Hit TV show Andor spurs viewers to draw parallels to Israel's war on Gaza
Set as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Andor series traces the formation of the Rebel Alliance and Cassian Andor's role within it, focusing on the rise of resistance against the Galactic Empire. It provides context to the political and social conditions that shaped the early rebellion and expands on characters and events that influence the broader Star Wars narrative.
Following the first season, which aired in late 2022, Andor viewers took to their social media accounts throughout the last season, drawing parallels between the show and Israel's war on Gaza. Specifically likening the Empire to Israel and the US, and the Palestinians to the people of Ghorman.
Make no mistake, this shit is real. Right now. Just today, Israel announced the complete elimination of Gaza. Open your eyes to what this show represents. Real life genocide.
If we don't engage with that then there is no purpose. So let the aid in and free Palestine. #Andor — Andres Cabrera (@SquadLeaderAce) May 7, 2025
In an opinion piece published back in April for The Guardian, film critic Radheyan Simonpillai detailed the similarities that were also echoed among viewers.
'In the new and final season of Andor, an occupied civilian population is massacred; their cries for help ignored by the Empire-run media, which instead paint the victims as terrorist threats to public safety. Meanwhile, the politicians who have enough backbone to speak out, and use the word 'genocide' to describe these aggressions, are met with violent suppression.'
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'Star Wars fans will be forced to reckon with how this story isn't about what happens 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away'. It's about what's unfolding right now in Gaza.'
Just watched this series and kept saying it reminded me of Israel and Palestine. Especially the part where they demonize those people in collusion with the press to manufacture consent for their genocide / destruction of their planet. https://t.co/HnNjy2xiuB — Anna (@annaskiba16) June 2, 2025
Although it is not certain that Andors' creator Tony Gilroy had Gaza in mind when writing the second season, he did mention Palestine as an example of the history that informed the show in a 2022 Deadline interview.
In addition, actors from the show, like Irish actress Denise Gough, who plays a villain in the series, have been vocal about their support for Palestine.
'Andor' actress: 'I refuse to stay silent on Gaza.'
"We're being asked by Palestinian people to speak,' so those who don't speak out can't say 'I didn't know what to do' says Denise Gough.
WATCH: https://t.co/LZkTyTDfWV pic.twitter.com/F463lrS9dS — BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) May 31, 2025
A recent Reddit post, in which a social media user says they have 'never felt more on the side of the Palestinian cause', has brought the conversation on the parallels between the show and Gaza back into the limelight one month after the finale aired.
'It showed me the side of resistance we often grapple with, the side where resistance more often than not becomes an armed resistance when the peaceful part of resistance doesn't get you anywhere,' the post reads.
'When your land is taken forcibly, when your city is besieged, when your land, sea, and air borders are controlled by an occupying entity, and you are left with one choice, to fight back, even if the empire (Israel/US) is overwhelmingly stronger, more powerful, and better funded.'
The person continued to write that although the story is fictional, it made them see that in 'fighting an empire, you do not get to choose the terms. You are forced into the shadows, pushed into impossible choices, and made to sacrifice lives so others might have a future'.
'Right now, in Gaza, people are making those same impossible choices. When your children are bombed to smithereens, starved to death, your hospitals destroyed, your homes flattened, and the world either watches in silence or arms your oppressor, resistance stops being about right or wrong. It becomes survival.'
This brought about a flow of responses that agreed with the post's writer.
'There is a shot of Gorman with white buildings and a golden dome-like structure reminiscent of the dome of the Rock. I immediately thought of Palestine.'
Others disagreed that there was a parallel between the armed resistance of Palestinians to that of Ghorman's Rebel Alliance.
'People comparing the rebellion to Hamas is definitely not what I thought I would see today yet here we are," one person responded.
There are also those who argue that attempting to draw the parallel in the first place was futile. 'Human history doesn't have a narrative as simple as Andor and never will,' one person said.
'What happened on Oct 7th was unjust and horrifying and counterproductive. What is being done in response is unjust and horrifying and counter productive.'
The Reddit post found its way to X, and one person posted a screenshot of the thread, joking that it would be the end of the series.
nah, they're about to cancel this series pic.twitter.com/EXI9Gx4gpB — Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) June 1, 2025
While many joked that the show cannot be cancelled now that it's already done, others highlighted the irony of how the show was produced by Disney, which has historically aligned itself with being pro-Israel.
"I still cant process that disney backed a show about resistance while staying silent on the real thing happening in Gaza," one social media user wrote on X. "Ironic doesnt even cover it."
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