Star Wars: Andor – What Is the Tarkin Massacre?

This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2 episodes 4-6.

The planet Ghorman is an important part of Star Wars history, in both the Legends continuity and current canon. The Ghor suffer greatly under the Empire’s rule, and go through a tragic event known as the Ghorman Massacre. It’s been known that season 2 of Andor is set to show us what that tragic event was like, but now that we’ve finally been introduced to the planet and its people, it seems like the tragedy of Ghorman is even greater than we realized.

In current Star Wars canon, the Ghorman Massacre is a brutal attack on the people of Ghor by the Empire. They fire into a crowd of unarmed protestors in the year 2 BBY, inspiring Mon Mothma to speak out against the atrocity and the emperor himself, an act which forces her to go on the run. The aftermath of Mon Mothma’s speech is shown in Star Wars: Rebels, but we don’t learn much else about what happened in Ghorman. Only that it was brutal and cruel.

What is considered to be the Ghorman Massacre in Legends continuity, however, is slightly different. In 18 BBY, Wilhuff Tarkin, a captain at that time, lands his ship on a crowd of Ghorman activists protesting Imperial taxes on the planet. In order to try and stop him from landing, the Ghor stood in protest on the landing pad Tarkin was attempting to use. At Palpatine’s behest, Tarkin goes forward with landing his ship on the platform, killing the majority of people there. The aftermath of this event is what inspires Mon Mothma to convince her fellow senator Bail Organa to join her in rebellion against the Empire.

This season, Andor is set to depict the tragedy of the Ghorman Massacre on screen for the first time, and the show has already begun to lay the groundwork. Episodes 1-3 of season 2 introduce us to the Empire’s secret propaganda plot to sow distrust and a dislike of Ghorman throughout the galaxy. And now with episode 5, we finally get to see what life on this planet is like. 

When Cassian (Diego Luna) arrives on Ghorman to scope out the efficacy of the Ghorman Front as a rebel cell, he learns from his hotel Bellhop that the Empire has already committed an atrocity against the Ghor – an event they refer to as the Tarkin Massacre. This event is essentially straight from the Legends continuity version of the Ghorman Massacre. According to this young man, a survivor of the tragedy who lost his father that day, Tarkin killed 500 unarmed protestors by landing his ship on them. The fallen are memorialized in the center square of Palmo.

In order to save face, the Empire promised to never overshadow this memorial with one of their buildings, a promise that they clearly never intended to keep. The armory that they’re building on Ghorman is an omen of the tragedy still to come. The Tarkin Massacre was a tragic day for the Ghor, but unfortunately it seems that there is even more tragedy on the horizon.

The canonical Ghorman Massacre that inspires Mon Mothma to leave the senate is still to come. According to series creator Tony Gilroy there’s “a lot of confusion within canon” about what the Ghorman Massacre actually is and the events that transpired there, but he’s “really confident that the really deep, passionate Star Wars community will appreciate how we’ve straightened out that story.”

Making the Tarkin Massacre from Legends continuity a separate tragic event in the current Star Wars canon, was a smart move on their part. It shows us that the Empire has willingly committed violence against the Ghor before, so there’s not really anything stopping them from doing so again. The seeds of the Ghorman Massacre are being planted, it’s only a matter of time before we see just how far the Empire is willing to go to get what they want.

Andor season 2 episodes 1-6 are available to stream on Disney+ now. Three new episodes debut per week on Tuesday nights, culminating with the finale on May 13.

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