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Only a year after Ferrix’s demonstration of resistance during Maarva Andor’s (Fiona Shaw) funeral, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is now a key player in the rebel spy network run by Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). This week’s Andor episode arc focuses on the early stages of the rebellion four years before the Battle of Yavin, and is directed by Ariel Kleiman (Yellowjackets) and written by Tony Gilroy.
Star Wars has never been this back so strap in.
There’s a poignancy with where we pick up on Andor; this specific point of resistance from within says a lot about this first batch of episodes. There’s an building urgency as Cassian infiltrates the Sienar Test Facility as a pilot with the help of an Imperial turncoat named Maya to steal a TIE fighter. Nervous to even look at Cassian, Maya connects with him as he reassures her it will all be worth it—because she’s not alone in this, and he’s not alone in this.
Together their effort makes it worthwhile, as does coming to terms with being united to oppose the evil the Empire represents. This affirmation from Cassian is moving as it invites viewers to extend themselves back into the universe in a way that is what Star Wars is all about.
Andor serves as the constant the ensemble looks to, but he’s now a moving piece and we get to see how his absence motivates everyone. While he’s at the Imperial testing facility his fellow Ferrix kin Bix (Adria Arjona), Wilmon (Muhannad Bhaier), and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) are refugees on Mina-Rau, a farming planet. They’ve seemingly been here with Andor while he goes off on missions for about a year and things had been quiet until an Imperial Inspections ship shows up.
The timing is bad as Andor is unable to be reached while deep undercover and stuck in a TIE fighter model that’s different than the simulator he was trained on. The Stormtroopers move in on him and he blasts his way out like the first time anyone’s tried to be a pilot on Disney Parks’ Smugglers Run ride, crashing against walls and so on before getting off-world.
Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), on the other hand, is deep in wedding mode for her daughter Leida’s (Bronte Carmichael) Chandrilan ceremony into the Sculdun family, which takes place over the course of a few days. Resigned to the commitment she made in order to keep her deal with Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane), she’s caught off guard by Luthen’s presence as a guest. It’s purely for antique space roadshow vibes as Sculdun required Luthen to present a very special and expensive gift to the newlyweds.
Along with Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau), Luthen isn’t too pleased with this commitment either, as the covert duo haven’t gotten a transmission from Andor from his latest mission and there’s nowhere secure enough on Chandrila to try. Andor can’t reach out to them as he crash lands at the rendezvous point, a jungle planet filled with stranded ex-pats who know Maya but don’t believe Andor when he claims he does too, since he’s wearing Imperial pilot garb. To make matters worse, Andor’s point of contact isn’t there and screwed over this new batch of rebels who can’t agree on who should be in charge to decide his fate.
At the Maltheen Divide, Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) presents the idea of “the project” with vagueness to the full scope of it to a select few including Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser), Dedra Mero (Denish Gough), and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller). He introduces the Emperor’s interest in acquiring Ghorman’s kalkite mineral which sits beneath the city of Palmo, where most of the people reside.
Ghorman is known for being the main metropolitan resource hub for the galaxy’s fashions and finest fabrics woven from the Ghorlectopod spiders. This point feels emphasized as we all know fashions take a dip during the rebellion and now we might know why. Krennic needs them to figure out a way to get some of the most respected people of the galaxy to be disliked in order to look like they need to step in and gouge the resource out from under them no matter the cost.
While the usual “let’s push propaganda” is suggested, Dedra is already ready with an extra dose of fascism and has something darker in mind. She suggests to Krennic they somehow influence the rebel presence on Ghorman, pushing them to do something unpredictable in order to excuse them doing what’s necessary.
The Imperial movement on Mina-Rau continues to have scouts pillage for resources like food and peezos (that fun recreational hallucinogenic from Niamos). Bix tries to go unnoticed but a scout begins to creep on her. Brassos and Wil are better at being stealth, but they all wonder where Cassian is.
Meanwhile, Mon goes through them motions of tradition as newly single Tay begins to pressure her to make his failing investments worth it and we get what he’s putting down. It’s further emphasized when Perrin, Mon’s husband, accuses her of taking Tay on as a lover, to her disgust. At every gathering Tay does try to keep on her for more and Luthen clocks it; he asks Mon if Tay has a number. Mon, trying to focus on her child’s wedding, assures Luthen he must and that she’ll arrange to meet him on Coruscant after the wedding.
