When I think about the most chilling moments in Star Wars, my mind usually goes to battles with Sith Lords, the destruction of entire planets, or Darth Vader’s menacing presence.
But Andor gave us something completely different—a scene so horrifyingly intimate and realistic that it might just take the crown as the most terrifying moment in the franchise.
I’m talking about the torture scene with Bix Caleen. It’s not just the act itself that’s terrifying—it’s how it’s portrayed.
The psychological torment, the cold indifference of the Empire, and the unbearable weight of hopelessness make this scene hit harder than any blaster fight or lightsaber duel ever could.
The Most Terrifying Scene in Star Wars
The torture of Bix Caleen in Andor is one of the most harrowing moments in the Star Wars franchise.
Dedra Meero, the icy ISB officer, sets the tone for the scene with her unnerving calmness. She methodically dismantles Bix’s defenses, not with anger or shouting, but with cold precision and control. Her words are as calculated as her methods, driving home the terrifying efficiency of the Empire.
After laying out the details of the auditory weapon—designed to break minds using the death cries of alien children—Meero makes it clear that resistance is futile.
Her sharp dialogue, such as “The very worst thing you can do right now is bore me” and her dismissal of Bix’s attempts to reason with her “You’re not gonna believe me anyway, are you?” / “No. I suppose not”, strips any hope from the encounter.
But what makes the scene even more unsettling is what happens next. Once Meero has finished her psychological assault, she exits the room, leaving Dr. Gorst to carry out the torture itself.
The scene only grows more harrowing as Dr. Gorst elaborates on the origins of his horrific torture method. He recounts the tragic story of Dizon Fray, a moon in the Outer Rim Territories where the Dizonites, a sentient species, resisted the construction of an Imperial refueling station.
The Empire’s response? Genocide. The Dizonites were completely exterminated, but it wasn’t their deaths that Gorst focused on—it was the unique sounds they made as they died.
Chillingly, Gorst explains how the Empire isolated the screams of Dizonite children, weaponizing their cries to inflict psychological torment.
Meero, returning to the room, makes it clear that resisting will only make things worse for Caleen. She coldly notes how repeated exposure to the screams causes the most damage, reinforcing the inescapable nightmare ahead.
Caleen is tied down, unable to escape, as Gorst places the headphones over her ears. The camera doesn’t reveal the sound—leaving it to the viewer’s imagination—but Bix’s reaction is enough to convey the horror. Her screams pierce the room as she’s subjected to the torturous sounds, the psychological toll visible in her every movement.
The Soundless Terror That Amplifies the Scene Via Tony Gilroy’s Vision
One of the most haunting choices in this scene was to leave the sound entirely to the audience’s imagination. Tony Gilroy, the creative mind behind Andor, made the deliberate decision to omit the terrifying sound, trusting actor Adria Arjona to convey the horror through her performance.
“It was Tony who said, ‘No, we don’t want to hear it. The audience doesn’t hear it, and let Adria Arjona carry that scene,’” he explained.
The moment the headphones are placed on Bix, the audio fades into complete silence. What’s left is her trembling breath and the sheer terror reflected in her eyes.
As Gilroy elaborated, “It’s that absolute silence all around her, and it’s feeling her terror in that moment… because I think the audience is expecting to hear something in that moment, and then when you don’t, it immediately kicks in your own imagination… your own imagination is going to be far more terrifying or interesting on an individual basis than anything that we would create.”
This masterful decision lets the silence speak volumes, making the scene a deeply personal and chilling experience for each viewer. It’s a moment that relies on psychological horror rather than explicit audio, leaving an unforgettable impact.