The Mirror Hurts
@andorappreciation Day 3 “Dualities and split identities”
There’s a couple of stunning shots in the Season 2 trailers that show Cassian’s reflection, and it got me thinking again about the ‘mirror’ motif.
I’m particularly taken with the one that shows multiple reflections, perhaps suggesting the various identities of a spy. We’ll see this in the espionage sense in Season 2 but in S1 it’s relevant as well, as Cassian uses different aliases during the Aldhani heist and the Narkina arc, and started out with having his birthname changed when he was brought to Ferrix too. So perhaps this image also evokes the idea of trying to find your identity, especially as a refugee, and finding the person who you are content to be; meant to be.
The theme - like so many of them - originates in Rogue One and is obviously designed to connect with the film when we rewatch it after Andor. The series adds profound weight to several moments. The absolute key one for Cassian in the film - the culmination, in a way, of his life’s journey - is his decision to put aside his blaster and disobey his order to kill Galen Erso. There’s a practical reason of course - he’s watching events unfold on the platform that start to suggest Galen is not a villain - but the main reason is Jyn’s love for her father, and more broadly how much she reminds him of his earlier self. Their stories, thanks to the retcon of Cassian’s background, are a much more precise ‘mirror’ than previously, with both being bruised by early events to the extent that they try to turn away from the fight and become cynical. Cassian’s reawakening and dedication to the cause happens at the end of S1 - Tony Gilroy pinpoints it as when he hears Maarva’s funeral speech; for Jyn, it happens when she reconnects with her father via seeing and hearing his holomessage. But the important point is that she is a mirror of Cassian, and why their relationship in the film goes from being one of wary suspicion to absolute trust. It might be something explored in S2 but the difference between Cassian and Luthen (a possible future mirror) might well boil down to Cassian caring about others in a personal way, never wanting to leave anyone behind. When asked about the initially antagonistic Jyn and Cassian relationship back in 2016 Diego Luna’s assessment was that ‘The mirror hurts’ - but that that pain can ultimately lead to making a very strong connection.
This ‘The mirror hurts’ idea is picked up with Vel and Cinta too: “I’m a mirror, Vel. You love me because I show you what you need to see.” Mirrors reflect painful truths about yourself, and in this case it seems to me to be about the growth Vel needs to undergo - Cinta has put the cause first but still has room for ‘what’s left’: love. Vel is really struggling to strike that balance and seems caught between her head and her heart. But she wants to know the truth, painful as that is. Cinta isn’t rejecting her here, not at all: it’s a reminder of the reality of love at a time of war. It’s also a realistic picture of a relationship still in uncertain early stages, where there can be a desire to be more like your lover and insecurity at the idea that you are in fact very different. …
