Who Are You? (Andor)
| "Who Are You?" | |
|---|---|
| Andor episode | |
 Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) lowers his gun after his obsession Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) asks him who he is, moments before Syril's death. | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Janus Metz |
| Written by | Dan Gilroy |
| Featured music | Brandon Roberts |
| Cinematography by | Mark Patten |
| Editing by | Yan Miles |
| Original release date | May 6, 2025 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Who Are You?" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction political spy thriller drama television series Andor. It is the twentieth episode of the series overall; it was written by Dan Gilroy and directed by Janus Metz.
The episode centers on the Ghorman Massacre, and marks the final appearance of nearly every Ghorman character thus introduced, including Carro Rylanz (played by Richard Sammel) and Lezine (played by Thierry Godard), as well as the planet Ghorman itself. "Who Are You?" also depicts the death and final appearance of Syril Karn (Kyle Soller).
"Who Are You?" was released on Disney+ on May 6, 2025 as part of a three-episode block also including "Messenger" and "Welcome to the Rebellion", and received widespread critical acclaim from critics for its writing, emotional weight, musical score and performances, particularly those of Soller, Denise Gough and Diego Luna. The episode received seven nominations at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, including an Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series nomination for Metz.
Plot
[edit]On Ghorman, Imperial troops begin assembling a blockade in Palmo Plaza in anticipation of an upcoming protest by Ghorman citizens. Dedra asks Partagaz how they plan to spin reports of Imperial mining rigs landing on Ghorman, but Partagaz tells her to focus on furthering the Empire's narrative of stifling Ghorman aggression.
As the Ghorman Front arm themselves for the protest, news reports begin to spread of a planned general strike on Ghorman in response to the firebombing of an Imperial naval terminal on the planet, which led to several Imperial casualties.[a] Syril and other Imperial officers are summoned to the office complex in Palmo.
As the city's population makes its way to Palmo Plaza for the protest, Carro notices the Empire's barricades and realizes they are setting a trap for the protestors; he tries talking Enza out of continuing the protest, but she refuses, arguing that the Ghormans have remained silent for too long. Carro unsuccessfully attempts to warn other civilians away from the protest. When he notices Syril in the crowd, he berates him for his deception, and demands to know why the Empire is sending mining equipment to the planet; Syril insists it is just a rumor. Dedra, meanwhile, speaks with Captain Kaido, who reminds her that she is to give his troops the order to retaliate against the protestors. Cassian spots Dedra on the balcony of the Imperial headquarters.
The Ghorman population assembles on Palmo Plaza chanting protests against the Empire; Lezine leads the crowd in singing the Ghorman national anthem, while the rebels pass various weapons to each other. Kaido has his men close the exits and orders Stormtroopers sent into the square, trapping the crowd, and sends in a detachment of inexperienced riot police to the front lines of the protest. Syril, meanwhile, forces his way into the Imperial headquarters and confronts Dedra about the Empire's true agenda on Ghorman, choking her till she admits that the Empire is mining the planet's resources for their energy program. She promises Syril that the two of them will be welcomed back as heroes for their work, but a disillusioned Syril bids Dedra farewell and leaves.
Outside, the standoff between the protestors and riot police turns violent; Dedra reluctantly allows Kaido to proceed with his plan, and Kaido orders his troops to fire at will on the protestors. Kaido's sniper shoots one of the Empire's own riot police, triggering a shootout between the Ghormans and Imperial forces. Numerous civilians and Ghorman Front members die while Cassian and Wilmon join the fight. Cassian attempts to kill Dedra on her balcony but misses his window. Kaido orders KX security droids to be sent in to suppress the protest; one of them kills Enza.
Syril watches the chaos in horror; upon spotting Cassian, he attacks him in a rage, and the two fight until Syril corners Cassian with a blaster. Cassian asks who he is, causing Syril to hesitate, only to be shot dead by Carro. Cassian and Wilmon join the crowd of civilians fleeing from the plaza as the KX droids chase after them and swiftly murder numerous people. Cassian unsuccessfully tries shooting at one of the droids as it advances upon him, but Samm rams the droid into a wall with a transport vehicle, disabling it.
Wilmon stays behind to find his girlfriend Dreena, a member of the Ghorman Front, and urges Cassian to spread word of the Empire's massacre of the civilians. Cassian arranges for the damaged KX droid to be brought back with him. Wilmon finds Dreena at the Ghorman Front's headquarters making an emergency broadcast, reporting that thousands of innocent Ghormans have been killed in the massacre. Dedra has a panic attack in her office. Imperial newscasts portray the massacre as a terrorist attack by outside agitators; a grief-stricken Eedy watches the news from Coruscant, realizing that Syril is dead.
