Source
r/StarWars•
Cop_663

[Spoilers] Why didn't Cassian... ? (Rogue One)

Spoilerspoilers

I'm not sure what the time limit is on spoilers, so I tagged the post just in case there's anyone new to the franchise strolling through the sub. So, my apologies if this has been asked/answered before. I looked it up but couldn't find anything.

I was rewatching Rogue One today and got to the scene on Eadu where Cassian has to make his decision whether or not to kill Galen Erso. It's a great sequence and I think a defining moment for his character. He's someone who has presumably spent a lifetime making morally-grey decisions and finally draws a line in the sand about how far he's willing to go for "the cause." He has a great opportunity to make the killing strike on Galen, but he doesn't.

...But why doesn't he kill Director Krennic? This is a dude that he must know is a high-ranking Imperial Officer and apparent head of the Death Star's construction. He has plenty of wide-open shots to take him down, but he doesn't. Seems like kind of a plothole to me. Anyone have any insights?

Posted Apr 30, 2017, 12:27 AM UTC · edited

713
The_real_sanderflop•
  1. He was sent to kill Erso, not Krennic
  2. Firing the shot would give away his position and he wasn't sure wether or not he was gonna kill Galen and shooting Krennic would lose him the opportunity.
  3. He doesn't know who Krennic is. The Death Star is a secret, and even if he did it's unlikely he would have recognised him.
35
KalebT44•

Add onto this the fact that the second he finished his "Oh my god I can't kill him" moment he realised Jyn was on the platform and killing either of them would probably cause a major problem for her.

6
Cop_663OP•

Thanks for your answer! This clarification, including u/HTH52 mentioning he wouldn't assassinate someone he wasn't ordered to, has me pretty confident it wasn't just an oversight.

3
roto_disc•

He has no idea how important Krennic is. He may be a rebel, but just gunning down everyone in an imperial uniform is a little brash.

9
VulpeculaVincere•

He doesn't know who Krennic is. Hard to see the little chits on his rank badge I imagine as well.

6
FearAngerHateSuffer•

FYI- the spoiler ban lifted on Rogue One a couple months ago, so feel free to openly discuss it.

4
[deleted]•

This is a dude that he must know is a high-ranking Imperial Officer and apparent head of the Death Star's construction

We, as the audience, know this, but there is no evidence that Cassian does. As far as he is concerned, Krennic is just some random Imperial dude.

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Mirahtrunks•

Also, you don't have to spoiler tag rogue one.

1
HTH52•

He isnt going to take a shot that he isnt ordered to take. Killing Krennic really wouldnt do anything, he's just a research director. If he does someone else takes his place with the same engineers and scientists working on the same projects they were already working on. Krennic comes off as important because he thinks he is, and is trying to get in the Emperor's favor... but as we see in the end, he isnt that important at all.

1
Cop_663OP•

It seems to me killing Galen wouldn't really do anything either, though. The Death Star is already complete.

1
HTH52•

Yep. Nobody knows that except Jyn, everyone else thinks he's necessary because he's made it seem like he was by purposefully hindering the project.

3
kutwijf•

Character arc. He decided to no longer follow orders blindly.

1
deftPirate•

It frankly didn't make much sense that he didn't shoot Galen, either.

-1