Kleya Marki

Kleya Marki was a woman who led a covert rebel network together with Luthen Rael during the Imperial Era. Originally rescued from a massacre as a young girl in around 18 BBY, Marki influenced the ex-soldier Rael to fight back against the Galactic Empire. Marki learned from Rael, and the two humans' efforts against the Empire culminated in a rebel network that was based at their gallery, the Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest in the upper levels of the galactic capital planet Coruscant, and was dubbed "Axis" by the Imperial Security Bureau. By 5 BBY, Marki acted as Rael's assistant and concierge at the gallery. An expert in subterfuge, communications, and related devices, Marki served as a recruiter, leader, and contact point for Rael's many operatives.

In 1 BBY, the ISB discovered Rael's identity as the leader of Axis and cornered him in the gallery, where he attempted suicide to avoid capture. Having witnessed Rael being taken to the hospital in Imperial custody, Marki infiltrated the hospital and ensured Rael's death to protect the rebellion. After a tearful final goodbye, Marki fled to the rebel safehouse where she attempted to contact network operatives in hopes to pass along Rael's final intel. Marki was soon rescued by Cassian Andor, an old associate of their network, and brought to the Alliance base on Yavin 4.

Biography

Early life

When Kleya Marki was a young girl around 18 BBY,^[9] the Galactic Empire massacered her settlement. After stowing away on an Imperial ship, she was discovered by Lear, an Imperial Army trooper sergeant. Already growing disillusioned with his service, Lear decided to help the girl. As his superior officer entered the ship looking for him, Lear ensured the girl was hidden until the captain left. Then, Lear returned to the compartment she was hiding in and offered his hand.^[8]

She would escape the massacre of her home, as Lear left the military to raise her. They would adopt the names "Luthen Rael" and "Kleya Marki" respectively. At some time later, Rael brought Marki to the shop of Tinch, a local vendor, to pawn off a carved figurine he had acquired. Rael asked for the price of twenty credits and Tinch made a counteroffer of seven. Marki, who had been introduced to Tinch as his daughter, haggled up the price to eighteen and they left. Marki asked Rael whether he truly considered her his daughter and Rael replied that Marki would play the part "when it's useful." Afterwards, he bought Marki a meal with the credits she had earned.^[8]

At a later date,^[8] in an ancient hill town,^[10] Rael met with another vendor to sell a Devaronian victory necklace. The bargaining was swiftly interupted as Marki and Rael encountered an Imperial regiment that pushed a group of prisoners through the crowd, looking for a sniper who had killed an an Imperial trooper. Rael left, not wishing to see an execution and knowing he could not help them, but Marki, who was fixated on a boy her age, stayed to watch. When she caught up with Rael, she could not understand why they did not help, but Rael told her they fought to win, and they would keep losing until it could be sure they would triumph.^[8]

At some point between 18 BBY and 15 BBY,^[11] they planned their first attack against the Empire on the planet Naboo. Seated in a cafe, with eyes on an Imperial transport convoy on a nearby a bridge, Rael told Marki that if she wanted to fight the Empire, she would have to leave behind a normal life. Rael said that he wanted to ensure that she could make her own decisions, but Marki angrily said that he was using her as an excuse to back out of the attack. After hearing that Marki was adamant in her desire to fight the Empire, Rael handed her the transmitter and told her to detonate the explosives planted on the transports. Looking around, she noticed a child and their parents at an adjacent table, enjoying their meal. Marki demanded to know why Rael was making her be the one to trigger them, and he replied by saying that the day marked the time they would finally take action. Marki hesitated, convinced Rael still did not believe she could act on her own, but then reached for the switch. However, Rael stopped her at the last second and triggered the explosions himself. He told Marki to look at him and not at the bridge, only allowing her to look a few seconds after the transports had exploded. As terrified civilians screamed and fled the restaurant, Rael declared that they had made their choice, and the two calmly left.^[8]

