This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2 episodes 4-6. Despite the fact that Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away and is populated by a vast number of different alien species, Star Wars projects have historically struggled to capture the potential of a diverse storytelling universe – particularly when it comes to queerness. The closest we’ve come to solid queer representation thus far is Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) and Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) from The Acolyte and Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu) in Andor. But unfortunately neither of these stories were able to escape a tragic ending. Before The Acolyte and Andor dared to show two women in love with each other on screen, a background kiss between two women rebels in The Rise of Skywalker was considered to be the franchise’s first foray into showing a sapphic relationship on screen. And just like when the MCU touted a cameo by one of the Russo brothers as the franchise’s first canonically queer character, this act of representation felt hollow. Queer people want to see themselves front and center in this world just like everyone else, not just a part of the background. This is why the inclusion of Vel and Cinta in Andor season 1 felt like such a step in the right direction. Even though the two don’t make like background rebels and kiss in the first season, their relationship still feels real, intimate, and like it has stakes – it’s not just set decoration or representation for the sake of checking boxes. The first three episodes of Andor season 2 reveal that they both still care for each other. Fast forwarding a year to episodes 4-6 of season 2, and the two women are finally reunited. They are both sent by Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) to help the Ghorman Front steal Imperial weapons, but after an intimate conversation, are ready to put their relationship first after this mission is over. We finally get to see them consummate their bond with a kiss, and it seems like they might be able to have a future together, even in the midst of rebellion. But during the heist, a young Ghor man accidentally fires his blaster during a scuffle, and Cinta is caught in the crossfire. She dies and Vel is left to pick up the pieces. The nature of this season of Andor means that a lot of things feel fast-paced. The show is moving through four years in the span of 12 episodes, after all. But to finally have Cinta and Vel reunite just to have one of them die feels like a misstep in an otherwise stellar show. When asked about killing Cinta off so soon after their reunion, series creator Tony Gilroy told TVLine “Look, this [season] is taking place over four years during a war. If people don’t go down in a variety of ways, it would really be disingenuous. I don’t think it would feel right to people.” Which is a fair and valid point. War doesn’t care who you are or who you love. War kills indiscriminately. But at the same time, even though Gilroy says that this was a “tough decision to make,” the decision misses an important bit of context about LGBTQ representation in television. Queer characters dying on screen has become so common in media that it’s often referred to as the “bury your gays” trope. One of the most frequently-referred to examples of this is from the TV show The 100, which saw lead characters Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) finally kiss after three seasons of buildup and romantic tension only for Lexa to be shot and killed in the same episode minutes later. Fans were rightfully upset by this, and proceeded to point out how this is just one example of many in media where queer characters don’t get to have a happy ending. It further adds to the idea that queer people are seen as more expendable than heterosexual characters, and makes us feel like we don’t matter, even in fictional worlds. It was wonderful to see Vel and Cinta finally share an intimate moment in a show as high profile as Andor, especially after the hate The Acolyte previously received for its portrayal of non-straight characters. That series was review-bombed, dubbed “The Woke-alyte,” and became the center of multiple right-wing hate campaigns. Although these loud, but vocal commentators seemed to be in the minority amidst the greater Star Wars fandom, the show was cancelled after only one season, making it feel like Lucasfilm was giving into the hate, though Disney’s stated motivation was financial. It’s nice to know now that queerness hasn’t been entirely shunted aside by the Lucasfilm powers that be. With the success of Andor’s first season, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the studio heads became more involved in the process this time around. But it seems like they once again let Tony Gilroy and his team of writers cook without muddling their artistic vision, and I commend them for that. And yet at the same time, to have Cinta die mere moments after her and Vel’s queer love is fully canonized makes this victory feel cheap. Are we really winning the fight for more queer representation when we have to keep watching queer characters, especially sapphics, die on screen?  Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Obviously, going into Andor expecting a happy ending of any kind is a losing game. This show is setting up Rogue One, which is one of, if not the most tragic Star Wars film of all time. But it’s still disappointing to see a cliche trope recur in a show as intentional as Andor. 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.