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Geek Tyrant
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
ANDOR Showrunner Tony Gilroy Explains That Gut-Wrenching Season 2 Death: 'It's So Elementally Greek and Dramatic' — GeekTyrant
We're now deep into the second and final season of Andor , and things are getting heavy. The recent wave of episodes delivered a blow that was both tragic and ironic, the death of Syril Karn, played by Kyle Soller. The former Empire paper-pusher finally came face-to-face with Cassian Andor only for Cassian to have no idea who he was. And just like that, Syril's years-long obsession ended not with victory, but with indifference and a blaster shot to the head from local rebel Carro Rylanz (Richard Sammel). Showrunner Tony Gilroy broke down the poetic sting behind Syril's exit in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, saying: 'It's so elementally Greek and dramatic that the thing that you've based your life on doesn't even recognize you. Everything that he's constructed for himself doesn't even have any awareness of him. 'I think he's just stunned. He can't even breathe at that point. There's the guy that ruined my life that I was chasing for four years, and I'll be like this raccoon in a relentless fight, and I'll be able to kill him. 'And then, oh my God, he doesn't even know who I am! It seemed like the absolute essential summation of poor Syril's life.' It's a devastating mic drop of a moment, one that redefines Syril's entire journey. For two seasons, he's positioned himself as the ultimate Company Man, clinging to order and control in hopes of achieving some twisted version of justice. But as it turns out, he was never even on Cassian's radar. Soller, who portrayed Syril with a tense, restrained intensity, also weighed in on his arc saying: 'I mean, those three words just completely diffuse Syril, and he feels like a no one, like a nobody. He hasn't made a difference. 'Everything has been a lie. I thought maybe he'd go find a mountain somewhere just to kind of make clothes or something. I don't think that he would swap sides. I don't think he would stay doing what he was doing. I mean, yeah, it's really an unknown.' What makes Syril's ending hit even harder is how quietly brutal it is. There's no grand confrontation, no final monologue, just a stunned face and a shot to the head. Syril died not as a villain or a redeemed hero, but as a man who never mattered as much as he thought he did. In the grand tragedy of Andor , that might be the most honest ending of all.
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Who Was Syril Karn?
'Who are you?' is the question that haunts Syril Karn for his entire life. From the moment we met him, prim and proper security uniform modified to be just so, a sense of purpose in a vast and uncaring universe has been at the core of understanding what makes Syril tick. The journey that took him across the galaxy reached a climactic moment in Andor's penultimate arc this week, and raised that haunting question once more. But the answer is more complicated than mere villain in Andor's narrative, doubting or otherwise. Because even as the hero of his own story, the man we know Syril to be, until the very end, is shaped less by himself and more by the systems and structures that made a tool of him. This doesn't excuse Syril of being responsible for what he abets by the end of his story on Ghorman, of course. No matter how much he doubts by the time of the massacre unfolding around him what he's helped bring about, he still made the choice to be an agent of Imperial interests, both willing soldier and dutiful boyfriend. In not getting the chance to see the light, but to instead face one last ignominy, being so thrown by the villain he built up in his head as Cassian Andor, staring at him blankly and asking that dreaded question—who are you—that he fails to either take the shot he's waited years to take or notice the kill shot being lined up on himself is fitting punishment for those choices, after all. But the question is left as unanswered to us as it was to Cassian and Syril alike. Who was Syril Karn? He was whoever anyone needed him to be. As long as it meant recognition, as long as it meant service, and in many ways, as long as it meant love. As misguided as he might have been, one thing that is repeatedly shown to us throughout Syril's arc is that he does at the very least try to do what he thinks is right. It's presented to us as an almost comically annoying trait when we first meet him, but we're introduced to Syril as a corporate security officer unwilling to sweep the death of two of his colleagues under the rug, in the name of doing things not just for justice, but by the book he was given. It comes up again and again in his journey, this desire to do the right thing being tied into and twisted by what is, ultimately, an similar desire that breeds subservience to authority, regardless of that authority's scruples. When we meet Syril's mother Eedy in that brilliant, intoxicatingly characterful moment of her slapping him across the face before giving him a hug, we're immediately told the kind of environment Syril grew up in. An absent father, and a mother similarly obsessed with status and hierarchy as he would come to be, created an environment primed for Syril to seek approval and validation