Andor Perrin Fertha

Perrin is a far more intriguing character than he may seem to many on the surface, and like everyone else in the show is excellently acted by Alastair Mackenzie. He’s hedonistic, verbally abusive, ignorant and oblivious, but there are hints of suspicion every now and then when he wakes up.

I say “wakes up” because we’re given the impression that he may have been a more formidable personality when he was in military service. He seems like a tired, old soldier whose Clone Wars glory days are long past and now he's complacent and simply seeking to maximize the comfort his arranged marriage has brought him.

There could be, though, an underlying feeling of “burnout” to him too. He’s tired of everyone becoming “political” since he wants to forget those darker political times of the past that he’s already faced and, again, just wants to live his comfortable life – one he’s partially happy to embrace and at the same time is partly resigned to.

As for where he goes next, he’s perfectly suited to continue being what we’ve seen so far and become yet another sacrifice Mon Mothma has to make in service to the greater cause, albeit a small-ish one since their relationship seems like it’s probably always been nothing more than a façade. Or, he could become just aware enough to outright betray her... or mistakenly do so out of ignorance...

Another option is a dramatic redemption arc. Not one we necessarily see completed in Season 2, but what if Perrin, surprising even himself, breaks out of his complacency, becomes “political,” and eventually becomes one of the Rebellion’s early generals?

I don’t think we “need” such a fairy tale turn around, and his and Mon’s continuing on their current, tragic divergence is perfectly fine literarily, but it would make for a good story too, with his perishing for the cause sometime after Yavin but before Hoth.

Anyway, just some thoughts. Perrin has been interesting from his first scene.

 

Yes he is rather intriguing. He has also been extremely annoying selfish ***** from his first appearance, but he could definitely surprise us. He is probably not that oblivious as he seems.

 

For me, I find him the prime definition and example of the entitled rich who shows no compassion, nor a want to understand the plights of others outside of his class of privilege. He literally does not care to the suffering of others and on the contrary, is frustrated and resentful towards his wife for caring and potentially jeopardizing what they have.

There were some comments made before this series started of how some of these characters may bare a resemblance to real life people of recent times who may have dealt in (or associated themselves with people in) politics. I've got an idea in my head who Perrin may represent and like him, the real life person has an attractive wife too - but she appears to be the polar opposite of Mon in personality.

Because in the show, you never see him with a job - nor is he doing some sort of great charity cause, or something meaningful towards those less fortunate. Perrin simply appears to be a sponge. In one of the episodes, there was a brief moment where there was a reflection upon Perrin in his younger years having a little something about him - something like that. But over the years, this has faded away to what he is now.

I've seen and heard of variations of Perrin in real life. Like a guy that went and did some obscure degree and wouldn't get any other job other than what he studied for. And he would turn his nose up at "lesser" jobs because they were beneath him; this is despite having a child and his wife working full time. His thing was that he went to hang out with church mates while his wife slogged it out to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Or the rich son who would eventually take over daddy's business. A guy who would swan around town thinking he is something special, but would never work a seriously hard day in his life. Fed with a silver spoon in his mouth and would look down on others with contempt for not having the wealth and privilege he had.

I'm sure everyone has there own examples of these kinds of people. I too find him fascinating to a degree; like I do with most people who are not like me because I want to know what makes them the way they are. But I think he is suppose to represent everything that Mon is not and everyone even more sympathetic to her cause.

 

Really well stated and described, @Generational Fan. Despite my playing with other possibilities for him, I think you're right about Perrin -- what we see is exactly why he's in the story.

 

That’s a weird thing to focus on - him seemingly not having a job - as there are others in the show who seem to work back-breaking jobs to advance the cause of space totalitarianism - and I’d say those people are far, far worse than this apathetic guy who just wants to enjoy life.

I’d focus on the lack of compassion for others being his primary defect. If he was a jobless philosophy grad but with a deep compassion for people and a largely private hatred for the Empire, he’d be a decent enough person.

In short, him seemingly not working a 9-to-5, or busting his butt to put money in the bank, is not why he sucks. He sucks because he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

 

Agreed. I'd also add that any speculation about him having a job or not seems kind of useless. He is a side character whose main purpose is to portray the family-relationships of Mon Mothma. For that it is entirely irrelevant to show his daily habits. He is only ever shown in connection to family disputes and as a political counterpoint to his wife. There is no indication in the show that he doesn't have a job or is leeching off someone else. All we really know, is that the family is fairly rich. The show does not give any detail on his life beyond that, which it easily could if that was what they were going for. Whether he does stuff, doesn't need to do stuff anymore, or just hangs around enjoying the family fortune he never really worked for, isn't covered at all.

I mean, we only ever see Wedge running around in his pilot-uniform. From that I wouldn't assume that it is the only clothing he owns. Small roles see limited screentime. From said limited screentime one cannot assume that the character never does anything else. All the other stuff is just not relevant to the story being told.

 

Right. He also seemed to be actively organizing a dinner party. For which he was keen on inviting terrible but allegedly fun people. That was him working. And so I think Mothma is better off with him not working! In fact, if society could pay terrible people to not work, it would be a better society! If you’re a terrible person, please stay the F at home. Lol.

 

The man’s a fop. A superfluous man emasculated by his wife’s eminence. A sodden grocery bag seething with cynicism, and boredom, all hidden behind Fancy-Dan clothes and a painted on smile.

So says my wife. I just think he’s a bit of a tw*t. But she reads books and stuff.

 

He's a chump.