It had to be done
I find it interesting how the keep coming back to the fact that Cassian was introduced to audiences in Rogue One with the murder of the informant. And in that moment, we see what kind of person he is and the arc he's going to go on. Because he DOES try other options, he doesn't kill the guy immediately, and even once he clearly decides that the only way they don't both die is to kill the informant, he doesn't necessarily do it in a cruel way. And the first thing we see in the moment afterwards is Cassian's face looking VERY upset. He's immensely distressed that he just had to murder someone who was on his own side, but he did it anyway and then just has to move on. We learn later that this is far from his first kill, that he's done a LOT of things like this for the Rebellion and it's a large part of what drives him.
It is a defining moment for Cassian's character, obviously. And so it's quite interesting to see them keep coming back to it.
In the pilot episode of Andor, we see Cassian shoot the guard, but it does take him quite a while to really weigh those options and decide he can't trust the guard enough to let him live and there's really very little sense of remorse or regret in the aftermath of that.
And of course now, we see him kill Skeen. Skeen who he related to a little and was beginning to trust. Skeen who then turns on them all and proves himself false. Skeen who places a choice before Cassian, to betray Vel and Nemik and Cinta, or to probably die because Skeen is unlikely to let Cassian live now that he knows the truth. Cassian doesn't want to betray the others and he doesn't want to die, so he's left with a single option before him. You can SEE him weighing all of those options as Skeen keeps talking, you can see him attempting to find another way out of it and see if he can talk Skeen out of what he's suggesting and it doesn't work. And so Cassian doesn't hesitate. He does the one thing that will save himself and allow Vel to keep the money for her rebellion. He does what is probably arguably the most morally correct option, but he also is aware that Vel is never going to believe him. She doesn't trust him enough to take his word about Skeen. And so he runs. Again.
There's more nuance this time, and we do see him really not WANTING to kill Skeen, but doing it anyway not just for survival reasons but to protect Vel and Nemik and Cinta and their rebellion, as well. He's not going to just let Skeen esacpe with the money they all fought so hard for, that Taramyn and Gorn and now Nemik died for. He kills Skeen for the cause, but he's not been a part of that cause long enough to be able to keep fighting for it afterward.
Which is likely where Luthen will come in. Who will get the necklace back and hear about how Cassian didn't take the money and be able to read between the lines enough to chase Cassian down again to keep trying to recruit him.
I love watching Cassian start to become the person who WILL kill, but kills for a CAUSE, he kills to protect other people, he kills because the greater good requires it. I wonder if we'll keep seeing more versions of this scene, more call backs to how he was introduced, as mile markers to show how close he is to becoming that person.
HOW DARE YOU?! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?! AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH IN THE LAST BOOK. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THIS. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO FUCKING KILL SOMEBODY AGAIN!
GUYS PEWDIEPIE DELTED HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL AHSJDHDJX
support oversized clothes we must water the seeds of wearing blankets in public
I FINALLY FOUND IT AGAIN
did i ever tell u all that when i was 15 i went on a school trip to see romeo and juliet at the globe but my teacher didn’t realise until after he’d booked it that it was a ~sexy~ version with bdsm in it
A miserable lesbian and a pathetic bissexual walk into a bar-