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Cassian Andor: Separatist Blood

It takes all kinds to rebel

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization

Author: Alexander Freed

For most of your Star Wars fandom, you roam around the landscape, thinking that the beings that make up the Rebels are the clear-cut good guys. And, well, don’t worry, they are. This is a war of good versus evil, after all. A New Hope makes that pretty clear. However, as the years—and franchise—have rolled on, a new, more realistic picture of the people behind the Rebellion versus the Empire has emerged. And it’s wonderfully not as clean as first thought.

When we first meet Rebel spy Cassian Andor, he’s sneaking around an Imperial-occupied city on the Rings of Kafrene. Cool. Yeah. That’s what you’d expect of a Rebel spy named Cassian Andor. Then. Boom. (Or rather Pew Pew Pew.) He does something you would never expect: He sends a laser blast into the back of his informant Tivik and kills him. A Rebel just shot someone in the back! That’s not something you would have seen in A New Hope. The waters of this Rebel river are now murky. The Rebellion against the Empire wasn’t just like-minded politicians, good-hearted smugglers, and daydreaming moisture farmers. It was built with species from all parts of the galaxy and they brought with them different beliefs, strategies, and histories. A much more interesting and dynamic makeup of the Rebellion, which was why it was pretty damn cool (and definitely) surprising to learn that Cassian Andor, Rebel spy, was from a family of Separatists.

As it plays out on screen in Rogue One, Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor is conflicted and haunted by everything in his past. There is no doubt he believes in the cause. Andor is a rebel to the core. Nonetheless, his actions have weighed heavily on his soul and he wonders if it is all worth it. Additionally, he is also very standoffish with his new allies Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus. Their belief in and history with the Force, particularly Chirrut’s, seem to rub this Rebel spy the wrong way; which is weird because don’t the Rebels believe in the Force? Rebel leader General Jan Dodonna was the first onscreen character to say, “May the Force be with you.” Not Obi-Wan Kenobi. Not Luke Skywalker. It was a Rebel. They’re the good team. The Force likes them. They like the Force, right? Yet, here was Cassian Andor, standing out from under the protective umbrella of the Force.

The answer came in the Rogue One novelization by Alexander Freed when we the reader had the benefit of getting inside the mind of Cassian Andor. It’s stated plainly on page eighty-eight: Cassian Andor was raised by a family loyal to the Separatists. These were the people and planets that made up the Confederacy of Independent Systems and they stood against the Republic. In other words, the “bad guys” from the Star Wars prequels. Cassian Andor grew up fighting the Jedi and their clone armies.

It was a revelation worthy of putting down the book and ruminating on. It adds these delectable layers to the Rebels and it makes you look even closer at the events, major players, and points of view of the Clone Wars era. The Republic became the Empire. Perhaps Padmé was right when she asked Anakin whether he ever considered that they were fighting on the wrong side. You have to wonder about the true intentions of Count Dooku breaking away from the Jedi Order and leading the Separatists movement. Was it just about becoming a Sith Lord? Deep questions that make going back to watch and read these lil’ Star Wars stories that much more fun.

Cassian Andor being raised a Separatist fuels the fires of what makes him a rebel. He was a child when he became part of an Outer Rim insurrection cell, a soldier at six years old. His father died resisting. He watched as the Republic stamped out the Separatists and tightened its grip on the galaxy under a new name. He joined a new cause and had to learn to fight alongside people that fought against his family. Just as they had to learn to fight with him. Everyone—from Saw Gerrera to Mon Mothma to General Draven to Princess Leia—had a different idea of how to rebel against the Empire. Yet they all had to learn to work together in pursuit of the same goal. Cassian Andor is the face of this new Rebellion: Different paths leading to a shared goal: freedom for the galaxy.

Now you can pick up the book and finish reading about those plucky Rebels.