"We treat it like a regular thing": Tony Gilroy on that same-sex kiss from Andor Season 2 Episode 6

Andor Season 2 pushed the envelope again!! This time, the acclaimed solo prequel series featured an intimate moment between a same-sex couple. While the much reviled 2019 Star Wars movie Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker was the first in the franchise to feature a same-sex kiss, it should be noted that it was between two background actors for a fleeting second.

Episode 6 of Andor Season 2, "What a Festive Evening", featured the second kiss between a same-sex couple, but this time it is between two protagonists, and impossible to edit like it was in the case of the 2019 movie. This moment was much more appreciated by viewers for normalizing same-sex relationships, a sentiment that showrunner Tony Gilroy agrees with in a TVLine interview:

“I think it’s a mistake to try to underline everything and put a halo on things. I don’t think about it, it really doesn’t come up. We treat it like a regular thing.”

---

Andor Season 2 showrunner Tony Gilroy explains what Vel and Cinta represent:

Tony Gilroy, in the same TVLine interview, discussed this particular intimate moment in the sixth episode. The Andor Season 2 showrunner first pointed out the kiss as something of a regular occurrence between a loving couple. He went on to explain the significance of Vel and Cinta's characters in the second season as:

“A relationship, an interesting relationship”.

Gilroy then went further and said that this relationship helps paint a bigger picture:

“About revolution and what it costs you to be involved in it, and the kind of courage it takes. I’m trying to really take attendance on all of the aspects of what a rebellion or a revolution or a commitment like that would do to people, and [theirs] is another relationship that has its own pressures”.

But this happy reunion doesn't last long in this Andor Season 2 episode.

---

Cinta dies in the sixth episode of Andor Season 2:

We meet Cinta for the first time in Andor Season 2 in the third episode after the first season. However, things are not the same between the two, as they seem distant. The sixth episode reveals that Luthen had kept them separate, but the two talk out their differences and rekindle their romance. However, what feels like a happy reunion on the first watch is much more tragic in the second one.

This is the last time Cinta and Vel get a moment of intimacy as the former is accidentally killed by one of the Ghorman rebels working with them. The decision to kill Cinta has fans divided again because this plays into the problematic trope of killing off a character belonging to the LGBTQAI+ community. Gilroy, however, justified the decision to kill off Cinta as:

“Look, this [season] is taking place over four years during a war. If people don’t go down in a variety of ways, it would really be disingenuous. I don’t think it would feel right to people. “It’s a tough decision to make, tough phone calls to make to the actors”.

Noting that Andor Season 2, like several Star Wars projects, takes place during the time of war, Gilroy said:

“s**t happens.”

---

Our take on his comments:

On the surface level, it may look like the show plays into the much-criticized problematic trope of killing off LGBTQAI+ characters, but it is imperative to note that Gilroy manages to balance it by killing off one of the antagonists as well. In the closing moments of the sixth episode, Bix finally manages to get her revenge on Dr. Gorst.

The third episode from last week ended with the death of Brasso, and this week, we lost Cinta. As this story tells a story of war, Cassian will have to lose another friend of his over the next two weeks.

---

Andor Season 2 is currently streaming on Disney+.