The end of Andor sets in motion the vital mission of Rogue Oneto get the Death Star plans to the rebels. The way the pieces have come together thanks to everyday people in a galaxy of unsung heroes—a senator on the run, survivors of colonization, bellhops, radical splinter cell members, and even Imperial defectors—is masterful storytelling. Tony Gilroy and the team behind Andor have made the best of Star Wars and television. It’s an inspiring and important triumph.
For fans of the Star Wars canon, there’s nothing else like Andor, and it will probably change the way we watch the series moving forward. At the end of the show, you’ll want to cue up Rogue One and the original trilogy—that’s for sure. The fact that it’s over is still a shock to believe. Andor is hands-down Lucasfilm’s crowning achievement of this era. Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership, giving Star Wars the freedom to go there, proves there’s still fire in the rebellion.
Here’s what went down on the final arc of episodes.
Deep uncover agent Lonni (Robert Emms) rings the big alarm to meet with Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) and reveals that the Emperor’s energy program is a front. He explains the big picture Luthen’s been trying to see: the Empire is targeting Ghorman for fuel, and Jedha for kyber crystals, to build parts for a super weapon using prison labor (as seen on Narkina 5 in Andor season one). After their terse exchange, Luthen kills his Imperial inside man and sets out to get the intel he’s been waiting for to the rebels. He meets up with Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) to immediately relay the information to make contact with Cassian (Diego Luna). As she’s instructed to leave, Dedra (Denise Gough) arrives, having found Luthen’s storefront for their long-awaited showdown. They banter about antiques, and she pulls out the vintage Imperial star-path unit that started it all.
Mero lays into him, it’s her moment, but Luthen drags her because “freedom scares her.” He tells her “The Rebellion is everywhere” and there’s “a whole galaxy out there waiting to disgust” her. It’s an all-timer line delivery from Skarsgård as he stabs himself after buying enough time for the evidence to burn. He counted on Dedra needing her moment. In the most “evil villain undone by their hubris” moment, Dedra calls for a medical extraction in the hopes of keeping Luthen alive to turn him in, her axis trophy slipping through her fingers. At ISB, Partagaz (Anton Lesser) is pissed about the failed raid and Heert (Jacob James Beswick) him about Lonni being found dead.
Kleya is at the group’s safe house after witnessing Luthen being carted off by Dedra to the hospital. She remembers her past. Here we discover, like Cassian, she was found on a warfront, but by Luthen. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out that she was Cassian’s sister because Lucasfilm learned from the lesson that Star Wars does not need everyone to be related. The only Shakespearean thing about this moment was that Luthen’s real last name was Lear (Rael backwards!). He was an acting sergeant who had heard one too many families being wiped out by armies under his command and left with his new charge, the young Kleya.
It’s heartfelt to see their past as they taught each other how to navigate the galaxy while seeing where to sow the seeds of rebellion for all that was taken away. Early on, she learned to wait for the moment to strike—otherwise, everything is put at risk. She grows up to be a calculating soldier in their army of two before expanding their rebel spy network. Dulau’s performance sings as the show’s best secret weapon; her mask comes off with a huge sacrifice, and that’s making sure Luthen stays dead. Her action sequence slipping into the hospital on a mission was breakneck and exacting in a way that we’ve never seen a rebel be, and astounding.
Meanwhile, Heert makes sure Dedra’s girl-bossing too close to the sun gets her what she deserves. She jeopardized everything to the point where Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) shows up to give her a full inquisition. It’s a masterclass of evil on evil hate between Mendelsohn and Gough, though I think Syril’s mom could make Krennic cry (shout-out to the iconic Kathryn Hunter, who was missed but not forgotten). Krennic and Dedra figure out somehow that Jung stole her cert access and read over her files for a few hours. But the curious thing is that Krennic asks how she knew about Galen Erso.
Caught red-handed, she admits she was forwarded a bundle of intel by mistake and kept it. A mistake that’s going to cost everyone, as the name of the Death Star’s architect jumped out at Lonni, who gave it to Luthen. The way the actors depict the interplay of villainy was delightful, with the sneers from Krennic and biting clap-backs of why Dedra scavenged for things ignored—which is how she found Luthen. It didn’t matter now; her prize cow was slaughtered, and in turn, the Empire’s biggest secret was about to be found out. Mero gives him Kleya’s identity as who else might know.
