Andor's "Harvest" needed a content warning

This article will contain discussions of sexual assault and attempted rape. Reader discretion is advised.

Andor has been known for many firsts in Star Wars. In Season 2, episode 3, "Harvest," they did another first for the franchise, but it's one that left viewers shocked.

In the episode, an Imperial Officer named Krole had been making advances towards Bix Caleen, who was already struggling with PTSD from her torture in Season 1. She had warded him off in the previous episode, "Sagrona Teema," but things changed in "Harvest." Krole attacked Caleen and tried to rape her. Thankfully, Bix fights back and kills Krole with a wrench.

As someone who has survived sexual assault, this scene was incredibly triggering for me to watch. I struggled to fall asleep that night, as the episode made me spiral mentally as I remembered my own assault. Immediately after "Harvest" aired, women called out Lucasfilm and Disney for not having a stronger content warning. I am noting women here, because while there were some men, it was mostly women and femme people screaming out in anger at the oversight from Lucasfilm. Probably because women have a higher rate of experincing sexual assault and rape in their lifetime.

The thing is, no one is really saying the scene shouldn't be in Andor. Tony Gilroy has never pulled punches and has always shown the horrors of fascism. He did not mince words by purposely using words like "Illegal migrants" and "visas" when talking about our friends from Ferrix. He did everything he could to say "I.C.E. is bad!" without saying "I.C.E. is bad!" on screen, especially since there are hundreds of reports of I.C.E. agents raping and sexually assaulting migrants in their "care." Gilroy spoked to The Hollywood Reporter about the importance of the attempted rape scene, saying, "I get one shot to tell everything I know — or can discover, or that I’ve learned — about revolution, about battles, with as many incidents and as many colors as I can get in there, without having the story tip over. I mean, let’s be honest, man: The history of civilization, there’s a huge arterial component of it that’s rape. All of us who are here — we are all the product of rape."

Star Wars has always reflected real life. George Lucas has always said it was political. If you don't believe that, your head is in the sand, and you're purposely ignoring it. This has been a known fact for decades.

However, it is a gross misstep on Disney and Lucasfilm's part not to put a stronger content warning at the start of "Harvest." One that actually comes up on screen and has a warning for viewers. This was a first for the franchise, and it should have been clearly defined that this episode would be different.

Bluesky user Immi Thrax brought up a good point about how the warning of "intense violence" was not enough. For one, most people don't look at those little warnings at the top of the screen. When was the last time you read them? It's also small and easy to overlook. Immi notes that with warnings like that, the assumption is that it will be in the same vein as previous Andor episodes, which has never featured attempted rape. There was no heads up that this would be different from anything we saw in Season 1, which was intense and uncomfortable to watch. But Season 1 never crossed this kind of line before.

I've been thinking a lot the last few days about the Disney series Amphibia, which this is a spoiler warning for the Season 2 finale "True Colors." The episode ends with one of the main characters getting stabbed. It wasn't a little thing. The person was stabbed with an entire sword through the back and out the front of the stomach. It was an incredibly shocking moment, something the show has never done before. Because it was a first for the series, Amphibia had a special content warning at the start of the episode. This is exactly what Star Wars should have done for Andor.

It was surprising to me that Disney didn't add a stronger content warning. I mean they slapped labels on their old films like Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp for outdated racial content, but you're not going to slap on an attempted rape warning label on a Star Wars? Sure, everyone knows that Andor is more adult-oriented, but this went well above its TV-14 rating. Do you want a 14 year old to watch an attempted rape? I'm 37, and it was difficult for me. I think about my nephews who love Star Wars, and even with the oldest one, who is 16, I would be sitting him down and making sure we have a conversation about it.

Disney and Lucasfilm dropped the ball on this one. They did not protect their fans. They should have done better. I hope they go back and add a new content warning for future viewers. At least you can protect new fans to make sure they're in the right state of mind to watch the first on screen sexual assault in a Star Wars.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.