2 and Chewbacca felt the same.
Still more argued that it added to the sense that this was basically first contact with a planet something rarely seen in Star Wars.
Dissenters called it a mistake, that takes away from the worldbuilding and character development. They would have understood it for shorter scenes and minimal exchanges, but with a lot of Kenari shown in the first few episodes, it felt excessive.
One Redditor felt it was a step back to the Original Trilogy. Most characters either spoke English or had no subtitles with few exceptions. But since the 1980s, the Redditor argued that most characters have been able to be understood.
Atop the discussion, a few theories were posited. It seemed to guide the writing toward the eventual meet-up between Andor and his sister, in which she'll retell her version of what happened when he left. Translations of what was said will be included.
The lack of subtitles seems to be intentional, but what does it mean? Share your theory and maybe find out on September 28 when episode four airs exclusively on Disney+.