All Andor characters appearing in Star Wars: Edge of the Abyss

Last year saw the release of the second and final season of Andor, which was arguably the greatest Star Wars storysince the original trilogy. Sophisticated, emotional, intriguing and startlingly relevant, Tony Gilroy's series tackled political issues with far more depth and subtlety than most Star Wars stories, and it would probably have made George Lucas proud. 

But Andor wasn't the only realistic political thriller set in the Star Wars universe that came out last year. Alexander Fried wrote The Mask of Fear (Reign of the Empire), the first book in a trilogy that, thanks to the shared characters and maturity of the plot, is a prequel to ​Andor. You could say zero season. Now, Rebecca Roanhorse continues Freed's work and the Reign of the Empire trilogy with an equally gripping and deep spy story that resonates closely with both Andor and our real world.

The events of “The Edge of the Abyss” take place one year before the events of the first season of Andor and 13 years after the events of “Mask of Fear” (“Reign of the Empire”). Once again, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera, whose conflicting views lead them to find very different ways to break the Empire's iron grip on the galaxy, find themselves embroiled in a quest. When one of Guerrera's guerrillas is captured by the Empire after a mission goes wrong, panic sets in over what to do with the captive whose knowledge of the resistance could end the rebellion before it even begins. Meanwhile, Mon faces a horrifying discovery: the Empire has turned its sights on indoctrinating the galaxy's youth in order to further cement Imperial control of the galaxy.

The Edge of the Abyss is actually a prequel to the first season of Andor and, as such, features many characters from the popular series.Here is a list of all the characters that appear in both projects...

Saw Gerrera

Saw Gerrera, played by Forest Whitaker, is a hardened and radical rebel who believes violence is necessary to defeat the Empire. In the Andor series, he appears in several episodes as the more militant, morally uncompromising side of the nascent rebellion.

Sow is one of the main characters in the novel Edge of the Abyss. His failed mission at the beginning of the novel sets off a plot that revolves around Sou and the other rebels trying to figure out what to do with one of his supporters captured by the Empire and capable of revealing secrets.

Mon Mothma

Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O'Reilly, is an Imperial senator from Chandrila who is secretly working to create and finance the nascent rebellion while maintaining her public position in Palpatine's government. The Andor series explores the enormous political and personal sacrifices she makes as she gradually becomes one of the most important leaders of the rebellion.

Mon is another key character in The Edge of the Abyss. Her main conflict in the novel takes the form of a seemingly endless struggle to balance her responsibilities as a senator (and secret rebel) with her responsibilities as a mother and daughter. Mon's relationship with her daughter proves particularly compelling, as Roanhorse interestingly plays with the uncomfortable questions that many parents can face. What to do when your child doesn't share your values? What happens when your child, whom you love more than life itself, is more like your partner, whom you hate, than like you?Roanhorse allows Mon to grapple with this concept, which leads into her storylines in both seasons ofAndor.

Bail Organa

Bail Organa, played by Benjamin Bratt in the second season of Andor, is an Imperial senator from Alderaan and one of the key political figures who laid the foundations of the Rebel Alliance. His role links a more cautious political resistance with a growing organized rebellion against the Empire.

Bale plays a key role in The Edge of the Abyss. As one of the rising leaders of the nascent Rebel Alliance, Bail is motivated to stop captured follower Saw from revealing the Empire's secrets. However, unlike Sou, Bail does not want to kill her, instead she chooses a more legal route to get her out of trouble by offering her legal help.

Luten Rael

Luthen Rael, played by Stellan Skarsgård, is the secretive head of Rebel Intelligence and one of the unsung architects of the Rebel Alliance. Posing as an elegant antiques dealer on Coruscant, Luten secretly coordinates agents and operations across the galaxy, using the ruthless methods he believes are necessary to defeat the Empire.

Luthen appears at several points in The Edge of the Abyss. Luten is the character who pulls the strings to convince Anto Krigir to join the student organization on Gorman and attempt a daring heist at a popular singer's concert on Canto Bight. It is later revealed that Luten coordinated the murder of a captured guerrilla by Sow by poisoning the cakes brought to the prison.Luten did not believe that Sou would commit murder, as he seemed to have a personal attachment to his follower.

Kleya Marki

Kleya Marki, played by Elizabeth Dulau, is Luten Rael's seemingly ordinary assistant at his antique gallery, but in reality she is his right-hand woman, his most capable agent, and his adopted daughter. In Andor, she manages secret communications and undertakes dangerous missions, proving that she is as dedicated and ruthless as Luten in protecting the rebel network.