Secret rebellion

As Rael founded a secret network of rebels collaborating against the Empire, Marki worked at Rael's gallery Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest in the Imperial City on Coruscant as a concierge, performing tasks such as assisting customers and restoring precious artifacts.^[5] In 5 BBY,^[12] Marki was present when Chandrilan Senator, Mon Mothma, came to the gallery looking for a gift for her husband, Perrin Fertha, for his Day of Days, a Chandrila custom.^[3]

She announced Mothma's arrival to Rael, highlighting the fact that she was accompanied by a new driver she had not seen before and probably thought was Chandrilan. As Mothma and Rael began to converse between the lines, Marki made sure to distract the senator's driver, Kloris, by asking him if anything in the gallery was of interest to him and recommending looking at some ancient coins. When Rael asked her to wrap Mothma's chosen gift, Marki walked to the counter with the artifact and left it with Rael as the senator departed from the gallery.^[3]

Marki later met Vel Sartha, the leader of a rebel infiltration team assembled by Rael to steal a quarterly Imperial payroll on Aldhani, outside the Coruscant Eastern Spaceport in the aftermath of the mission. She congratulated her on her success while acknowledging the losses, noting that she had personally recruited one of the team's members, the ex-stormtrooper Taramyn Barcona. Finally, she warned Sartha to be careful about sending messages to her lover and fellow rebel, Cinta Kaz, and instructed Sartha to track down Cassian Andor, who had been paid to join the team at the last minute but had disappeared after the heist. Sartha expressed hesitancy, but Marki told her that Andor had to be eliminated because he had knowledge of Rael.^[13]

The Andor situation

Marki received a message from the human Bix Caleen, a friend of Andor, who was attempting to contact him and pass along a message of his mother's illness. Marki did not want to reply to avoid Imperial Security Bureau interference that could endanger their operation, but Rael believed they had too much helpful information. They further discussed Sartha and Kaz's mission on Ferrix, with Marki reiterating her belief that communications should be shut down. Rael reluctantly agreed with her and shut it down.^[14]

Marki later saw a mark on a fountain in Imperial City, which was a message from informant and ISB Supervisor Lonni Jung, who wanted a meeting. Marki believed this was suspicious and advised Rael to send her instead, but he refused and chose to go himself despite the risks.^[15]

When Sartha arrived unannounced at the antiquities gallery, Marki treated her as a customer despite the other woman's attempts to engage in covert conversation. Sartha demanded to see Rael, but Marki chastised her for her unprofessional conduct, and stated she was lucky Rael did not witness it. Sartha pressed and asked what she had done for him lately, stating that she had given him Aldhani, but Marki hardened and replied that Sartha was just one of many needy people that Rael had to deal with. However, she then asked what Sartha was there to tell him, and she notified her that Andor's mother had now died. Marki stated she would pass on the message and prompted her to leave.^[16]

Later, Rael sent Marki updates of his successful deal with Saw Gerrera. The two began a coded conversation about various "sales" with "clients." Marki advised him return home, as they were involved in intricate negotiations about the sale of a valuable object. She believed his presence would aid their negotiations. Rael said that they needed their piece and without it they would have to close the shop. Marki replied that it was a crowded market, prompting Rael to warn her about the consequences of losing the piece to another collector. Marki replied that she was preparing for every outcome.^[16]

A wedding and a theft

In 4 BBY,^[17] Rael deployed a team of rebels, including Andor, who had devoted himself to their cause, to steal a prototype TIE Avenger from a Sienar facility on the planet 73. As Andor traveled there, Marki joined Rael in attendance of the wedding of Mon Mothma's daughter Leida Mothma and the Chandrilan Stekan Sculdun, as Rael had done business with Stekan's father Davo Sculdun.

