The Star Wars universe is much bigger than the movies and TV shows imply. As it stands now, the earliest part of the timeline we’ve seen in live-action is The Acolyte, while the latest is The Rise of Skywalker. But there’s much more to be found on the outer rim of Star Wars canon: the books, comics, and games.
These worlds are usually kept separate, but we’ve recently begun to see more overlap between the books and the TV shows. And in Andor Season 2 Episode 10, there’s a huge book reference in plain view... if you’re willing to decode it.
Andor Season 2 Episode 10, “Make It Stop,” focuses on Kleya as she infiltrates a Coruscant hospital. An establishing shot of the hospital shows a giant sign written in Aurebesh, and while it looks like your typical alien language, it’s easily decoded by the obsessive Star Wars fan, as each symbol corresponds with a letter of the English alphabet.
The hospital sign translates to Lina Soh, the name of a Chancellor from the High Republic Era. The High Republic, set centuries before the events of the movies, was when the Jedi were at their peak, and the galaxy was a (relatively) peaceful place. The Acolyte was set during the waning days of the High Republic, and one of the characters from the recent novels set during that time, Vernestra Rwoh, even appeared in live-action, but this was well after the chancellorship of Lina Soh.
If any chancellor is worthy of having a hospital named after them, it’s Lina Soh. She ushered the Republic through the Great Hyperspace Disaster, where a starship destroyed in hyperspace scattered debris across the galaxy. She also attempted to unite as much of the galaxy as possible, overseeing big outreach projects like the construction of the Starlight Beacon, a space station that connected Outer Rim planets to the rest of the Republic.
The High Republic may be separated from the rest of the timeline by centuries, but the events of the past are never forgotten, not even in Star Wars scripts. It’s a nice nod to the sheer scope of the franchise’s timeline, and a clever touch of irony. Lina Soh may be the namesake of an Imperial hospital, but her unifying legacy is being carried on by the Rebellion.
