After a slow start, word of mouth seems to have finally gotten through to audiences that Andor is a must-watch show. It’s broken through on social media, with Andy Serkis appearing in the latest episodes apparently enough to convince people to tune in. As great as it is, though, there’s been an undercurrent of annoyance that the show has skimped on Star Wars aliens.
There have been some funny little dudes on Ferrix in the early episodes, various strange beings in the background of Mon Mothma’s dinner parties, and a few on Saw Gerrera’s crew, but that’s it. With the action currently set in a sadistic prison labor facility, many are wondering why the population wouldn’t also include some aliens:
Replies are quick to find reasons why this is a human-only facility, with one saying the segregated prisons for each race are exactly the Empire’s style:
Maybe there’s even evidence for this in an earlier episode:
Another points out that the key feature of the prison is controlling the inmates via electrified floors, which may not work as well on aliens:
The cells and food are also obviously meant for humans:
Plus, the fact they’re essentially using the inmates as work robots means they won’t want a wide range of alien physiology on the line (though to be honest Star Wars aliens are usually human-shaped):
We think that pretty neatly answers the question of why there are no alien prisoners on Narkina 5. Even so, we’d still like to see some more alien characters in Andor. One of the notable aspects of the Rebel Alliance was the way it brought humans and aliens together to fight against the human supremacist Empire, so if Andor really is showing the early days of the Rebellion, itshouldn’t omit those characters.