At the Mothma Estate on Chandrila, Mothma was surprised and concerned to see them at the event. As guests arrived, Sartha observed Marki as she approached Rael during the festivities. Later, Marki quietly relayed to Rael that the Sienar team had successfully stolen the TIE Avenger, though the only signal received was a pulse code. Rael expressed concern over the lack of further communication, but Marki reminded him that transmissions were impossible to hide on Chandrila. She reiterated that she had warned him prior to landing. Exposed and without a secure signal, they were operating blind. Rael instructed her to keep listening and walked away, leaving Marki visibly frustrated. Rael later approached Marki again and asked about communications with Andor and Porko, who Andor had been meant to rendezvous with. Marki said she had been listening, Rael iterated that they knew that Andor escaped the Sienar facility and that Porko was waiting. Marki headed to fetch a drink and told Rael that the monitor was switched on.^[18]

While drinking, Marki was approached by Sartha, who questioned why she and Rael were there. Marki stated that Sculdun was a client that had purchased antiques. Sartha asked if the two of them should pretend that they just met, but Marki smiled and said that there was no need, saying Sartha had been by the shop before. When Marki added that they would just be two single women searching for prospects, Sartha pointedly looked her up and down before leaving.^[18]

As they waited for the wedding feast, Marki asked Rael about their next plan. Rael explained they had to wait for Sculdun to reconsider, but Marki pointed out the lack of transmissions from both Andor and Caleen. She deduced that Mina-Rau, the planet where Andor had been staying, had been shut down due to a "temporary reception outage" for Imperial inspection. Marki did not know what type of inspection, stating that she needed to return to the gallery to be able to adequately support the rebels. Returning to Coruscant, Marki activated the gallery's fractal radio in an attempt to reach Andor.^[19]

Marki continued to monitor all transmissions, and eventually received a reply from Andor. Marki asked after Porko, and was told he was unavailable. Marki then asked for Andor's location, and he responded that the drop had been compromised, resulting in him being stuck for two days. Marki promised to locate a safe place for him to travel to, but Andor asked after Mina-Rau, which forced her to admit the existence of the frequency blockade. Andor asked for more information and ended contact when she was unable to tell him anything.^[20]

A party and a problem

In 3 BBY,^[21] Marki continued to eavesdrop on channels about disputed deals, and informed Rael of Andor's whereabouts. Later, Marki met with Mishko, who explained that Sculdun was angered over the selling of a counterfeit vase and had demanded an audit of his collection. She informed Rael of this, worried that a listening device she had planted in an artifact would be discovered. Rael later chastised her for the mistake, although she countered with the fact they had previously caught Wullf Yularen lying on the microphone. Rael, growing upset, admitted to having struggled with keeping track of the multiple transmissions. Marki, also growing frustrated, told Rael to cease and firmly stated they needed to remove the device, with an opportunity for doing so being available at Sculdun's upcoming Investiture party.^[22]

When Rael left Coruscant to meet with Andor at Port Steergard, Marki eventually received a transmission from him, saying that Andor's visit to the planet Ghorman had not gone well. Eventually, Marki sent Sartha and Kaz to Ghorman to assist the rebel Ghorman Front there instead of Andor.^[23]

Marki and Rael soon attended Sculdun's party, where Marki spoke to Mishko and claimed to have not told Rael about the forgery. As they mingled, Marki spied Jung and approached him, claiming to remember him from when he visited the shop to buy a gift for his wife. Jung was shocked, having not expected to deal with his secret collaborators, but Marki discreetly ordered him to pretend they were flirting and to follow her instructions. Marki steered Jung into the room where Sculdun kept his collection, moving towards the Tinian Codex. As she attempted to remove the listening device that had been installed on it, Marki pretended to speak with Jung about the piece, saying that she had regretted selling it, which was why she was interested in it now.^[23]

With her intial attempts to remove the device unsuccessful, Marki then recruited Jung to aid her in retrieving the listening device from the piece, maneuvering him to block the view and allow her to use more force to attempt to pry the device free. Marki explained the artifact's history and warned Jung they may be tested on the information later, simultaneously beginning to unlock the hidden compartment. Using her brooch, which was secretly a metal tool in disguise, she attempted to remove the device, but the brooch became stuck. As Jung began to panic, Marki ordered him to stay in position. Marki determinedly forced the tool with enough pressure to cause her hand to begin bleeding, but with no luck. She then told Jung to grip the top of the Codex so she could turn the bolt. The pair were approached by a group of visitors, including Sculdun, Rael, Mothma, and Orson Krennic. They asked Marki why she liked the Codex, and as she struggled to answer, Jung successfully covered for her.^[23]

