Andor Season 2 MVP Elizabeth Dulau Talks Kleya's ‘Entirely Conflicted' Final Mission, and Her Series-Ending Fate
Andor Season 2 not only elevated Kleya Marki's presence as Luthen Rael's assistant, it fleshed out, via flashbacks, the complicated backstory that first brought these two individuals together.
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In short, as detailed in Season 2, Episode 10: Seventeen years prior, a Sergeant Lear (Luthen) found a wee Kleya hiding in his ship, amidst what sounded like a brutal ground war. Clearly repulsed by the ravages of war, Lear kept the girl a secret, presumably went AWOL, and created new identities for them. In their travels, Kleya was witness to assorted atrocities as Luthen steeled her for what would be required of a rebel.
Adult Kleya entertained these memories as she craftily infiltrated the Coruscant hospital where Luthen, who'd attempted to end his life after being found by ISB supervisor Dedra Meero, was in ICU. Kleya handily wielded a blaster and ultimately triggered explosions on nearby landing pads, to draw the stormtroopers and guards from the path to Luthen's room. Once inside his room, she detached her father figure's life support — and shed a tear before planting a tender kiss on his forehead.
Afterward, Kleya retreated to the Coruscant safe house and used a hidden radio to reach out. It was then a race against time as Cassian, Melshi and K-2SO flew from Yavin to Coruscant, while ISB Officer Heert and his people closed in on the radio signal's origin. Cassian & Co. just barely managed to exfiltrate Kleya, then brought her, wounded by a stun grenade, to Yavin for medical care. Cassian and Kleya also did their best to alert Mon Mothma, Bail Organa et al to the 'super weapon' intel that Luthen had relayed to Kleya, though they were met with skepticism. But as the series finale drew to a close, Cassian and K-2SO were cleared to meet up with a source, Tivik, on Kafrene — as in, one of the very first scenes from Rogue One.
TVLine spoke with Elizabeth Dulau, who played Kleya, about her Season 2 ascendance, that nail-biter of an Episode 6 sequence, and the superspy's ultimate fate.
TVLINE | Were you prepared for how wonderfully active and fleshed-out a character Kleya became in Season 2?I mean, I was hoping that she would become that, that her role would expand and that you'd get to know her a bit more. But what's brilliant about [Andor creator] Tony [Gilroy]'s writing is that you really never know where it's going to go. So, no, I wasn't prepared for exactly where he was going to take her — but I love where she went in the end.
TVLINE | Do you have any fun anecdotes from Episode 6's super-tense Great Transistor Removal scene? I mean, I do, but… I won't be sharing it online. [Laughs] But this scene was so fun to shoot because I had quite a long time to prepare for it. The script didn't change too much, a month or two in the lead up to the day, so I could learn my lines really far in advance, which was great because this scene was incredibly technical. Kleya's focus is on four different things. She's focusing on [removing] the bug underneath the artifact; she's focusing on pretending to seem like she's flirting with Lonnie; she's also focusing on Lonnie to make sure he doesn't freak out; and she's focusing on the other group in the room to make sure they don't see what she's doing.
Having my lines learned so far in advance meant that I didn't have to think about them on the day, and I could just pick each moment in the script to throw my attention to the different the different parts of that machine.
TVLINE | Talk about any conflicted feelings Kleya had in Episode 11, during her mission at the hospital. The key to Kleya's mindset in that episode with the mission at the hospital is that she is entirely conflicted. Luthen, when she first met him 17 years prior, he was part of something that was horrifying to her, and pulled apart her whole life. So there's a lot of resentment towards him ,and hate and fear towards Luthen, and then she doesn't forget that. It was so horrific, she can't forgive him and move on from that, but love grows for him unintentionally over the years. And so I think Claire uses the hate that she's felt for him to help her do what she needs to do, but the love that she feels for him gets in the way. So shooting that scene, I really wanted to connect with those both those conflicting feelings as intensely as I could, because I think it's the tension between those two feelings that eventually pulls her apart. In Episode 11 and 12, she's a broken person because she's pulled apart by those two warring emotions.
TVLINE | What did you think of her ultimate fate at the end of the series? Well, her ultimate fate at the end of the series is actually the beginning of something new for Kleya — and that's what's so exciting. That this really complicated and heartbreaking and immense chapter in her life with Luthen has come to a close. And I suppose the obvious question then is, 'What's next?'
Want scoop on , or for any other Star Wars TV show? Shoot an email to , and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line!
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