‘You can make this kind of argument for just about anyone’: ‘Star Wars’ supporters not buying Cassian Andor as the Rebellion’s most important figure

Andor has rightly assumed its place at the very top of any Star Wars tier list. Tony Gilroy was given the time, budget, and freedom to tell a politically resonant and layered story about the early days of the Rebel Alliance, with the story focused on Diego Luna’s Rogue One hero.

There’s no doubt that Cassian is a key player in the Rebellion, sacrificing his life to steal the Death Star plans. Without doing that, the Rebel Alliance is annihilated by the Death Star super laser on Yavin IV, at which point the Empire will be able to dominate the galaxy for hundreds of years with threats of planetary destruction.

But though he’s important, is he “the most important person in the history of the Rebellion”? One fan on r/Star_Wars believes so, but his theory is being shot down like so many cannon fodder TIE Fighters:

The problem is, as many replies immediately identify, is how far back do you go in this chain? By this logic, Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen must also be equally important, as without him Cassian may not have joined the Rebellion and not been able to do any of the heroic actions in his eventual future.

Is Biggs the most important character for protecting Luke and ensuring he fires off that crucial shot to bring down the Death Star? How about Mon Mothma and Bail Organa for funding the early Rebellion? Or, as the top-voted reply succinctly puts it:

“The war wasn’t won by one person or a small group of people; it was won by countless people, all of whom had roles that were absolutely essential to the success of the rebellion. Remove any one part and the whole machine collapses.”

All that said, if we had to pick the single character most crucial to the Rebel Alliance’s victory, it isn’t going to be Cassian, Luke, Leia, Bail or Mon. It’s got to be the little droid that could, everyone’s favorite bleeping trash can, R2-D2. Without him, the galaxy would be in ruins, and the little guy doesn’t even get a medal for his efforts.