Let’s all remember today that The Empire exists because of Anakin’s fear and selfishness. He was selfish enough to kneel before Palpatine and decide that his life with Padme was more important than every man who died in that prison without seeing the sun for years. He decided that his pain should be more important than the families of every man who drowned escaping. He decided that his comfort was worth more than Cassian growing up with parents and a sister, and later, his adoptive father. He decided that being an adult and facing the possibility of loss was too much burden and that Bix’s phycological destruction was a fair trade. He decided that due process, and Mon Mothma’s daughter, and Luthen Rael’s peace, and Nemik’s life were worth losing as long as he didn’t have to go through grief.
THAT is attachment. It’s the fear of loss so great it blinds a person to the consequences of their actions. People say the Jedi didn’t love. But who had more love? Anakin Skywalker, who traded Kino Loy’s life for his own fear? Or Obi Wan Kenobi, who killed his brother and himself on the banks of that hellscape so that the Galaxy would not come to this?
One of the things I loved about Andor was that Cassian goes on his big ‘this will change your mind’ mission heist. Instead of choosing to join the rebellion at the end of it because he’s seen how it’s the right thing, he runs. I love that he runs. He sees how hard the fight will be and what he’s expected to do and is like fuck no I’m out.
It’s not until he experiences the truth, that the empire will never stop intruding into his life, even when he is trying to live peacefully, that he turns himself over to Luthen. It’s not until he sees there is no other way that he says ‘I’m ready now.’ It’s such a human take. We try and choose peace when given the chance. People don’t want to fight for their lives, even good people, even for a good cause. We want to live and love quietly but fascism will never leave space for it.
