Eedy Karn (Kathryn Hunter) is hands down one of the most interesting characters in Star Wars: Andor. In a show about the battle between the Empire and the Rebellion, she seems to have no stake in either side. She only cares about one thing: what her son, Syril, does with his life.
We first meet her in season 1 episode 4, "Aldhani," which also introduces Cassian (Diego Luna) to Vel (Faye Marsay) and the rest of the heist group. After Syril gets fired from Pre-Mor Enforcement for a botched attempt at capturing Cassian and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) on Ferrix, he returns to live with his mother, Eedy, on Coruscant.
She is snippy with her comments about how Syril has disgraced himself, but her disappointment in her son is not only over his recent failure. Eedy nitpicks about everything — from how he sits to how he dresses to how he lacks ambition in life. She eavesdrops on his phone calls and repeatedly insists he take Uncle Harlo's help to land a stable, respectable job.
She finally manages to wear Syril down, and he accepts a desk job arranged by the said Uncle Harlo at the Imperial Bureau of Standards. It is a far cry from his Deputy Lieutenant days on Morlana One, but it's something.
Cut to season 2, and we meet Eedy again — this time, she's visiting Syril, who has moved in with ISB's Dedra Meero (Denise Gough). If you thought seeing them in a relationship would be weird, wait until you get to this lunch scene in episode 3, "Harvest."
Eedy does not relent with the cutting remarks; this time, she includes Dedra. But Dedra is cut from a different cloth, having been orphaned as a child and grown up in a Kinderblock. She does not take kindly to Eedy's passive-aggressive act. Once a frustrated Syril leaves the table to plop down on his bed in a way we all can relate to, Dedra cuts to the chase with Eedy.
She makes an offer: if Eedy stays on her best behavior and does not interfere with their lives, she will ensure Syril calls regularly and visits twice a month — a fair bargain. Turned out, despite her many quibbles, Eedy loves her son and wants to be in his life. When Syril returns, she is a changed woman, full of praise and good words about him.
However, Reddit user 'Maypoledance' speculates if there is more to Eedy Karn than it seems.
Mind-blowing Reddit theory about Eedy Karn: Could she be a rebel?
The fan theorizes that Eedy Karn is either already a rebel or will be in the future. According to the fan, her orange outfit, similar to the rebel fighter pilot uniform, foreshadows her allegiances. Meanwhile, Dedra's black dress symbolizes her loyalty to the Empire.
"Dedra choosing the dark top foreshadows her decision to stay with the Empire no matter the cost," the Reddit post read. "Contrast her tightly tailored top and severe neckline with Eedy’s notably orange, open-necked clothing. Eedy also shows the ability to immediately change her behavior to fit into the requirements she has to meet."
When the time comes, Syril may have to choose between the two. While he is also dedicated to the Empire, it is evident that he ardently seeks his mother's validation and approval, and Eedy exercises a vast influence on his life.
"Perhaps all along what appeared as a domineering mom pushing her hapless son upward was just a cover for a dedicated rebel using any tool at her disposal to dig deeper into Imperial intelligence?" the fan asks.
This would explain Eedy's pushy remarks, the eavesdropping, the snooping, and the willingness to keep Syril removed from any active combat-facing job. With her demeanor, she would, in fact, make a perfect intelligence agent. After all, who is going to suspect a nosy, well-meaning mother?
One fan wondered if she disapproved of Syril's "playing at police work on Morlana" not because she thinks he's not good enough, but because he was being the Empire's foot soldier.
Another suggested that the show could draw a parallel between Syril and Cassian by having Eedy die at the hands of the Empire. At this point, he would have two options: double down for the Empire or defect to the Rebellion. If Syril is to be a mirror to Cassian, we already know what he's going to choose.
Then there's the mystery of Uncle Harlo. In the first season, he seemed like an unimportant offscreen character — possibly a blood relative of the Karn family or a friend. However, what Dedra said about him being a "criminal" in "Harvest" makes things interesting. Any person involved in rebellious activities would be a criminal in the eyes of an Imperial officer.
We've now heard his name one too many times not to wonder if he is someone we already know. Maypoledance suggests that he could be none other than Dedra's "Axis," our paranoid rebel leader, Luthen Rael.
But now that her son is dating an ISB officer, who is part of a secret Imperial project that would eventually lead to the creation of the Death Star, where does that leave Eedy? With more vital information, one fan believes. "Eady hears Dedra talking about the Death Star and its capability, at which point Eady relays that information to Uncle Harlo. Uncle Harlo is actually a rebel contact who works on Corusant for Luthen."
Either way, something about the episode hints that Dedra and Syril aren't in the show just to be mean villains, and neither is Eedy there to be the annoying mother. We already see Dedra realizing, after the Ghorman project meeting, that serving a fascist regime that takes away people's free will means you don't have much of it, either.
Regardless of allegiances, their layered characters will play bigger roles as the story unfolds.
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