For most “Andor” fans, seeing the Episode 9 torture scene unfold and hearing about its twisted origin story was like watching the Galactic Empire evolve into something we’ve rarely seen before — an inherently evil and genocidal superpower.
“Andor has done the best job at showing how truly awful and evil the empire is,” wrote Twitter user @Palletlover. “Them not only committing genocide of an entire planet but then using the audio of the dying screams of the young as a method of torture is horrific,” the user said. Redditor u/RubberbandShooter called the Bix scene “the darkest portrayal of the Empire [we’ve] ever seen,” adding: “Idk if there’s anything in the EU that surpasses it.” Hundreds of Redditors agreed with him. U/Groot746 said: “I’ve seen a lot of ‘why was the Empire actually so bad, anyway?’ discussions over the past few years, and this pretty much shows why.” Over on Twitter, user @JoeCuciniello tweeted: “As a torture technique that is one of the most messed up things I’ve ever seen. They really know how to make the empire look so evil at every level in this show.”
On the surface of the audio torture scene, “Andor” fans are led to be disgusted and disturbed by what is happening to Bix. But at no time do we actually hear the screams of the dying Dizonites. The torture is only left to our imaginations, which to some viewers, was an extremely impressive way of legitimizing the Empire’s wickedness without actually having to go too far.