outside of his family, regardless of the source. Perhaps, if Syril had been born 50 years earlier, that desire could've forged him into model citizen of the Galactic Republic—imperfect in its own ways, but still a structure that would've satiated his yearning for order in the chaos of the universe, a satisfaction with regulation and servitude, and moulded him a long a different line of thought. But instead, Syril came of age in the Republic's twilight, and was an impressionable young adult at the exact moment an authoritarian regime like the Empire and its corporate system cousins needed exactly that. That's how you get the low-level security officer who surreptitiously modifies his uniform, in the hopes of recognition. It's how you get the same officer willing to overcommit a dozen men to a murder investigation, in spit of pressure to do otherwise, forever changing the course of his life. It's how, when that investigation blows up in his face, you get Syril simultaneously committing to a life of bureaucracy while also practically throwing himself into the arms of the ISB, a level of even higher authority. Young men like Syril—seeking order and the warmth of recognition, of a kind of love, in equal measure—are perfect for Star Wars' Imperial structure, because they make for willing sculptures, to be shaped into tools and into weapons as the structure so desires: the Empire runs on evil, but that evil is aided and abetted, and normalized across a galaxy, by a generation of Syrils Karn. The blurred line between love and recognition in this structure becomes even further blurred in Andor's second season, as the unlikely, compellingly off-putting romance between Syril and Dedra flourishes alongside the latter's use of him as an eager field agent. At last, Syril seemingly has everything he wants: getting to play the dutiful Imperial citizen helping out in any way he can, while also getting the literal love of that regime through loving Dedra. But as much as the Empire craves people like Syril to use up in its engines, it similarly craves pushing them further and further as its desire for power and control becomes more brazen with confidence. So when Dedra and the Empire alike push that need, that yearning in Syril, to the limit on Ghorman, there was no other way he could break than badly. His physical abuse of Dedra when he finds out how much she knew about the Empire's plans for the Ghor is horrific, but it's a response born out of the thing the Empire made Syril into, a violent response to the betrayal of his subservience—of his love of Dedra and his love of the structure she represents—that dictates itself through violence. And it's all that that sets the stage for his final act. Syril's final encounter with Cassian is a fascinating foil to his first all those years ago on Ferrix, a question of identity at gunpoint. On Ferrix, it was Cassian aiming the gun, uncaring of who exactly it was that it was pointed at. He needed information that Syril had; whoever he was or turned out to be was inconsequential, and not even worth the blaster bolt Luthen growled at Cassian to put in him. Who Syril Karn was was not a question worth asking in that moment. Five years later, amid the chaos of the Ghorman massacre—a slaughter Syril abetted as he yearned to have an answer to that question, to have purpose—it's only fitting that Cassian finally asks it. In doing so, Syril is broken one last time: the answer he thought he had built up over those years had just been ripped away from him, the love he thought he'd had as empty as the institution he had given his life to. All that could be left, really, was the silence as the blaster bolt seared through his head. Used up and abandoned, in his final moments Syril Karn was nothing—another victim of the Empire on a day filled with them.
Gizmodo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Kyle Soller Breaks Down Syril's Biggest Andor Moment Yet
On Andor, few characters have gone on a ride quite like Syril Karn. Played by actor Kyle Soller, Syrill has seen incredible highs, terrifying lows, and in recent episodes, finds a sort of purpose as a key player in his girlfriend Dedra Meero's plan to gain Imperial control on Ghorman. That then came to a head in this week's episodes and, in two new interviews, Soller discussed what it was like to… well… time to dive into spoilers. In this week's run of Andor episodes, Syril found himself in the middle of what would later be called the Ghorman Massacre and finally came face to face with his arch-nemesis, Cassian Andor. The moment did not go well for him, though, as he realized Cassian had no clue who he was. The insignificance of his existence engulfed him, and he was subsequently blown away. RIP Syril. Speaking to Variety, Soller revealed when Andor creator Tony Gilroy told him about Syril's fate. 'He didn't tell me until between seasons one and two,' Soller said. 'I thought it was a perfect ending for him. It felt like just before something else could happen to Syril, it's taken away.' 'So much had been taken away from him within the last 10 minutes of his life, all these revelations and betrayals coming to light, the veil being lifted from all the truths he held to be right about the Empire and the choices in his life completely crumbling,' he continued. 