Marki was finally able to remove the device as the group continued their tour of the collection. As she and Rael exited the party together, Marki triumphantly handed him the listening device. Rael joked about wanting to kill Krennic, and they laughed together before leaving on a speeder.^[23]

Saving Mothma

In 2 BBY,^[24] after the Imperial massacre of the Ghorman people, Marki prepared Andor for a mission to extract Mothma from the Senate, as she was prepared to give a speech on the massacre that would counter the Imperial propaganda surrounding the event and call out the Emperor for his tyrannical rule. As they sat in the gallery together, Marki forged press pass for Andor while she explained that he would be posing as journalist Ronnie Googe, who was heading to Coruscant straight from the Ghorman Massacre to cover the political fallout. Andor stated this would be his final mission, which drew Marki's attention away from the restoration table. She questioned whether he was finished with the Axis network or the entire rebellion, but Andor countered by stating she already knew. Marki told him his work was not over, as Mothma needed to give a voice to the atrocities on Ghorman. Andor responded that he wanted to make his own decisions, but Marki ignored him, instructing him to clean up before leaving.^[25]

A disguised Marki soon met with both Andor and Rael at a public walkway near the Imperial Senate Building in preparation for the extraction. Marki reported the lack of communication from Mothma since her aide, Erskin Semaj, had revealed he was working for Rael's network. Marki left the pair and received a message from Semaj, who informed her that Mothma had dismissed him and that she might not perform the intended speech. Marki interrupted the conversation between Andor and Rael to inform them of this and of the fact that Bail Organa, another Senator who was secretly allied with the rebellion, had prepared an extraction team himself that she was learning had become compromised. Marki believed they had to send Andor in to evacuate Mothma safely, but Rael worried that Andor did not know the building's layout. Marki countered that both Semaj and Mothma knew the building, but Rael pointed out that Mothma no longer trusted them and Organa's team were already on site. Andor asked what would happen if Mothma were to be arrested, Marki cryptically replied that their entire effort would fall apart.^[25]

Andor was sent in to save Mothma, and the evacuation was successful, with Marki and Rael managing to sneak out unseen as the Senate went under lockdown. Marki instructed Rael to return to the gallery while she sorted everything. Marki later arrived at the safehouse, finding Andor, Semaj, Mothma, Dreena, a survivor of the Ghorman Massacre, and the rebel Wilmon Paak, who had been severly wounded at the massacre, already there. Marki expressed amazement and relief at all of their escapes. Marki later informed Mothma of Rael's survival.^[25]

Finality

With Mothma gone and now leading the Alliance to Restore the Republic from its base on Yavin 4,^[26] Marki remained with Rael on Coruscant.^[8] In 1 BBY,^[27] Jung met with Rael and revealed that the Emperor's energy program was a front for the creation of a diabolical weapon, noting that the events on Ghorman and Jedha were all to mask the Empire's interests in critical materials for the project at each location. He also mentioned the importance of the Imperial engineer Galen Erso. After he was informed that the ISB were close to discovering him, Rael killed Jung, leaving his body sitting on the park bench. Rael passed Jung's intelligence along to Marki and sent her away to deliver the message to the Rebellion, while he went back to destroy all of the secret equipment at the antiquities shop.^[8]

