In the standalone Star Wars film Rogue One, we see Rebel Alliance operative Cassian Jeron Andor position himself to assassinate Imperial scientist Galen Walton Erso, despite his squad being deployed on a mission to bring the scientist in for questioning.
Why did he do this, and why didn’t he finish the job when he had the chance?
Here’s what you need to know.
Why did Cassian want to kill Galen Erso?
Cassian set himself up to assassinate Galen Erso on orders from Rebel General Davits Draven, who was sceptical about the benefits of questioning the scientist as opposed to the strategic benefit inherent in removing him from the Imperial equation for good.
However, Cassian felt conflicted and passed up the opportunity to take the shot.
Figuring that there had to be some other way to accomplish their goals, Cassian leaves his vantage point to reconvene with the rest of the team. However, a group of rebel X-wings attack the base on Draven’s orders in response to the break in communication caused by Rogue One’s crash landing.
The X-wing squadron destroys the base, killing Galen Erso in the process.
If you’re still confused between Andor and Endor, you can check out this guide here.
Conclusion
The decision to order the assassination of Galen and Cassiain’s subsequent internal struggle with taking the shot offers us great insight into both Cassian and Davits Draven, showing us the spectrum of morality at play within the Rebel Alliance.
This is an important bit of writing, as it is easy to put the Rebel Alliance on a pedestal when compared to the Empire ruled over by the overtly evil Darth Sidious.
If there’s one thing that recent Star Wars media like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Rogue One have done a great job of, it’s adding shades of grey to both sides of the conflict in the new canon.
Cassian was one of the rebels that perished during the Battle of Scarif, and you can find out who else died here.
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