They’re deep in it, the ceremony, the rebellion, and the costs to her cover should Tay poke around more about the soured investments on the foundation. Luthen knows what’s up—and as Mon grapples with it all, she watches Perrin deliver a speech to a glowing Leida and her husband about enjoying the privilege of their tradition’s abundance. It’s clear he sees who Mon used to be and in this shared moment across the room realizes with Mon maybe on some level that the bride his daughter now is no longer exists within his wife.
The rebellion buzzes from afar. Cassian wrestles with the baby rebel splinter cells who get into a firing squabble over who gets to keep Cassian and have him train them to use the TIE fghter. One group has taken him and the other the ship and it’s sobering to see the infighting being why nothing gets done.
Meanwhile, the Empire runs more tightly; Dedra’s plans impress Krennic, who is ready to set it in motion with her. However, she doesn’t want to go as she seems to yearn a bit for being a trad wife in partnership with Syril—oh yeah, by the way they’ve been a thing. It’s fascinating to see this deplorable duo engage in making house and getting their freak on. The actors are so good at selling these two at having a shred of humanity, but it simply doesn’t overcome the lifestyle they’re taught. It’s seen when Eedy (Kathryn Hunter) comes over for dinner and attempts to be the alpha over Syril’s cowering man-child identity—he goes to him room to lie in bed after Eedy’s passive aggressive disappointment makes him go non-verbal.
It doesn’t faze Dedra, who after Eedy does her best “bless your heart” digging for more about her social status and discovers that Dedra was in an Imperial foster home, decides to turn the tables on the monster-in-law. Their dinner scene is so disturbing in the best way. Gough and Hunter go toe to toe in an iconic diva-off that rivals some of the most intense lightsaber battles with the clash of words exchanged. It should ranked highly in Star Wars canon duels, it’s that good, and both actresses chew up the minimalist Imperial luxury scenery.
Dedra about beheads Eedy with her burns, but the dynamic the actresses nail speak to how sociopathic the average Imperial fanatics can be even among themselves. It’s a constant belittling that feeds the most soulless people to aspire to spread the suffering outside their own for self-importance. And this pushes Dedra to take the Ghorman mission to gain special notoriety—and also gain control over Syril by taking him away from his mother and proving that she’s the alpha. It’s seductively sick and seeing Syril as her lapdog is somehow very on brand for the type of couple they are.
As the rebels continue their infighting, Cassian manages to get loose enough to hotwire their space transmitter. This is juxstaposed with Mina-Rau being audited and visas being checked as his Ferrix family get dangerously close to getting caught. Thankfully Kleya is able to sneak off Chandrila and made it to Coruscant in time to touch base with Andor. She lets him know about the Imperial blockade over Mina-Rau and he takes that as a signal to go to them, so he distracts the young rebels to make a break for it and we see that the planet he was on was Yavin!
It’s cutting it close as Brasso is arrested, Wil is delayed by saying goodbye, and Bix gets cornered. One of the best parts of this arc is how those who you’d think would need the most protection, flip the script. Dedra did it to Eedy with her “I am mother” now moment, Leida made her choice clear to Mon that she is going willingly into her marriage arrangement, and Kleya subs in for Luthen as he’s trapped in his role to orchestrate the rebellion back on Coruscant.
It all comes to a head when Bix, faced with unwanted advances, kicks that Imperial scout’s ass. It’s clear she doesn’t need saving. And her rage over the trauma from Dr. Gorst’s torture pretty much blows their cover. Thankfully Cassian shows up in the TIE fighter for the skirmish, which Brassos doesn’t make it out of and B2-EMO ends up left behind.
Mon hits the dance floor to some amazing Niamos house music and takes so many shots that she’s bound to swing from the Chandrilan chandeliers. And hey, she needs it when she realizes the only number Tay has is one that’s up, so she lets loose one last time before what’s to come. Her daughter has left the loveless nest of her and Perrin’s sham of a marriage, and she needs to be a mother to the rebellion.
It’s all set in motion as Luthen calls Cinta (Varada Sethu) to pick up Tay and you can deduce he’s being disappeared. To make that matter more intriguing Vel sees her and it reignites not only her flame for her former lover but the one inside her to not stand around her kin whose traditions don’t accept her. The power of all the women of the Star Wars universe being seen as instrumental for the battles to come is incredible. It being set against the Yavin rebels getting it together really weaves more heroes into the tapestry of what we know in Rogue One and A New Hope. And as Bix makes it off Mina-Rau with Cassian and Wil, she knows it’s her turn off the bench too.
Andor season two airs weekly on Disney+.
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