Lucasfilm
Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) may be a relatively new addition to the Star Wars saga, first appearing the fifth season of The Clone Wars, but he has a much longer history with the saga. According to Lucasfilm Story Group’s Pablo Hidalgo, Saw was originally meant to appear in George Lucas’ live-action Underworld series. When ABC shelved the show in 2012, Lucas introduced Saw in The Clone Wars, and his story has since continued in live-action projects like Rogue One and its prequel, Andor.
Though he’s described as “the original Rebel” and has no love for the Empire, Rogue One leaned heavily on his connection to Anakin Skywalker, who trained him in combat before becoming Darth Vader. These two characters become subtle foils to each other after the Clone Wars. Like Vader, Saw is a bit more machine than man, an extremist who uses reinforced armor and cybernetic legs to survive. But where the prequels gave us a detailed look at how Anakin became a dark lord of the Sith, Star Wars has yet to do the same for Saw. Fortunately, that’s beginning to change with this season of Andor, which brings the insurgent back to the fray and fills in a small part of his backstory.
Spoilers ahead for Andor Season 2 Episode 5.
Wilmon gets a crash course in true rebellion from Saw Gerrera. | Lucasfilm
This week’s Andor arc brings Wilmon (Muhannad Ben Amor) to the planet D’Qar, where Saw and his Partisans are gearing up for a heist. Wil’s there to teach them how to safely recover rhydonium, a highly explosive fuel that Saw claims can burn a being’s lungs from the inside out. Saw uses Wil to hack into a rhydonium pipe on another far-flung planet, and while he does his dangerous work, Saw tells him the story of his first brush with the fuel on his homeworld of Onderon.
Once Wil taps into the pipe, Saw inhales the fumes to get high. It’s jarring to witness, but it partially explains his extremist tactics. On one hand, Saw could be using rhydonium to ease the wounds of his past: his early days on Onderon were rife with trauma and abuse, and he also lost his sister Steela during the Clone Wars. He notably calls rhydonium his “sister” now — it’s become his comfort, as well as a method to focus his energy.
Saw is one step closer to becoming the Darth Vader of the Rebellion. | Lucasfilm
As Saw explains to Wil, revolution and sanity make for poor bedfellows. He compares the Partisans to rhydonium itself: “We’re the thing that explodes when there’s too much friction in the air,” he says. He compares the high to the sensation of freedom, and encourages Wil to partake in it with him.
For now, the rhydo doesn’t seem to harm either Saw or Wil. But with continuous use, it’s easy to see why Saw later has to breathe with the help of reinforced lungs. The fuel is highly corrosive, and too much exposure will eventually burn away at its users. Since we’re only a few years removed from Rogue One, Saw’s not a long way off from that fate. In Andor’s latest episodes, he’s just one step closer to becoming the Vader of the Rebel Alliance, and there’s no telling how much further he’ll go for freedom.
Andor Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.
