Warning! This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2, episodes 1-3.

Thanks to the returning Rogue One characters in best-ranked Star Wars TV show we know and love today.

Not only did Gilroy confirm that Andor season 2's cast, which has been confirmed to include certain Rogue One characters like Saw Gerrera, K-2S0, and Director Orson Krennic. In Andor season 2's first three episodes, one of these characters makes their Andor debut, with the scene holding deeper, darker meanings than is immediately evident.

Krennic’s Power Play In Andor Shows His Rise Through The Empire

Krennic's Andor Introduction Highlights The Cutthroat World Of Imperials

The character in question is Orson Krennic, who first appears at an Imperial meeting in Andor season 2, episode 1. As alluded to, this scene has several layers of complexity to it, with the first tying to a rivalry Krennic had in Rogue One with another popular Star Wars character: Wilhuff Tarkin. In Andor, Krennic's rise through the ranks of the Imperial hierarchy is outlined due to the nature of his secret meeting. The meeting is to discuss the Imperial occupation of the planet Ghorman so that a mineral can be obtained to further the Emperor's energy project.

What is interesting to note is that we have seen secret Imperial meetings in Star Wars before, even one involving both Krennic and Tarkin in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. However, in Andor season 2, Krennic's meeting does not include Tarkin. Krennic notes this and states that Emperor will involve Tarkin when he deems it necessary. Given the context of Krennic and Tarkin's rivalry from Rogue One, it is clear that this is simply an Imperial power play from the former. Krennic is trying to rise in the ranks of the Empire's hierarchy, doing so by excluding Tarkin from the Ghorman meeting.

Krennic’s Meeting Parallels One Of The Darkest Nazi Moments

The Empire's Fascistic Methods Are Underlined

Moving beyond the surface level depiction of Andor's Imperial meeting and how it links to Krennic's personal aspirations, it holds a deeper, darker meaning regarding the Empire at large. Of course, the Empire has always been depicted as a fascist, tyrannical organization in Star Wars, but Andor season 2 is proving to lean into parallels to real-world regimes of the same ilk, such as Nazis. Krennic's meeting is a direct link to this, stemming from a real-world Nazi event known as the Wannsee meeting. The Wannsee meeting was a gathering of top Nazi officials held in 1942.

The purpose of Krennic's meeting is to discuss how best to subjugate an entire race of people, the Ghormans, just as the Nazis did for the Jewish community...

This meeting aimed to complete the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question." The meeting was held in secret, with any and all records of it destroyed afterward, save from one. In Andor season 2, Krennic's secret Imperial meeting is held in a secluded mountaintop location - emulating Hitler's Eagle's Nest from WWII - with no records of the event taking place. To further drive home the Nazi parallels of Andor season 2, the purpose of Krennic's meeting is to discuss how best to subjugate an entire race of people, the Ghormans, just as the Nazis did for the Jewish community.

Andor Has Made Rogue One’s Villain So Much Darker

Krennic's Rogue One Role Is Much More Brutal Now

As I have alluded to, the fascistic parallels between the Empire and the real-world meant that the former was always dark in Star Wars. That said, Star Wars' movies and TV shows have mostly always kept its exploration of the Empire firmly in the camp of sci-fi adventure stories. Conversely, Andor has often been notable for its mature and complex exploration of the Star Wars franchise, with the scenes involving Krennic in season 2's opening episodes proving this.

Andor season 2 has Krennic seeking out ways to oppress an entire planet of people, which aligns with the Nazi history of prejudice against Jewish people. With confirmation that the Ghorman Massacre, a big event in Star Wars' timeline, will be part of Andor season 2, Krennic's meeting takes on an even darker light. Now, when the character appears in Rogue One, he will undoubtedly be seen as a more dangerous, tyrannical, fascistic threat than he already was.