Syril of Ghorman (Who Are You?)
In "Who Are You?" (Andor 2.8), Cassian Andor and Syril Karn confront each other in the middle of the traumatic Ghorman massacre. The brawl ends when Cassian poses the episode's titular question to Syril: "Who are you?" Syril, whose face is covered in soot, has no answer.
This climactic moment evokes a crucial moment in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, a major influence on Star Wars. At the midpoint of the film, as T.E. Lawrence comes to the end of a traumatic desert crossing, a distant figure on a motorcycle hails him with the question: "Who are you?" Lawrence, whose face is covered in dust, has no answer.
The similarity between these two key moments draws attention to the broader parallels between Lawrence and Syril's stories. Both are introduced as minor functionaries who harbor romantic ideas about their own potential for greatness. These fantasies are preyed on by empires (the British Empire in Lawrence's case and the Galactic Empire in Syril's) that give them secret missions which seem to confirm their beliefs in their own specialness. Lawrence is embedded in the Arab Revolt and Syril is embedded in the Ghorman Front, and both men come to feel at home in these foreign groups as they help them fight back against their oppressors; Lawrence helps the Arabs raid a Turkish train and Syril helps the Ghor raid an Imperial convoy.
Ultimately, however, Lawrence and Syril are shattered by the realization that their idealism has been cruelly manipulated and their aspirations to help the Arabs and the Ghor have only served the interests of the British and Galactic Empires. This crushing epiphany results in a crisis of identity: neither man has an answer to the question, "Who are you?"
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Syril Karn
Shows: Andor
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Concepts: idealism
Influences: Lawrence of Arabia
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