When the first trailer for Andor premiered, it seemed like the series was going to dip into a Les Miserables vibe and portray a massive uprising on the planet Ghorman. For fans of the non-canon Legends timeline, it was pretty obvious what this event was: the Ghorman Massacre, where Grand Moff Tarkin landed a ship in the middle of a crowded peaceful protest, murdering and injuring hundreds of innocent citizens, sparking the beginning of the Rebellion.
It seemed like the obvious choice, but there was one problem: in Legends, the Ghorman Massacre happened in 18 BBY, more than 15 years before Andor Season 2 is set. So the question remained: how was Andor going to move up the action to right before the battle of Yavin without showing Tarkin himself? Turns out, the answer was “not at all” — instead, the story did something far more interesting.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Andor Season 2, Episodes 4-6.
In Episode 4 of Andor Season 2, Syril Karn attends a secret meeting of Ghormans planning an uprising against an increased Empire presence on the planet. One citizen takes to the stage, saying “Sixteen years ago, Grand Moff Tarkin killed 500 peaceful unnamed Ghormans in the middle of that plaza,” he says. “There was a promise that the new Imperial building would never cast a shadow across the memorial.”
Later we learn this event — which matches the exact description of the Ghorman Massacre of Legends — is actually referred to as the Tarkin Massacre. Instead of bringing the Legends tragedy further ahead in the timeline, Andor treats it as its own separate event, a trauma for the Ghor instead of a looming foreshadowing moment.
This not only means that Andor doesn’t have to creatively write around Moff Tarkin, but also it proves that the Ghor are used to Empire interference. The Tarkin Massacre was only 16 years ago — all the adult citizens of the planet remember it, and many have lost at least one person to it. They know what the price of civil disobedience is, and they’re still prepared to pay it.
But by the same token, these people know how cruel the Empire can be. The galaxy may not have listened the first time, but they certainly will here. As the “Secret Cargo” episode of Rebels revealed, it’s the Ghorman Massacre that prompts Mon Mothma to speak out against the Empire. Ghorman may be a long-suffering planet, but that just means they’re a persistent people.
Andor may be showing the first rumblings of the Rebellion, but having the Tarkin Massacre existing in the past proves that the Empire has been committing atrocities far before the oppressed groups got organized enough to fight back. We know where the fight is headed — Rogue One and the original trilogy — but it’s sobering to remember there have been decades of evil leading to this.
