I absolutely recognize that Saw Gerrera was one of Andor season 2 drove home for me that, importance aside, he really shouldn't be considered a good person or perhaps even a hero. Saw Gerrera's Star Wars story began (chronologically) in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which saw him as a young man who experienced the tragic loss of his sister, Steela Gerrera. It's clear that this death impacted Saw deeply, although it sadly pushed him into a much crueler, more heartless version of himself.
Yes, Saw had every right to despise the Empire, and there are plenty of examples of other characters in Star Wars movies and TV shows who have to make tough, morally questionable decisions when it comes to fighting back against this regime. The issue is, those characters almost always showed signs of conflict or uncertainty, whereas Saw seemingly viewed no sacrifice as too great and no approach as too heinous. I don't want to detract from the help Saw provided the Rebellion, but I refuse to see him as a good person or a hero other characters should emulate.
Saw Gerrera Went Too Far In His Efforts To Overthrow The Empire
He Has Proven Time And Again That There Are No Lines He Won't Cross
Saw has proven to be a complex character throughout the Star Wars timeline. In fact, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story revealed that Saw had effectively abandoned Jyn Erso, although she had been like a daughter to Saw for years. This was far from the most shocking thing Saw did in Rogue One, though, as he also employed torture tactics, such as the use of Bor Gullet, against Imperials. It's difficult to know where to draw the line in some cases, but this was an action that would be much more expected from the Empire than from the Rebels.
Star Wars: Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera Character & Clone Wars Origin Explained
Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera has had a fascinating history in the Star Wars canon, beginning with the Clone Wars and ending just before A New Hope.
ittedly, I have found some scenes involving torture by the Rebels satisfying, such as Bix Caleen's revenge on Dr. Gorst in Andor season 2. The distinction for me, however, is that Bix was seeking revenge on one specific person who had done her egregious, traumatizing harm. This feels quite different from Saw's willingness to torture information out of seemingly any Imperial he came across. While that may be debatable for some, there are examples where Saw was unquestionably in the wrong, and there was no moral gray area.
The prime example can be found in Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills, written by Greg Rucka. In that book, Saw Gerrera is very much framed as the villain, which becomes particularly clear when Saw attempts to use a ship of children to carry a bomb. Sure, desperate times call for desperate measures, but a willingness to kill innocent children to win a war is horrific, especially for the Rebels, who would frankly never do such a thing.
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The Rebels Were Different From The Imperials Because They Had Limits To What They Would Do
Yes, The Empire Had To Be Stopped, But The Rebels Weren't Willing To Go To Just Any Lengths
There are some who will say Saw was justified even in his willingness to harm or kill children because the Empire needed to be brought down, but that's something I just can't agree with. The Rebels set themselves apart from the Empire because there were moral lines to what they were willing to do. Yes, the Rebels fought against and killed Imperials, and they were willing to respond with violence, but weaponizing the lives of innocents was a step beyond this—arguably, well beyond this.
There are some who will say Saw was justified even in his willingness to harm or kill children because the Empire needed to be brought down, but that's something I just can't agree with.
In fact, the notion that the Rebels were not willing to sacrifice lives has been directly articulated before. In Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal Of The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back, the Rebels and their tactics are described as follows:
"Princess Leia's Rebel forces will not do anything in order to win. They will not sacrifice lives. They do not descend to the level of the enemy."
Clearly, then, this is one of the many broken Empire Strikes Back rules in Andor season 2, but Saw Gerrera is the most glaring example of this broken rule, especially in his willingness to kill children for the larger Rebel effort.
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It's For The Best That Saw's Story Ended The Way It Did
Saw's Role In The New Republic Would Have Proven Difficult
As cruel as it may sound, it's realistically for the best that Saw died in Rogue One. As the Ahsoka show has already proven, the New Republic was on shaky ground even years after the end of the war. There was plenty of disagreement among the New Republic's highest ranks, and adding someone as divisive and open to violence as Saw was to the mix would've only spelled more trouble. This is only all the more true given Saw's approach to Imperials.
Following the fall of the Empire, the New Republic tried to give some grace to surviving Imperials, hoping they could be rehabilitated and shown the error of their ways rather than be killed. There's little doubt Saw would have been against this, and, based on his behavior throughout his Star Wars appearances, he likely would have taken matters into his own hands, only causing more issues within the New Republic. Sadly, as much as I can understand Saw Gerrera's importance in Star Wars, Andor season 2 confirmed for me that he's simply not a good person.
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