Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-9 of Andor.

Following the grim last episode of Andor that revealed the depths of the dehumanizing prison where Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) had been sent on trumped-up charges, there is a crushing sense that Narkina 5 is the place where hope comes to die. The shining light that all those confined there hold onto is that someday they will get to be released and see the world again. It is the only thing that they have to look forward to when the rest of their days are dominated by repetitive labor and psychological warfare where to succeed at their job was to doom another to immense pain. The one who is closest to this light at the end of the tunnel is the elderly Ulaf (Christopher Fairbank), who we learn in an opening scene is next to be released. He never gets there in Andor's hauntingly titled ninth episode, "Nobody's Listening!"

Even as we have only just been getting to know him, Ulaf dies. He meets his demise not because of a laser blast or in the midst of an escape. After dozens upon dozens of shifts that take a toll on his body, Ulaf has a massive stroke and is essentially euthanized by the prison medical officer who doesn’t have the means to help him recover. His death is more mundane, though no less tragic. It is simply part of the casual destruction of humanity that the Narkina 5 prison is built on. He dies before ever getting to see the sunlight again, with the last days of his life spent suffering in the stark confines of the cold facility. It is a loss that is significantly foreshadowed as he begins to increasingly struggle with the strain of the work. He is struck by pain that no one in charge even pretends to care about, though they are supposedly watching everything. His fellow inmates try to help him by either assisting him or outright taking over his work, though they are similarly trapped alongside him. Ultimately, Cassian and the others are unable to save him from becoming yet another casualty of the cruelty of the Empire.

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Ulaf's Death Is a Loss Most Other Star Wars Stories Would Ignore

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Image via Disney+

In a galaxy full of rebels fighting and dying to take down the Empire, there is just as much pain to be felt in the death of a supposedly lowly prisoner. While there are plenty of significant scenes in this episode, the impact comes from showing yet another instance of tragedy that most other Star Wars stories would leave untouched in favor of conventional spectacle. Fairbank’s performance is central to this via the quiet fear in Ulaf’s eyes as he can feel that something is wrong. His final shift where he continues working and doing everything he can to ensure they don’t fall behind is understated yet absolutely gut-wrenching — as if he is still clinging to the hope that if he just works hard enough, then he will be okay and make it out alive. The reality is that there is no salvation coming, and Ulaf becomes merely one of many who have died and will continue to do so in the grinding gears of this cruel system. Cassian and the other inmates try to keep him up as he begins to fall while others are tortured next to them, but Ulaf continues to get worse until he is just a shell of himself. They are too late to prevent him from meeting his end.

The scene of Ulaf's death itself plays out almost silently as he is laid back in a comatose state in the hallway. Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) tries to whisper words of encouragement that he only has a few shifts left, though it is clear that these meaningless proclamations are mostly for his own sanity as Ulaf can no longer hear him. When the doctor finally arrives, both Kino and Cassian try to give their fallen friend a shred of dignity by emphasizing his name. It all proves to be for naught as the doctor merely goes through the motions of checking on him and refuses to refer to him as anything other than more general identifiers. When he flatly tells Kino and Cassian that there is nothing even left to save, it is met with a sense of stunned disbelief.

After the doctor offers the grim explanation that he “can’t help anyone,” he prepares to inject Ulaf with a substance that will take his life “peacefully,” which he rationalizes as being “more than I can say for the rest of us.” He then gives a bleak proclamation that they all are in for more suffering as he takes the final steps of ferrying his doomed patient along into death. Though the doctor promises that “he’ll feel nothing,” a pained choking emerges from Ulaf before he shudders while Cassian and Kino hold him down. They ultimately have to leave his body there alone to be taken away by the very guards that killed him via the agony they put him through.

Ulaf's Death Has a Clear Impact on Cassian and Kino

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Image via Disney+

This loss has a clear impact on Kino, who had otherwise bought into the false promises given by the Empire, but it also unveils more of the cracks beginning to form in the fascist facade governing the inmates' lives. As Ulaf lies dead before them, the doctor informs Kino and Cassian of how no one ever really is let go and is instead just moved to another section of the prison. When the latest move is discovered by other prisoners, the guards just kill them all in a desperate attempt to stop word from spreading throughout the facility.

As Kino and Cassian walk away, the former finally answers the question about how many guards there are on each floor. The determination on the face of each man shows they are now both ready to fight. However, no matter how much we look to the future with an uprising looming in the prison, there will always be a pain in seeing those who don't get to make it out like Ulaf. There is no typical hero's death for him; Andor's newest episode more coldly and honestly captures the way cruelty can take countless lives of those the world may never get to know. Even with a small character, the show delicately highlights how it is his humanity that is precisely what the rebels are fighting for.

Andor releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.