One such person is Dedra Meero, a role portrayed by Irish actor Denise Gough, 42, who made her debut in the show’s fourth episode, which premiered on Wednesday.
Here is everything you need to know about the character.
Who Is Denise Gough’s Character Dedra Meero in ‘Andor’?
Andor is not just focused on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his side of The Rebellion, but it also explores previously untapped aspects of The Empire.
Gough’s Dedra is one part of this, with Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn also playing a big role in the bureaucratic side of The Empire.
It is explained in episode 4 that Dedra works as a supervisor in the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), where staff keep track of all dissonance in the galaxies.
When Dedra learns of the events that took place on the desert world Ferrix in episodes 1 to 3, and how a NS9 Starpath Unit was discovered on the planet, she takes an immediate interest and tries to take control of the job but to no avail.
When speaking with her commanding officer Major Partagaz, played by Anton Lesser, Dedra says that her instinct is telling her that The Rebellion is starting to make waves, with coordinated attacks against The Empire.
Dedra had worked as a member of the Enforcement sector of the Empire, and although it’s not clarified exactly which team she was on, it can be assumed that she was part of a police force before she joined the ISB.
Major Partagaz later says that Dedra has a “high bar” to reach for her work over two sectors with the ISB, adding that she is “supposed to be more competent and tucked away,” which suggests her work should be more clandestine than it is.
Dedra’s commanding officer was, however, impressed by her work detaining insurgents, saying she helped arrest more people than any other person in the ISB. Major Partagaz said that he may bring more jobs like that to her in future, and perhaps it is this work that will lead her to Cassian.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Gough said of her character: “She wants to be part of the most powerful organization in the world, and the way to do that is to prove yourself by doing something no one else is doing, which is catching Cassian Andor. Or, at least, putting everything together so she can make the ISB really aware of this person.
“I think also what I love is that what’s really conflicting about Dedra is that it’s a new thing, isn’t it, to have a woman in this world, in this part,” the actor added. “So a part of you and I know that, for a lot of women watching it, they’ll be like, ‘Oh my god! Go, sister! You’re doing so well.’ Then you have to remember, ‘Oh! She’s a fascist.’
“So you’re sort of, on the one hand, you want a woman in a man’s world to succeed, but it’s like, ‘No, it’s the wrong world though. We don’t want that.’” said Gough. “She should make you feel slightly uncomfortable at your alliances.”
New episodes of Andor air Wednesdays on Disney+.
