Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen in season 2 of ‘Andor’. Photo:

Lucasfilm Ltd

• In a first for the franchise, Star Wars’ Andor depicted an assault scene in season 2’s episode 3
• Adria Arjona, who plays Bix in the series, says filming the scene was “challenging,” but she “felt incredibly safe and cushioned in the process of doing it”
• As a defense technique, Bix told the predator she was married to Diego Luna’s character, Cassian

Although the show is set long ago in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars’ Andor is not shying away from modern-day issues.

In a first for the franchise, a storyline in season 2 depicts an attempted rape against Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona). In episode 3, while Bix is alone in her home, Imperial Lieutenant Krole (Alex Waldmann) pins her down while performing an audit on the planet. 

The officer tells Bix, a refugee, “I know you’re illegal. We’ve been counting visas. It’s a tough spot for everyone.” To avoid turning her in, Krole offers sex in exchange for freedom. 

She begged the officer not to do this before forcing himself on her. Bix resorted to self-defense, hitting the office with a wrench before a full-on fight. 

Left: Adria Arjona at Lucasfilm’s “Andor” Season 2 Launch Event held at El Capitan Theatre on April 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California; Right: Alex Waldmann attends the press night after party for “Farewell Mr. Haffmann” at The Park Theatre on March 10, 2025 in London, England. JC Olivera/Variety/Getty;Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty

“It was challenging because everyone involved in the creation of that scene felt the importance of what this scene meant, not only for the show, but for Star Wars,” Arjona told Entertainment Weekly. “But I also felt incredibly safe and cushioned in the process of doing it. It’s something [screenwriter] Tony Gilroy does. He brings this mirror effect that [shows] the things that happen in our world can also happen in a galaxy far, far away.”

Arjona also credited director Ariel Kleinman with creating a safe environment for the performers: “We had an amazing stunt team and partner in Ari as a director, who shot that scene scientifically and in such a precise way so as to save us from doing a million takes.” 

In one of the episode’s earlier scenes, Krole circles Bix like a predator. As a defense, Bix mentions she has a husband in Cassian (Diego Luna). But Arjona promises fans it was merely an attempt to protect Bix.

Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) and Andor (Diego Luna) in season 2 of ‘Andor’. Lucasfilm Ltd

“It’s more complex than a cute wedding in the gap year. She’s trying to get out a very tricky situation that, as women, we unfortunately are stuck in quite a bit,” she said.

“It’s a way of escaping,” Arjona added. “It’s very different for her to say, ‘My boyfriend is coming.’ She might feel that he won’t respect her, right? But if she says, my husband, there’s power to that. There’s respect to that. She hopes in her wildest dreams that he respects that. Of course he doesn’t, but she feels incredibly cornered at that moment.”

Arjona and the production used real-life accounts of female survivors to prepare for this difficult scene.

“I felt like I went through the acting Olympics,” Arjona said of season 2. “The research was heavier. I’ve read so many interviews and I saw so many videos of people that have actually gone through this.” 

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The work personally impacted the performers, too.

“That process was the most draining,” she recalled. “And it stayed with me. By the time that I was doin the scenes, it felt like I was telling a little part of the story of the five individuals who I really honed in on their stories. [People] that no one really knows about. It felt like I was making them proud. They have no idea who I am, but it was a little homage that I was carrying through.”

The first three episodes of Andor’s second season premiered on Tuesday, April 22. New episodes release every Tuesday on Disney+.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.