r/andor • u/tmus2 • 22h ago

General Discussion Samm's redeeming act Spoiler

*Spoiler alert if you've not watched season 2.

4th or 5th rewatch, and I only first noticed that it was Samm (who killed Cinta with a carless blaster shot in the "What a Festive Evening" episode) driving the transport vehicle that saves Cassian from the K-2SO droid during the Ghorman massacre. It may not wipe the ledger, but it's a nice redemption arc, the result of which will reverberate through the Galaxy through Cassian's later actions on Scarif.

62 Upvotes

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61

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 22h ago

“This is on you now. It’s like skin. You’ll be taking her with you wherever you go for the rest of your useless life”. Turns out this was enough incentive for Samm to lock in and although his atonement will never make a difference to Vel’s loss of Cinta it makes all the difference in the world to Cassian and Wil - and also results in the acquisition of K-2SO. So kudos to Samm for not spiralling into depression, as many people might have done.

24

u/tonnellier 21h ago

Is there a case to be made that if Samm hadn’t taken out K2SO, allowing Cassian to have him reprogrammed, the Kleya rescue would have failed and the Death Star plans are never recovered?

17

u/_RandomB_ 21h ago

Its a simple truth more than it is a case, I mean who knows how things play out without Samm there, but K is the key to the entire infiltration of scariff.

8

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 21h ago

It’s very careful plotting – every little action has a consequence that leads to the ending – and I think this is another example of where knowing the ending helps the enjoyment.

9

u/wbruce098 20h ago

This. The writers knew that there had to be a scene where Cassian meets K2. But “Cass & K2 Adventure Hour!” wasn’t really the story Gilroy wanted to tell, and they wove it naturally into the story. It’s kinda cool that Samm decided to get up and make trouble instead of sitting in his mom’s basement and crying while Palmo burned, though.

2

u/mmorales2270 14h ago

Yes it absolutely is a case. So much so that it bothers me a bit every time I watch that episode and Cassian fails to recognize how important K2 was in their escape. If K2-SO is not there, there’s a decent chance Cassian, Kleya and Melshi get killed or captured on Coruscant.

2

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 11h ago

Alternatively, he does recognise how important K2 was but can’t bring himself to show gratitude… maybe because he still thinks of what K2 did on Ghorman. To be fair, he’s not gushingly grateful in Rogue One either when K2 once again saves their lives despite being told to “wait on the ship”.

2

u/mmorales2270 11h ago

Sure. Very possible. When I said failed to recognize, I meant more that he doesn’t openly acknowledge it. Even after K2 explicitly brings it up in the U wing as they’re getting off planet. It just irks me a bit. I’ve actually seen quite a few reactors on YouTube also comment on this about how odd it is. I’m sure it was a deliberate thing in the show. Nothing in the show was accidental, so there’s some meaning behind it. Perhaps by this point in the series Cassian has become a bit more like Luthen than even he would like to admit.

18

u/philobouracho 22h ago

You've been sleeping.

6

u/Primary_Step_3114 22h ago

I’ve been sleeping

1

u/wbruce098 20h ago

Yes but I just woke up an hour ago. I’ve even got coffee now!

13

u/Boring_Carpenter_192 22h ago

We actually see Samm again in the crowd of armed guards greeting Cassian, K2SO, Melshi and Kleya on the tarmac of Yavin IV base in episode 12.

5

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 21h ago

Ready? I totally missed that. I’ll have to look again.

1

u/TheKGB42 14h ago

Not doubting you, but imma need a screenshot or something. I've seen this show 12 times and I can't believe I'd miss that.

3

u/meekingsss 13h ago

I looked earlier and could see someone that looks slightly like him, but I don’t believe it is, also IMDB says he isn’t in any eps past “who are you?”

1

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 11h ago

Yeah, I had a look too and if it’s the guy over to the right of the frame, I don’t think that’s the same actor at all.

6

u/Velbalenos 17h ago

What’s interesting about this is that (yes, he does save Cassian, and gets him K2, which effectively saves the galaxy), but what part Cintas death plays in this. In the events on Ghorman Samm is fighting with everything he has, is brave to the point of fearless. Now maybe he would have been like that anyway, but it’s hard not to imagine Cintas death not playing some role in his mentality.

4

u/puppykhan 18h ago

I didn't catch that until the 2nd viewing myself. I also noticed that he a traumatized look on his face when he does hit K2. At first I just thought it was about the massacre going on, but once I made the redemption connection, I think it is him still traumatized from what happened to Cinta and very conscious of Vel's words about wearing it like skin.

Damn, "no small parts" exemplified. Every little bit of acting in Andor is spectacular.

1

u/XaviersDream 8h ago

200 speaking parts in each season. That isn’t cheap and makes it feel like cinema.