Star Wars is not a franchise known for its LGBTQ+ characters or themes. In fact, queerness in Star Wars is almost nonexistent, with only one live-action moment of queerness being shown in any of the movies, even though “gay characters are coming to Star Wars,” at least, according to J.J. Abrams, almost six years ago. Andor, the latest Star Wars TV show, seemed to be on the verge of reconciling Disney and Star Wars’ complete erasure of queer characters, while making an amazing show. However, with the end of the first season, once again, Star Wars leaves its LGBTQ+ characters to middling subtext and ultimately nothing substantial. Andor, a prequel to 2016’s Rogue One, follows in the footsteps of Cassian Andor, who would help take down the Death Star and be a vital piece of the Galactic Rebellion. Early in the season, the show introduces very committed rebels Vel and Cinta, who are “sharing a blanket.” This off-handed comment ends up leading to some long glances and hand-holding, but nothing else. Despite the constant hints, the two characters end up looking like they barely know each other, much less are together. The two characters have many moments that could’ve made them the first lesbian couple in Star Wars, but it never ended up happening. Yet, despite how wonderful the show is, its themes end up coming off hollow. It’s hard to fully appreciate a story about overcoming oppression when it shoves its LGBTQ+ characters to the side in a way that is truly baffling. Andor is not afraid to show murder, suicide, and talk about many mature themes, but somewhere along the line, the creators decided that even having their queer characters kiss or show any sort of affirmation was too much. While the show is not afraid to take inspiration from real-life queer rebellions, like a brick that becomes a major part of the climax, it never ends up having anything real to say or go on. The LGBTQ+ characters in this show could’ve provided some real-world parallels to the show’s message of oppression, but baited viewers for something that would never come. It did always seem ominous, though, that Disney, the company known for their “firsts” wasn’t parading their queer characters in Andor to soak up every dollar and view they could. As the show went on, I hoped it was a sign that Disney was changing its ways, but it became all too clear that Disney had no intention of showing meaningful LGBTQ+ characters. With the popularity of Star Wars toys, it isn’t hard to imagine what media firestorm could occur if suddenly kids were playing with a gay Jedi or lesbian Rebels. However, it’s time we move past this faux-morality argument that queer characters are not “family-friendly,” a notion solely based on the idea that being LGBTQ+ is learned behavior, which is not true. LGBTQ+ kids and adults deserve to have some meaningful representation in one of the world’s biggest franchises (that isn’t a single second kiss between two unnamed characters with no lines). But after how badly Disney handled Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill earlier this year, Disney still has miles of work ahead of it to earn the respect of its queer audience. Ultimately, as we continue in an age with an unprecedented amount of privilege and power as LGBTQ+ people, expired bread crumbs just aren’t going to cut it anymore.
