[This story contains spoilers through Andor season two’s eighth episode, “Who Are You?”]

During season one of Andor, Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn was described by a journalist as a fascist, something series creator Tony Gilroy outright rejected at the time.

Fast forward two-and-a-half years, Andor season two’s eighth episode, “Who Are You?” makes it crystal clear why Gilroy took issue with that characterization of the fastidious division chief for Imperial Bureau of Standards. Gilroy had written most of season two as of season one’s release, and so he already knew about Syril’s horrified reaction upon learning that the Empire, including his lover Dedra Meero, had used him as a patsy to lead the Ghorman population to slaughter. Syril thought he was there to infiltrate and empower the local rebel cell, the Ghorman Front, to potentially attract outside rebels like his sworn enemy, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).

After forcing Dedra’s confession,...