When the ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero, who had been hunting Rael for years, arrived at the gallery and revealed that she knew the truth about him, Rael impaled himself with a Nautolan bleeder so as to not be captured and interrogated. Marki watched as Rael's body was rushed^[8] onto an Imperial ambunaut.^[28] Soon after, Marki infiltrated Lina Soh Hospital to ensure that Rael, who had been stabilized by doctors, would not reveal information about the rebellion, Marki disguising herself as a hospital employee.^[8] She recalled her childhood under Rael's guidance,^[29] and killed several Imperials her way as she snuck towards Rael's room. After detonating several explosives on landing pads outside the hospital as a diversion, to clear her path to Rael's unconscious body. Marki removed Rael's life support and kissed him as a tear rolled down her face. With Rael dead, Marki fled the building.^[8]

Escape from Coruscant

Escaping back to the safehouse, Marki removed a hidden communication device from the walls of the safehouse, sending a secret message to Yavin 4. Wilmon Paak reported the message to Andor, who along with K-2SO and Ruescott Melshi took an unauthorized mission to Coruscant to rescue Marki. Meanwhile, after determining Marki's identity by reviewing hospital security footage and tracking Marki's coded message using the partially destroyed fractal radio recovered at the gallery, ISB Supervisor Heert sent a team to raid the safehouse and capture Marki.^[26]

As Andor and Melshi arrived, Marki let them in and revealed what had happened, frantically trying to recall all her intel. As Andor regarded her with silence, she furiously shouted at him to repeat what she told him, but he was more concerned with getting her to safety. Marki was hesitant to go to Yavin, given Rael's negative reputation amongst the Alliance leadership, and insisted that Andor simply relay her information to them, but Andor refused to abandon her.^[26]

Though Andor promised sanctuary on Yavin, they soon got into an argument over Andor's departure from the Axis network and Rael's decision to remain on Coruscant. Grabbing Andor by the coat, Marki defended the late Rael, whose very decision enabled them to discover the Empire's true plans. She asserted that Andor needed to warn the Rebel Alliance about the threat, as he owed Rael that much.^[26]

After calming down, she lamented her life coming to a bitter ending, but Andor and Melshi assured her that she would be welcomed as a hero on Yavin, the place she helped built, and that she would be keeping Rael alive by speaking to the Alliance leadership. Relenting, Marki prepared to leave with her allies, only for Melshi to run into an ISB Tactical team outside. As Melshi quickly ducked back into the apartment, the rebels barely had time to consider their options before a stun grenade was thrown through the open door. Marki was quickly stunned unconscious, leaving Andor and Melshi to engage in a blaster fight again the Imperials. Fortunately, K-2SO arrived and ambushed the Imperials from behind. Melshi then carried an unconscious Marki back to the U-wing, before fleeing the planet as Imperial reinforcements arrived.^[6]

Sanctuary on Yavin

Andor's team traveled back to Yavin, where they were met with an armed rebel squad, given the nature of their unauthorized mission. Andor pleaded with General Davits Draven to give the incapacitated Marki medical treatment, which was granted as a pair of rebel troopers escorted her to the infirmary. While she was being treated, Andor informed the rebel leaders of the details Marki had told him on Rael's behalf. Some time later, Andor came to visit Marki in the infirmary and apologized for the lack of a hero's welcome. He then informed her that he had passed on Rael's intel to Alliance leadership, who remained skeptical due to the magnitude of the information he relayed. Andor then left her to recuperate.^[6]

Marki later awoke during a rainstorm and freed herself from the medical technology attached to her. As a soaked Marki walked through the rain, she was greeted by a surprised and worried Sartha. Sartha gave her a coat and instructed her to go with her. Inside one of the Great Temple's shelters, Sartha apologized for Rael's passing, acknowledging it must have been difficult for Marki to end Rael's life. Marki quickly replied that it was essential that she went through with the act. She then told Sartha that Rael had always told her to "know your way out before you go in," but on Yavin, Marki found she no longer knew where she was. In response, Sartha told Marki "I have friends everywhere," a code phrase used by members of the Axis network, and emphasized that she was on Yavin 4 with friends.^[6]

Mere hours after Andor's departure from Yavin^[30] to meet with Tivik,^[6] one of Andor's connections to the Partisan militia,^[31] the existence of the weapon Marki had warned of^[6]—the planet-destroying DS-1 Orbital Battle Station—was confirmed through the meeting between Andor and Tivik.^[32]