'Instead of having a redemption story, I think it was much stronger and much more real to life. For all of Syril's vanity, romanticism, and delusions of grandeur about himself, he's just another cog in the wheel. He's just another casualty of war.' Maybe the most shocking moment is when, after two seasons, Syril finally confronts Cassian himself—and realizes that while Cassian has been Syril's obsession for years, Cassian's line 'Who are you?' makes it clear he has no idea who Syril is. Soller discussed the moment with IGN. 'It's so brutal for Syril to be confronted with his anonymity. He feels like he's making such a difference, desperate to make change and be recognized and to be somebody and to have actually made a difference on Ghorman,' he said. 'In 10 minutes, his whole world is turned upside down. And then he sees [Cassian]—the physical representation of all of his anger and frustration and worthlessness, and he pours it into him in this fight. And then he just goes, 'Who are you?' And he's killed. Even if he hadn't been blasted, he's annihilated in that moment.' Interestingly enough, 'Who are you?' was not the only line filmed. 'There were three or four different things Cassian was going to say, and they finally ended up on 'Who are you?' which I think was perfect because that breaks Syril in that moment,' Soller said. ''Oh, my God. My obsession doesn't even know who I am.' How gutting is that?' 'It was a short list,' he continued, revealing the other lines. ''You' and 'It's you' and 'Who are you?' It just completely cuts him in that moment. If Cassian had said 'It's you,' would Syril have had more resolve to do something or would he still have lowered his gun? I don't know, but in terms of Syril's arc, it just perfectly completes the journey being used by powers that are bigger than you in this huge machine and mayhem of life. You think you've made a difference, but you haven't.' For more from Soller on his character's hugely impactful demise, head to Star Wars News Net, which broke the interviews down even further.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Andor' Season 2, Episodes 7-9: Deaths and Births
'Andor' Season 2, Episodes 7-9 Before we begin, let us raise a glass to Syril Karn, a wonderfully weird villain, who meets his end in this week's rough and rowdy set of 'Andor' episodes. What is there to say about Syril? Do we celebrate the demise of this officious little man, who craved power and hounded our hero, Cassian Andor? Or is he a tragic figure, pushed around by the two women in his life and used as a pawn in the Empire's violent takedown of the planet Ghorman? To be clear, there is no shame in being a pawn. This is one of the main themes of 'Andor': Pawns have value to the cause. Even the evil ones. Ghorman's fall is at the center of these three episodes, which are just as much about how the main characters react to events that are so shocking — and happen so fast — that they aren't sure how to interpret them. Is what just happened good? Bad? Bad for now but good in the long run? The uncertainty of the moment is what makes these episodes so exciting and their outcome so consequential. The fog of doubt envelops Syril and ultimately kills him. The frenzy propels Cassian — though he remains wary of where it is sending him.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Andor Season 2 Star Explains Syril's Fate & Fight With Cassian
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Kyle Soller, who portrays Syril Karn in the Star Wars series Andor, reflected on his character's fate and legacy during a recent interview. The actor also spoke about Andor Season 2 and Syril's brutal fight with Diego Luna's titular protagonist. SuperHeroHype Spoiler Alert Kyle Soller on when he found out about Syril's death in Andor Season 2 Soller revealed in an interview with Collider that he learned about Syril's death between the first and the second season. Series creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy called him to give him an outline about Syril and Dedra Meero's (Denise Gough) story arcs. Soller, who previously essayed the role of Alfred Hillinghead in the Netflix series Bodies, elaborated, 'He's [Gilroy] setting it all up. But he waited to tell me. Which is clever and good, rather than thinking about it from the very beginning. So he tells everybody everything, but he knows when to tell everybody everything.' Andor has meticulously established Syril's obsession with Andor since Season 1. It all culminated in Season 2 Episode 8 when Syril spots the other man amidst a protest on Ghorman and attacks him. A fistfight ensues that ends with Syril pointing a gun at Andor. The latter asks him who he is. However, before Syril can answer, he is shot dead by Richard Sammel's Carro Rylanz. In the above-mentioned interview, Soller noted Syril's 'desire to be known' before stating he would be 'forgotten' by history, and not even a footnote would be dedicated to him. 'It ultimately captures the many, many, many, many people in history who've been forgotten, people who actually did much greater things than Syril, who have been forgotten and never get a second look,' Soller elaborated. When asked whether Syril would have joined the Rebellion, the actor dubbed the character a 'romantic, obsessive, fantasist' before mentioning that Syril would 'have just wandered off somewhere.' Andor Season 2 is currently streaming on Disney+.
