Andor Season 2 is in full blast on Disney + and a recent episode is dividing Star Wars fans on the nature of the Star Wars universe and including realism in a galaxy far, far away. In one scene, Rebel fugitive, Bix Caleen, played by Adria Arjona, is hiding from Imperial soldiers who are rounding up undocumented citizens when she is discovered by an Imperial officer, Lt. Krole. Krole forces himself upon her. Despite saying “no,” it’s clear what the officer’s intentions are. But after another officer intervenes, Caleen boldly accuses the officer. “He tried to rape me,” she yells.

For an IP like Star Wars that has been viewed as “kid-friendly,” the scene is especially shocking. The show’s creator, Tony Gilroy, told The Hollywood Reporter that in a show like Andor, which focuses on war, including an attempted sexual assault felt necessary and real.  “I mean, let’s be honest, man,” he said. “The history of civilization, there’s a huge arterial component of it that’s rape. All of us who are here — we are all the product of rape. I mean armies and power throughout history [have committed rape]. So to not touch on it, in some way … It just was organic and it felt right, coming about as a power trip for this guy. I was really trying to make a path for Bix that would ultimately lead to clarity — but a difficult path to get back to clarity,” he said.

Naturally, the allegory wasn’t lost on the audience either- undocumented citizens being rounded up by a fascist government and brutalized. Fans, however, were divided over the necessity of the scene. “Andor dared to go to the darkest places Star Wars could offer,” wrote one account on X. “This is the real world seeping into Star Wars storytelling; this is the world WE live in, reflected in the galaxy far, far away, this is Star Wars at its most political, its most potent, its most frightening. I must commend the writing team’s bravery to not shy away from such topics. To depict fascist regimes as they are, speak the word ‘rape’ directly into the camera, show just how despicable fascists really are.” Some objected to the scene, citing Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks as proof that Star Wars is for kids while others stated Andor is meant for adults.

Star Wars Theory, who has been critical of the trajectory of new Star Wars shows on Disney+, stated the scene felt unnecessary. “SA in SW feels unnecessary. You can portray power dynamics and making the audience hate the empire in other ways without taking it to such a disgusting place,” he wrote. “Vader wouldn’t tolerate that sh– nor does the Empire condone it. It has no place in Star Wars. Period. Unnecessary.” When others pushed back about the realities of war assault or accused him of being soft, he responded, “I…don’t want to see rape in Star Wars… Idk why this is a thing being pushed on me to have to want to be cool with.”