From R2-D2 to Chopper, the Star Wars universe has had its share of unique droids. Yet, the reintroduction of K-2SO in Season 2 of Andor brings back a droid with a particular personality that may distinguish him from all the rest. Below are 10 things you didn’t know about K-2SO. Even if you do know some of them, you can still find some new insights into this incredible droid.
Table of Contents
- 1. K-2SO Is the Most Human Droid
- 2. K-2SO Has the Best Lines
- 3. K-2SO Is the Anti-C-3PO
- 4. The Most Complex Droid
- 5. He Gave Us the Saddest Death
- 6. K-2SO Is Different from the Start
- 7. K2 Is Related to Viper Droids
- 8. K-2SO Is the Coolest Droid
- 9. K2 Almost Looked Like C-3PO
- 10. K-2SO’s Origin Story Is Different in the Comics
1. K-2SO Is the Most Human Droid
What we originally learned in Rogue One has been reiterated in Andor. K-2SO is perhaps the most human droid in Star Wars. Not only does he demonstrate a fierce loyalty to his companions, but K2 also has a range of emotions that set him apart. His characteristics include sarcasm, disobeying orders he disagrees with, and asserting his independence.
In the season finale of Andor, K2 showed his loyalty by “clearing a path” for Cassian, or removing the tactical Imperial force sent to capture Kleya. He is devoted to helping his friends throughout his story, from the small to the big screen, including learning to be loyal to Jyn Erso.
2. K-2SO Has the Best Lines
K-2SO has many great humorous lines. A top one, noted in this discussion, is from Rogue One when he was escorting Cassian and Jyn Erso and responded to a stormtrooper, “I am…taking them…to imprison them…in prison.” In the last episode of Andor, K2 says to Cassian, “The man you don’t like is here” when Bail Organa comes to talk after the two had argued.
Another of his best witty lines from the movie is in this scene when Cassian let Jyn keep a blaster, K-2SO replied, “You’re letting her keep it?! Would you like to know the probability of her using it against you? It’s high. It’s very high.”
3. K-2SO Is the Anti-C-3PO
Coinciding with the last K-2SO quote, this droid is the antithesis of C-3PO. While 3PO would have given an exact probability, K2 provides a human-like estimate. That way about him is intentional.
This video opens with another great K-2SO line but also explains how this droid originated as the “anti-C-3PO.” John Knoll, Executive Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor of Rogue One, liked CPO but wanted to move away from his “bumbling comic relief.” Instead, K2 focuses on doing “amazing things that no humans can do.”
4. The Most Complex Droid
Alan Tudyk, who plays K-2SO in the movie and series, conveys in the above video how this droid “doesn’t follow orders so well” but does “listen to Cassian.” Moreover, K2 is “many things” and can vary from being violent to helpful. These qualities coincide with #1 on the list, but also speak to a droid complexity that surpasses others in this galaxy.
This Star Wars ranking places K2 at #1 for deadliest droids, but the rationale has to do with his complex and advanced capabilities. Among his stellar qualities, K2 has “athletic agility” and could use “weapons or just pulverize enemies with bare fists.” Those are just his physical traits on top of his intellectual ones.
5. He Gave Us the Saddest Death
Another quality to go with #4 and #1 is how K-2SO is self-sacrificing. We witnessed this at the end of Rogue One, which also provided us with arguably the saddest death in Star Wars.
The scene is contained in this discussion that suggests this interesting aspect of K2. He is willing to get blasted to death to save his friends and the mission, which underpins the Rebels and Luke’s ability to blow up the Death Star.
We may think of Shmi, Fives, Han, Jyn, and Cassian as close runner-ups to the saddest death. Each of these deaths was tragic, along with Qui-Gon and Tech’s, but the way K-2SO gave it all he had until he dropped solicits a touch more empathy, even as a (technically) droid.
6. K-2SO Is Different from the Start
K-2SO was reintroduced in Episode 8 of Andor, Season 2. It happens in the scene when Syril enters a room with a squad of K2 units before the Ghorman Massacre. Yet, one droid stares at him longer and seems different from the others. That’s because K2 is different from the start.
As fans noted here and in other discussions, the markings on the armor from the show to the movie help identify this particular droid as K-2SO. Not only does this detail and the droid’s actions provide continuity, but they also help make K2 stand out as different from other KX-series security droids. Even before his reprogramming, K2 showed some of his personality in this brief interaction with Syril.
7. K2 Is Related to Viper Droids
As this article indicated (#5 on the list) after the release of Rogue One, K-2SO is “a cousin” to Viper droids. Both KX-series security droids and Viper probe droids were produced by Arkyd Industries and have a common association with Imperial security needs. The probes made themselves known at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back and do not have nearly as much personality as K2.
8. K-2SO Is the Coolest Droid
Along with being the most human and complex droid, we could add that K-2SO is the coolest droid in Star Wars. That’s what many fans here concluded when rewatching Rogue One before the first season of Andor. In terms of a coolness factor, K2 ranks as high or higher than HK-47 the assassin droid, IG-11 from the Mando series, and Chopper from Rebels and the Bad Batch.
His blend of sarcastic humor, life-saving skills, brute strength, and intelligence all rolled into one is what places K2 on top in this column. If he wore sunglasses, it would complete his look.
9. K2 Almost Looked Like C-3PO
Although K-2SO was created to be the anti-C3PO, he initially almost looked like 3PO. As this video explains (at 0:35), the initial concept sketches for K2 looked “almost exactly like Theepio’s body,” including exposed wiring in the torso. The head shape was also quite similar. Yet, as we know, K2 took a decidedly different turn.
10. K-2SO’s Origin Story Is Different in the Comics
Based on Season 2 of Andor, K-2SO first takes part in the Ghorman Massacre and chases Cassian before being hit into a wall. Cassian collects the parts and takes them to resemble and reprogram K2.
In the comic version of Rogue One, though, K2’s origin story is quite different. Cassian goes on a mission to the planet Wecacoe to steal Imperial security protocols and is captured by a KX droid. Cassian and his team manage to shut down and reprogram K2, and the two become companions with the Rebel Alliance.