Andor Dedra Meero

uh?

that's not how narrative works. . She specifically mentions Imperial Kinder-whats-its. The writers haven't accidently made this , it's intentional.

 

Narrative does work this way. Writers do decide to have names of places change. All the time, and for interesting reasons.

 

The word Kinderblocks is inspired by the facilities used by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, in line with the hundreds of other elements of the SW Empire that originated from the same historical source.
Now, we don't know precisely where the analogy ends, but without any doubt the implication is that Dedra had a very hard time those days, even though, of course, she downplays it by saying that she had everything she needed.

At the table, they all know what's going on: the mother is trying (in vain) to trigger her by reminding her of her traumatic past.

As for this discussion, yeah I'm pretty confident that either they did not think about the issue at all, or they thought about it but decided that the number of nerds who'd be bothered by such a detail was small enough to ignore.

 

Andor repeatedly has characters refer to events that happened during the Republic in Imperial terms. This isn't accidental, it's because for many people the shift from Republic to Empire wasn't that big of a change. Most of the Imperial policies are just extensions of Republic policies already in place. There was not a coup and a reorganization, but a rebranding.

Part of Andor's critique is that the actions aren't new, it's just not hidden so much any more. ICE has operated nearly the same way for twenty years. The main difference is that one party brags about it. So why not refer to the Republic as the Empire?

It's all the same people, the same governing bodies, the same Star Destroyers in orbit of planets that dare independence. Even the same guy in charge.

 

Dedra using Syril makes a lot more sense. I would agree that there are analogous organizations to ICE, Homeland Security, etc. More saliently, however, I'd wager that the KGB and Gestapo are better comparisons. They had several years to iron out their systems, for they were thoroughly totalitarian enterprises, if you will. Those in America are relatively new and could die out if enough people pay attention to their crimes.

But to return strictly to the show, the odd thing is that Dedra and Syril think they're doing the rational, logical thing. But I don't really believe that the Empire mixing selfish ambition with despondent, despotic society is a very a relational idea. Lol. It's destructive in both the external and internal manner. As TA1994 says, it's not exactly emotionally healthy. This applies to both psychology and sociology.

 

No, it’s not just a rebranding. The Republic changed from a Republic to a totally authoritarian state. That’s a fundamental restructuring that renders the Empire an entirely different kind of political entity than the Republic. That said, the transition may not have seemed so dramatic to a lot of the GFFA’s population, so I can see why they might blur the timeline, and the identity of the political entity in the recent past. And no, ICE has not always extra-legally disappeared completely legal immigrants without due process, and thrown non-citizens out of the country for protesting on campuses. This is just nonsense bothsiderism. What’s happening in the US now has its roots in the Patriot Act, for sure. But it’s a major departure from past administrations, and unambiguously authoritarian.

 

I'm exaggerating for effect, but while there's definitely an acceleration today there were children in camps under both administrations. The authoritarian state is just using the tools that were built under the previous government to their full extent. In the case of the Republic, when was the last time their elections truly mattered? The disbanding of the Senate happens before Yavin but it's mostly a formality, the Senate hadn't been guiding the Republic since the Naboo Crisis.

Obviously there are appreciable differences between the Republic and the Empire (and their most topical, modern-day analogues), but in both cases there is a continuity of government that I believe Andor intentionally draws attention to.

Sometimes it's hard to remember this season was not written in response to today's headlines, given its laser focus and relevancy, but clearly they could see it all on the horizon. The main difference now is these tools and strategies are being used in the Imperial Core. When foreign leaders are disappeared, civilians are drone-striked, tools of oppression are used to subjugate the outside world, it's not long before those same tools are used to suppress dissent internally.

 

It is a reorganization sold through rebranding (a more secure state), as shown in ROTS. But that doesn't really speak to how someone would refer to things in common parlance. The transition indeed might not have been seen as dramatic on a day-to-day level, especially given the last few years of the Republic were spent pitched in a galaxy-spanning war that no doubt had an effect on life in the Republic. It would probably be easy for the term "Imperial" to swallow up Republic institutions, referentially speaking.

Put another way, Plapy has been the face of the galaxy since Anakin Skywalker was 9.

 

Doubling down on my Deedra is Cassian's sister prediction.

I also predict he will ultimately have to kill her, and intentionally does so, showing how much he has changed from the beginning of the show.

At the end of the series, their moral positions will be close enough to make us uncomfortable and to create dramatic irony. They will almost mirror one another: both willing to do whatever is necessary for their own side.

 

Dedra Meero will kill Luthen and we get Dedra vs Kleya cat fight

 

I agree. I think the Republican became very authoritarian. Thus, the Empire is totalitarian. I gotta say, though, I love the establishing shots on Coruscant. And Chandrila is gorgeous. I would love to visit there. So glad we're finally getting live-action renderings of this world.

 

Mighty interesting how supportive Heert was of Dedra last season only to now be at odds with her. Cutthroat world.

 

Heert was literally her assistant last season. He’s an ambitious climber.

 

He looks like he could play a young Willhuff Tarkin

 

Dedra's mention of Imperial Kinderbloc is definitely weird, It might have been Republic back then, now imperialized. Or who knows if there is more of her character to reveal. It may also be that she is lying to shut down the conversation about her possible parents. Maybe there is something to hide there. Choice to mention it was intentional no doubt.

 

“Turn off the lights”

Nah. I’m getting some floodlights.

 

Dedra telling Syril to turn off the lights has a double meaning because he's keeping him in the dark regarding the Empire's plans on Ghorman. Also, she wanted to get it on.

 

well that's some good dodging, but I'm not impressed.
She said she was raised in a kinderblock, now you're reducing that to a year - why?

 

Good catch!

 

I have two issues with this theory.
One is that, if it was formally rebranded toward the end of Dedra's experience, still it means that Dedra must be in her early 30s or younger at the time of Andor.
The second one is that the word, "kinderblock", heavily hints at a place that is unique to the Empire, so it's a bit hard for me to buy that she lived in some childcare facility in republican Coruscant, and calling it an Imperial Kinderblock is just a naming convention but there was no big discontinuity in the way children were raised.
That said, I am totally aware that we are being overly pedantic, but if I had to guess, I'd say that almost surely the writers simply assumed that Dedra grew up under the Empire, and didn't put too much thought into the lore behind a tangential line of dialogue.

 

Loved that Dedra was physically repellent to the orders that she was given to carry out and yet she still carried them out. There's some part of her that is aware that she is doing the wrong thing and she seems to be physically responding to that but at the end of day she's loyal to the Empire. That's some great writing there.