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| “ | Oh, the... the restraints are nothing to be feared. It's much safer for you to be tethered as we engage. There's nothing intrinsically physical about this process, but we've had some early trials that were a bit chaotic. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Gorst "calming down" Bix Caleen seconds before starting her torture session. |
| “ | What's important for our purposes here today is that the massacre of the Dizonites was broadcast and recorded as proof of mission. They make a sound as they die. A sort of choral, agonized pleading. It was quite unlike anything anyone has ever heard before. There were three communications officers monitoring the documentation, and they were found hours later huddled together in various states of emotional distress, in a crawl space beneath the ship's bridge. We've taken the recordings and modified them slightly, layering, adjusting. And we found a section of what we believe are primarily children, which has its own particular effect. Doesn't take long. It won't feel that way to you inside. But, um, let me know when you're willing to cooperate. | „ |
| ~ Gorst explaining his torture methods. |
Dr. Gorst is a major antagonist of the 2022 Disney+ Star Wars streaming series Andor.
He is an interrogator who works for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) in the years before the Battle of Yavin. During the Galactic Empire's persecution against Cassian Jeron Andor, Gorst is called by Lieutenant Supervisor Dedra Meero to interrogate Andor's ex-girlfriend Bix Caleen about his whereabouts, leading Gorst to bring the necessary equipment to make her talk.
He was portrayed by Joshua James.
History[]
Background[]
Not much is known about Dr. Gorst's early life other than he is an enigmatic yet cruel man with detailed expertise of psychology and physiology. Before or around 5 BBY, Gorst started working for the Galactic Empire's Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), which employed him to come up with different torture methods to interrogate their enemies. Accepting the task, Gorst researched about how to do it until he found an efficient though disturbing way: looking into Imperial files, Gorst found records of the dying screams of the Dizonites, an alien species massacred at their moon of Dizon Fray.
He then proceeded to modify the audio of assumed dying Dizonite younglings so he could use the screams of the Empire's victims to torture Imperial enemies, even though three communications officers had been left in emotional distress after monitoring the footage. Gorst's test was successful, though early trials had some chaotic consequences for the subjects, leading to the discovery that repeated listenings to Gorst's recordings caused more and more damage.
Andor[]
At the end of the episode "Narkina 5", as the ISB settled in an abandoned hotel at Ferrix to investigate about Luthen Rael's rebel network and Cassian Jeron Andor, Dr. Gorst can be fleetingly seen behind Dedra Meero following Salman Paak's interrogation just as Bix Caleen is brought for interrogation by two Imperials, with Paak's distraught expression making it apparent that Gorst subjected him to some kind of torture, foreshadowing his role in the following episode.
In "Nobody's Listening!", Dr. Gorst is introduced by Meero, who tells Bix that if she refuses to cooperate, she will resort to subject her to the unique interview system Gorst has created to avoid wasting her time, mentioning how much Paak resisted last night upon being asked for the radio he had in his shop that communicated him with Rael to persuade her to tell her instead of leaving her with Gorst.
Bix refuses to tell Meero what she knows, so Gorst is given green light to torture her. He has Bix restrained to a chair and then puts headphones of his own design on her head after telling her about how the device works while Meero warns her that she will listen to the recordings until she cooperates, closing the door to the room as Bix screams in anguish.
In "Daughter of Ferrix", while he isn't seen, Gorst's voice can be heard in echoes as a traumatized Bix reflects on the torture she has just been forced to endure, hearing in her mind how Gorst told her about the screams before torturing her, proving how psychologically scarred Gorst left Bix until she reluctantly gave in to Meero's demands for answers.
In the season two premiere, "One Year Later", Bix continues to suffer from trauma as a result of her encounter with Dr. Gorst. She has a nightmare of Gorst appearing in her home as she's sleeping and pulling the covers off her to presumably torture her again, which causes her to wake up screaming. In "Ever Been to Ghorman?", Bix has another nightmare and sleepwalks to find Gorst torturing an unnamed soldier to death. Gorst mockingly says his victim "wasn't much of a soldier" and asks Bix what his name was. Bix prepares to shoot him but is woken by Cassian, to whom she confides she has been having nightmares of Gorst for some time.
During an ISB meeting in "What a Festive Evening", Major Partagaz informs two of his subordinates that Gorst's high success rate has been noticed by the higher-ups who demand that Gorst should be available to departments other than the ISB. He explains that Gorst will be expanding his operations to torture suspects for the military as well as the ISB, and he wants the two supervisors to oversee Gorst in order to make sure the military don't steal him from them. Fortunately, one of the supervisors is Lonni Jung, who is a mole for the Rebellion and informs them.
At the end of the episode, Gorst appears in person for the first and only time in the season. Now based at an Imperial complex on Coruscant, he appears to be working late as he arrives at his office in the middle of the night with a takeaway meal. As he enters his office, he is confronted and held at gunpoint by Bix, who he recognizes but is unsure where from. She forcibly straps him into his own torture device. Bix echoes his previous words to her by telling him his experience will only feel like forever before placing the headphones and a muzzle on Gorst and activating the machine. Gorst is left trapped and helpless as he's forced to endure the same torture he subjected so many others to.
Bix leaves the complex and kills one of Gorst's staff before meeting up with Cassian outside. As the two of them walk away Cassian detonates a bomb inside Gorst's office, blowing it up and killing Gorst, much to Bix’s satisfaction.
Trivia[]
- Dr. Gorst's scenes in Andor are easily considered among the most disturbing and frightening of the Star Wars franchise
- Comparisons can be made between Dr. Gorst and Josef Mengele, a Nazi scientist who operated at Auschwitz. Both are sadistic doctors employed by fascist regimes, and torture innocents with horrific contraptions and agendas.
External Links[]
- Dr. Gorst on the Star Wars Wiki