At the halfway mark of this arc, Kleya constructs a transmitter to send word to Cassian to rendezvous, but time is running out. Meanwhile, Heert is about to find Kleya’s face on the security cameras of the hospital as they scrub looking for a team of rebels when it turns out it was just her. And we love that moment of embarrassment that their sniveling poor shooters were outdone and taken out by one woman.
Partagaz and Krennic have it out, and Partagaz tells him he’s over his head for thinking something as huge as the Death Star could be hidden. They send out Kleya’s image to all security points, and Partagaz says she has an infectious disease that can kill thousands if not stopped. Fitting, right? And so very telling as he’s lost faith in fighting the disease, and Lesser does an excellent job at playing a man who sees the writing on the wall. Or rather the alliance star-bird.
Despite Draven frowning down on Wilmon and Cassian taking Kleya’s call, it’s too late as Cassian and Melshi head out to extract her. Everything is closing in her as they meet up and she tells them everything Luthen told her. The pulse and pace of the scene will leave you breathless—they could have left her there , but Cassian fights against her reluctance to leave and convinces her to go back with them to Yavin to see what she helped build. It was not too late for her to see she could make the choice to stop working alone and transform Luthen’s foundation into what the Alliance had raised on Yavin.
The Imperials close in as K-2SO takes out as many as it can, which is most of them, but some still manage to get to Kleya and the extraction team injuring her in a fire fight. But with one KX unit on their side, it’s enough to get them off Coruscant. When the mission fails, Partagaz knows it’s over and that they are done for.
Saw (Forest Whittaker), Mon (Genevieve O’Reilly), and Bail (Benjamin Bratt) argue about course direction as Andor comes in hot. Saw ends his transmission with a wink of the dangers he’s playing with on Jedha, which—more on that shortly, but it was brilliant to show the beginning of the table the Alliance has built. The scene that followed with Cassian telling them about the Death Star makes it even more amazing to see unfold that a group of people with various amounts of power and influence can actually work together for the betterment of all—for freedom from tyranny. Only in science fiction!
At first though they don’t believe want to believe Luthen’s intel about the Death Star being what is currently in construction—under the cover of the energy project the Senate has been funding for years. Of course Bail and the Rebel Alliance immediately wanted to write it off as crazy talk because Luthen was paranoid. Cassian thinks they should believe this intel and dig into who Galen Erso is in connection to the Kyber on Jedha and the Ghorman mining. He points out that they have given a fraction of what Luthen gave to the rebellion. The speech delivered by Luna as Andor made captain filled me with so much pride at seeing his moment of arrival: Andor is a leader and the hero we deserve.
Bail argues that perhaps Luthen was being played as the ISB was on to him. Andor asks to visit Kleya in the infirmary and tells her she’s doing what he can. Mon and Vel meet up and it’s a relief to see that they at least have each other. Mon asks Vel to talk to Cassian to help her believe him even through you know intuitively she knows Luthen was right. Vel and Cassian drink to their fallen from Jedha to Ferrix, including Luthen. He died for the intel, no matter what he did to them along the way. Nemik’s manifesto rings over the last act. The Rebellion is everywhere, and Partagaz—who realizes the disease has taken root—takes his own life before having to answer to the Emperor.
Back on Yavin, Vel encourages Cassian to reconnect with Bix. He asks if she’s safe wherever she is. Vel’s nod helps him see distance as the best option to keep it that way for now and that he’ll think about it once it all settles down. She encourages him to not “wait too long,” foreshadowing the path we know he’s on. Kleya is found wandering in the rain by Vel and she reminds her she has friends everywhere.
As the finale draws to a close, Draven informs Cassian that his informant on Jedha wants to meet him at Kafrene’s trading post for some pressing intel and that he’s been released from being on time out for saving Kleya. The fact that the informant is reaching out from Jedha, where Kleya called out the Empire’s presence, gave leadership enough to rethink their position. Bail shows up to give Andor the go-ahead to pursue more action in getting more info on the Death Star and sends him off with a “May the Force be with you, captain.” It’s both powerful and poignant coming from two figures no longer hidden from the Star Wars lore we know. And with that, Cassian and the Rebel Alliance head to a certain destiny.
On a distant planet, we see B2-EMO again with Bix and a baby. It underscores the message of Andor that no matter what happens acts of resistance are worth it for the freedom of those you love. Bix and their child breathing free means that thanks to Cassian’s actions in the Rebellion, his choices will lead to victory. No matter the cost, they will win.
Andor seasons one and two are now streaming on Disney+.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
