All good things must come to an end–at least until season two. Andor’s first season has taken us on a steady, measured journey of political intrigue. Let’s see how it wraps up for now.
We start on Ferrix, where Bix (Adria Arjona) is still in holding after her torture. Dedra (Denise Gough) lands in the system and begins to stalk the streets. Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) and a coworker Xan (Zubin Varla) discuss Cassian’s (Diego Luna) whereabouts, but they’re overhead by a fellow citizen of Ferrix named Nurchi (Raymond Anum), who buys Xan a drink to try to pry further information from him.
On Coruscant, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) takes a deep breath before her husband Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie) enters their private shuttle. She tells their chauffeur Kloris (Lee Ross) they’d like privacy, but he listens to the conversation. The snitch! An Imperial snitch! But Mon’s ahead of the game. She accuses Perrin of gambling to hide her money problems.
Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu) meet on Ferrix. There’s still conflict between them, with Vel trying to connect and Cinta staying distant. Cinta conveys the information she’s gathered about the ISB and their preparation for the funeral. Plans to kill Cassian are still on the table since he knows too much about Luthen’s activities. Later, Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) lands on the planet, in on those same plans. He and Vel meet up and decide the Imperials will take Cassian to the local hotel, so they should scope it out first.
After sneaking back onto Ferrix, Cassian has a flashback to his adoptive father Clem (Gary Beadle), who taught him an important lesson about not discarding used things, but to look “past the rust.” After running into an old friend, Cassian camps out and listens to some of Nemik’s (Alex Lawther) manifesto before wistfully watching the rain. Sometimes, in science fiction, you must wistfully watch the rain.
Dedra consults her fellow Imperials about their plans to control the funeral procession and seek out Cassian. Dedra rejects the use of snipers – she wants Andor alive.
Kloris discusses Mon’s statement about Perrin’s gambling with Blevin (Ben Bailey Smith). They’re interrupted by a man who tells them they’re missing the Kreegyr attack. They took no prisoners, a fact that frustrates Dedra, who always wants answers. She gazes angrily out the window (sometimes you must do that in sci-fi, too).
Cassian meets up with Brasso and tells him he tried his best to take Maarva (Fiona Shaw) off-planet, and Brasso tells him everything he’s saying and regretting is what Maarva predicted he would, but that none of it is his fault. Brasso conveys a message she left, one of hope and encouragement.
Here comes Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), landing on Ferrix despite Dedra’s warnings to stay out of things entirely. He can’t help himself. He soon sees Dedra, with whom he is still smitten.
The anvil in the bell tower rings out as a marching band (equipped with cool space instruments) starts up in the streets. The funeral procession has begun. The Empire wants a “show of force” to keep the crowd under control. Cassian watches from above and locates Luthen.
Nurchi reveals Cassian’s location, and Dedra again insists on bringing him alive.
The procession gains in number, far past the maximum of 40 people the Empire allowed. B2EMO (Dave Chapman) projects a huge holo of Maarva, who delivers a final message to the crowd. It is, of course, a rousing speech about Ferrix and the rebellion. “The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness,” she asserts. When her speech becomes too scathing for the officer’s comfort (telling the listeners to “fight the Empire!”), the Imperial troops bear down on the crowd. A bitter fight ensues while Cassian sneaks through the city until he finds Bix still in her holding cell. As the two talk, one of the parade-goers throws a bomb outside, setting off a domino effect of other bombs. Stormtroopers begin to fire at will into the crowd. Cinta, cornered by an officer, stabs him. Cassian and Bix make their escape.
Dedra gets caught up in the battle, overwhelmed by mourners who start to drag her away, before none other than Syril pulls her safely into an empty building. “You? How?” she says, wide-eyed and incredulous. “You were in trouble,” he responds. Dedra, clearly rethinking her position on Syril, says “I should say thank you,” before he responds with a sappy “You don’t have to.” Star Wars has a new toxic ship.
Brasso and a man and woman named Pegla (Kieran O’Brien) and Jezzi (Pamela Nomvete) ready a ship for Cassian, Bix, and B2EMO. Cassian, however, decides to stay behind. He’s made a decision. As Luthen readies his own ship, Cassian appears behind him. He knows Luthen came to kill him, and he gives him an ultimatum: pull the trigger and kill him, or let him join the rebellion in earnest. Luthen looks down at his gun, then up at Cassian with a smile.
And with Cassian’s induction into the rebellion, the season ends (except for an after-credit scene with the Death Star, its construction nearly complete). Cassian has been through a lot, and we’ve seen his progression from scrappy survivor to emerging hero. Since we know his fate by the end of Rogue One, next season is more than likely the last piece of media we’ll get with Cassian. Let’s hope the creators make it count (I have faith they will).
Rating: 8/10