In The Edge of the Abyss it is revealed that Clay went undercover into the student movement on Gorman to evaluate whether they could be used as tools against the Empire. At the end of the novel, Clay approaches Saw Gerrera with an offer to recruit him to rob Aldani, although he refuses to cooperate.

Anto Krigir

Anto Krigir, played by Barry Gyngell, is a maverick rebel leader whose planned attack on the Imperial power plant at Spellhouse becomes a major test of Luten's willingness to sacrifice individuals for the sake of a larger rebellion. Although his screen time is limited to a single static hologram, his fate demonstrates the cruel calculations and moral compromises at the heart of Luten's early insurgency.

Krigir plays a significant role in The Edge of the Abyss. Desperate to prove himself a rebel, Krigir follows the suggestion of his mysterious bar buddy (aka Luten) to go to Gorman and recruit students to rob a popular singer's concert on Canto Bight.Previously, Krigir had tried to win over Sow Gerrera, but was rebuffed because the hardened activist did not consider Krigir serious in his rebellious intentions.

Lio Partagaz

Major Lio Partagaz, played by Anton Lesser, is a senior Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) officer overseeing efforts to identify and suppress growing rebellions across the galaxy. In Andor, he appears as a cold, disciplined and unusually eloquent administrator, demanding evidence and effective action from his subordinates, including Dedra Meero.

Partagaz appears in one of the chapters of "Edge of the Abyss" when he reprimands his officer Tavia Tarow for the way she carried out a covert operation on Gorman. Tavia is the handler of Hemish, one of the novel's main characters, who infiltrates the student movement on Gorman to find out if they pose a real threat to the Empire. Tavia arrogantly presents Partagaz with her supposed "victory" in the mission, which is extremely unsatisfactory on her part.

Nisus Osar

Nisus Osar, played by Tom Durant-Pritchard, is an official in the Empire's Ministry of Education involved in the formation of propaganda associated with Gorman. His role in the early stages of the second season of Andor illustrates how the Empire uses manipulation of information and public statements, along with military force, to control the population and justify its actions.

In the novel The Edge of the Abyss, the propagandist appears as a manipulative figure operating behind the scenes. He first appears as a sinister figure in the life of Quanalico, one of the most popular singers in the galaxy. Osar wants to use Quanalico's music to indoctrinate the youth of the galaxy and win them over as supporters of the Empire.Osar later hijacks a benefit concert organized by Mon Mothma and Quanalico to further bolster the latter's image. At the end of the novel, Mon defeats Osar, forcing him to return the stolen funds from the benefit concert in Canto Bight to her so that she can distribute them fairly among schools across the galaxy.

Leida Mothma

Leida Mothma, played by Bronte Carmichael, is the teenage daughter of Mon Mothma, whose growing attachment to traditional Chandrilan customs strains her relationship with her politically minded mother. In Andor, Leida's personal life is closely intertwined with Mon's secret rebel activities, highlighting the painful family sacrifices Mon made in her resistance to the Empire.

Leida appears throughout The Edge of the Abyss as Mon struggles with his responsibilities to his daughter and the galaxy at large. Leida is clearly more inclined to the apolitical Perrin, but Mon sees her interest in the singer Quanalico as a way to win her daughter's favor and benefit the galaxy.

Perrin Fert

Perrin Firth, played by Alastair Mackenzie, is Mon Mothma's husband and Leida's father. In Andor, his privileged, socially oriented lifestyle and tense relationship with Mon highlight the isolation she experiences while secretly working against the Empire from within the political system, which takes a serious toll on her family well-being.

Mon's disgruntled husband appears in several heated arguments throughout the novel The Edge of the Abyss.Perrin laments Mon's dedication to politics and how it harms their family.

Dasi Oran

Dasi Oran, played by Raphael Roger Levy, is a longtime friend and political ally of Mon Mothma, representing the Gormans in the Imperial Senate. In Andor, he is arrested by Imperial forces after publicly criticizing Palpatine's regime for the Gorman massacre.

Although Mon Mothma does not appear directly in the novel Abyss's Edge, it clearly states that she is "trying to establish a working relationship with the Gorman senator, Dasi Oran."

Edge of the Abyss (Reign of the Empire) is now available from Random House Worlds.