Production
[edit]Writing
[edit]The episode was written by Dan Gilroy, in his fifth writing credit for the show, and directed by Janus Metz, after directing the previous episode of the series.[1][2][3] The episodes of Andor's second season, like those of its first, are split up into blocks, or story arcs, of three episodes; however, unlike in season one, each arc begins with a time skip of one year from the previous episode.[4] Series showrunner Tony Gilroy decided to structure the season this way after concluding that the original five-season plan for the show was unfeasible, and needing some way to bridge the four years between season 1 and Rogue One (2016) in a single season. As proof of concept, he wrote the first and last episodes of each would-be arc, and eventually decided on this structure for the season.[5]
Music
[edit]The original score for "Who Are You?", as with nine other episodes of the season's twelve,[b] was composed by Brandon Roberts, replacing Nicholas Britell, the composer for the show's first season, due to scheduling conflicts.[6]
The soundtrack for the episode was released alongside that of the other two episodes in its block on May 9, 2025 via Walt Disney Records as part of the third of four volumes of the second season's original score.[7]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Andor (Main Title Theme) – Episode 8[c]" | 0:47 |
| 2. | "The Plaza Fills" | 4:04 |
| 3. | "The Galaxy Is Watching" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Good Luck Dedra" | 1:22 |
| 5. | "Fire at Will" | 4:02 |
| 6. | "Put Them Out There" | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Who Are You?" | 1:02 |
| 8. | "Palmo One" | 4:46 |
| 9. | "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem: Orchestral Version)[d]" | 2:29 |
| 10. | "Elegy for Ghorman" | 3:36 |
| 11. | "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem: Acapella Version)[e]" | 1:41 |
| Total length: | 30:06 | |
Release
[edit]"Who Are You?" was released on Disney+ on May 6, 2025 as part of a three-episode block, alongside "Messenger" and "Welcome to the Rebellion".[8]
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 86% approval rating, based on 7 reviews.[9]
William Hughes of The A.V. Club gave a positive review, writing "One of the finest episodes this finest of Star Wars shows has ever offered up."[8] Mike Redmond of Pajiba gave a negative review, summarizing that "The flight path was already wobbly because of the rushed release schedule, and yet, that can't be blamed for what happened in this latest arc. I can't believe we're doing this".[10]
"Who Are You?" briefly attained the #8 spot among the top-ranked television episodes of all time on IMDb, and began a streak of five consecutive episodes[f] all rated 9.5 or above on that platform, becoming the first television series to do so.[11]
Accolades
[edit]| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2025 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Janus Metz | Pending | [12] |
| Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2025 | Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) | Luke Hull, Toby Britton, and Rebecca Alleway | Pending | |
| Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)" by Nicholas Britell and Tony Gilroy | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Yan Miles | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | Brandon Roberts | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) | David Acord, Margit Pfeiffer, James Spencer, Josh Gold, Alyssa Nevarez, John Finklea, Ronni Brown, and Sean England | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) | David Acord, Danny Hambrook, Geoff Foster, and Richard Duarte | Pending |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The firebombing is implied to have been engineered by the Empire themselves, in order to justify an attack on the Ghormans.
- ^ All episodes of season 2 but "Ever Been to Ghorman?" and "I Have Friends Everywhere" credit Roberts as the main composer
- ^ Performed by Grace Davidson
- ^ Performed by Davidson, with lyrics by Nicholas Britell and Tony Gilroy
- ^ Performed by Davidson
- ^ "Who Are You?" through "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"; this streak has since been broken as the rating for "Who Else Knows?" has dropped below 9.5
References
[edit]- ^ Lovitt, Maggie (April 8, 2023). "Tony Gilroy on the Race to Finish His Final 'Andor' Season 2 Script". Collider. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ "Andor (2021–2024)". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Lovitt, Maggie (November 3, 2022). "'Andor's Season 2 Directors Revealed by Series Creator Tony Gilroy [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Travis, Ben (May 4, 2023). "Andor Season 2's Final Three Episodes Cover The Three Days Before Rogue One – Exclusive". Empire. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Hadadi, Roxana (May 16, 2025). ""Before Anyone Else Defines It, I'm Going to Define It": Tony Gilroy on 'Andor', 'Rogue One', the Star Wars Universe". Vulture. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ "Brandon Roberts Scoring Disney+'s 'Andor' Season 2". Film Music Reporter. April 11, 2025. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ "Details for 'Andor' Season 2 – Vol. 3 (Episodes 7-9) Soundtrack Album Revealed". Film Music Reporter. May 8, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Hughes, William (May 7, 2025). "Andor explodes". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Who Are You?". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Redmond, Mike (May 7, 2025). "'Andor' Season 2 Recap: Somehow, The Force Awakens". Pajiba. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ O'Rourke, Ryan (May 16, 2025). "'Andor' Season 2 Makes Television History As the First Show Ever Made With This IMDb Record". Collider. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "Andor". Television Academy. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
External links
[edit]- "Who Are You?" at IMDb
- "Who Are You?" at StarWars.com
- "Who Are You?" on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
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