Personality and traits

Kleya Marki had brown hair and light skin. As a young girl, she was already mature for her age, evident in her bargaining skills and her ability to control her emotions. In those younger days, she was also eager to strike back against the Empire, but Rael urged her to bank her hate and accept that, for a time, they would need to lose and fail until greater rebellion was possible. He also urged her to accept what she was leaving behind by choosing revolution. The two shared a deep bond, but Rael once remarked that they were only father and daughter when it was useful.^[8] Marki was a true master of disguise, performing her duties as a concierge at Rael's gallery, but serving as an emissary, messenger, and enforcer for Rael's spy operation, with highly attuned intuition and unflinching commitment to the rebel cause.^[5]

Skills and abilities

Marki was skilled in the use of blasters, explosives, lockpicks, and the Axis network's radio.^[8] She was an expert at operating the fractal radio used to communicate with Axis network operatives.^[19]

Equipment

Kleya wore a navy blue tunic over a white turtleneck top, complete with backcombed hair.^[3] At another point in that year, she wore a dark red hooded gown, complete with reddened lips and straight, flowing hair.^[13] Marki carried a small blaster pistol, which she used to kill several ISB tactical agents.^[8]

Behind the scenes

Origins

Kleya Marki first appeared in the fourth episode of the first season of the live-action series Andor, "Aldhani." She was portrayed by Elizabeth Dulau.^[3] Dulau thought that despite Marki's rigid appearance, she had a "wildness" at the core and love that motivated her daily sacrifices for the rebellion. The actor remembered her drama teacher talking about Shakespeare's Cleopatra being a mercurial character who is not to be played in all her elements at once, but to be played for each individual moment, and adapted this technique in her approach to Kleya Marki in the second season of Andor.^[33]

After originally auditioning for Andor in November 2020 as a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Dulau had a script reading opposite of Stellan Skarsgård at Pinewood Studios in January 2021, after which she received the role; it was her first professional work. Dulau was initially very nervous about working with Skarsgård, especially because her character's scenes were almost exclusively only Skarsgård's Luthen Rael, but she felt the two quickly created a friendly and relaxed dynamic.^[34] Although Skarsgård was her most frequent scene partner, Dulau worked with Faye Marsay, who portrays Vel Sartha, on her first day. Poetically, Dulau's last day on set was also scenes with Marsay. Dulau was appreciative of Marsay's help on first day.^[35]

Dulau described Kleya as someone who will fight against the Empire for her entire life, something she feels the flashback scenes in the episode "Who Else Knows?" make very plain. While she felt her character's role as Luthen's assistant at the gallery is cultivated to make people underestimate her, Dulau noted that her power came from being overlooked. She and Skarsgård agreed that Kleya was very formidable, with Skarsgård stating that Kleya is "the one that is fierce" and is "twice as tough" as Luthen.^[1]

An expanded role

Dulau was honored to have a more central role in Season 2, particularly in the show's final three episodes. She originally learned of Kleya's fleshed-out backstory via a phone call with Gilroy in the summer of 2022, and recalled being "completely speechless." The fact that Kleya was written in as one of the key dominoes in the chain of events that lead into Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star was not lost on her. The actor expressed gratitude to showrunner Tony Gilroy for trusting her to be such an integral part of what is the original Star Wars story.^[34]

Dulau was not given any backstory specifics regarding Kleya's relationship with Luthen when filming Season 1, and the actor chose not to imagine what anything specific would look like, a decision that she felt especially good about when Season 2 began to explore their origin story.^[34] The actor felt that while the mystery around the character was compelling, exploring who Kleya is was "enormously satisfying."^[1] The surrogate family dynamic, borne out of Luthen's crisis of conscience, led to a complex relationship characterized by loyalty, trauma, and a hatred of the Empire. Dulau described the love the two characters have for each other as incidental and almost unacknowledged, but deep nonetheless. Gilroy compared the relationship to the film Paper Moon, and Dulau agreed that it was somewhat similar but also darker.^[34]

Gilroy reflected that he needed to take the time to give Kleya a backstory because, otherwise, someone else would have crafted one, with Gilroy fearing that a hypothetical other backstory would feature a romantic or sexual relationship between Rael and Kleya.^[36]

Younger Kleya

The younger version of Kleya was portrayed by April V Woods in "Make It Stop," the tenth episode of Andor's second season. Woods was credited as "Little Kleya" in the episode's credits.^[8] While casting director Martin Ware noted that the prospect of casting a young Kleya was a tall task, he was very impressed with Woods as an actor. Ware commented on her ability to portray a mature character while also including the nuance of a child. He also noted that Woods and Skarsgård had instant chemistry.^[37] Dulau was in awe of Woods' performance, and Gilroy also felt she had done a tremendous job. Dulau acknowledged that the flashback sequences underwent lots of changes before the final version.^[36]

Bond with Luthen

Although Dulau acknowledged that Luthen had shaped her character into a weapon and thus denied her some of the love and warmth that a child needs, their love for each other developed nonetheless. Dulau recalled daydreaming about the first time Luthen made Kleya laugh or creating other moments in her character's life that she described as feeling like real memories.^[36]

During the scene where Kleya ends Luthen's life, Dulau said that the character's emotions harken back to Luthen previously telling her to bottle up her hatred until she knew how to use it. The dramatic scene featured a lot of emotions from her character despite minimal dialogue, with both Kleya's hatred and love for her adoptive father bursting through.^[1] Dulau imagined that her character was trying to downplay Luthen's importance to her in the scene. She tried to portray Kleya as having an internal battle where, although Kleya felt duty-bound to end Luthen's life and still had some hatred and anger towards him due to his role in destroying her childhood, her love for him emerged as the most powerful feeling. To prepare for scenes such as Luthen's death scene, Dulau would listen to music and, instead of trying to analyze her performance, stay in the scene as much as possible. To this end, she created playlists for both Kleya and Luthen.^[36]

Season 2 scenes

With more scenes in Season 2, Dulau found some difficulty in mastering the scenes where Kleya operated the fractal radio. The actor felt that the careful and precise actions with the radio were somewhat equivalent to driving a car, where the physical movements eventually become instinctive. Dulau described the radio as "like Kleya's child" and recalled that director Ariel Kleiman was intentional about portraying Kleya as someone who could operate the radio with such familiarity that she would be able to do it with her eyes closed.^[1]

In the final episodes of Season 2, as the Empire closes in on Luthen and Kleya, the two actors agreed that Kleya was the one that kept things from falling apart with her unwavering dedication. However, Dulau also felt that Kleya experienced some panic and terror as she saw her surrogate father, who had shown only strength over the years, begin to falter. Dulau said that Kleya is not someone who likes to show fear, and that her go-to coping mechanism was anger.^[1]

Reflecting on her favorite scenes, Dulau pointed to the hospital sequence and the investiture party scenes. The latter was filmed over the course of three days in Valencia, Spain, with hundreds of costumed extras making for vivid memories of evening shoots. Dulau's most fun moment was at the hospital, saying that her character shooting a pair of stormtroopers, who "died" with rigged pyrotechnics as practical effects, was a moment where she was fully immersed in the world of Star Wars.^[34] She equated the sequence to a giant game of Mouse Trap.^[1]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Andor — "Aldhani" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Andor — "The Axe Forgets"
• Star Wars: Andor — "The Eye"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Announcement"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Narkina 5"
• Star Wars: Andor — "One Way Out"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Daughter of Ferrix"
• Star Wars: Andor — "One Year Later"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Sagrona Teema"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Harvest"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?" (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Andor — "I Have Friends Everywhere"
• Star Wars: Andor — "What a Festive Evening"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Welcome to the Rebellion"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?"
• Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"

Sources

Notes and references