The first season of Disney+’s latest Star Wars series Andor has finally ended, and Cassian Andor’s first journey as a Rebel fighter was a roller coaster to behold.
Warning: Spoilers for the season 1 finale of Andor are below.
After murdering two Imperial officers, Cassian joins the Rebel Alliance to make ends meet, robs the Empire, ends up in prison, and breaks himself and many others free. The finale capped it all off with a brutal but exciting battle between the Empire and the people they subjugated on planet Ferrix, signaling the rise of the Rebellion.
The battle on Ferrix
The Season 1 finale shows Cassian returning to Ferrix, having just learned about the death of his adopted mother, Maarva Andor. He also learns that his friend, Bix Caleen, has been imprisoned by the Empire, and he attempts to rescue her during Maarva’s funeral. At the event in question, Dedra Meero and the town’s Imperial soldiers search for Cassian in an attempt to capture him. At the same time, Cassian’s Rebel employer, Luthen Rael, tries to find Cassian so he can kill him before the Empire can catch and question him.
In the midst of all this, Maarva’s droid companion, B2EMo, plays a holographic recording of Maarva giving her last will and testament to everyone at the funeral. She encourages the townspeople to rise against the Empire, calling it a “darkness” that everyone is allowing to grow and spread across the galaxy. Though the Imperials try to end her speech, Maarva still inspires everyone to revolt against their oppressors.
A massive riot breaks out between the townspeople and the Imperials, which escalates into an all-out war once a boy throws a makeshift bomb at the latter. This causes the Stormtroopers to open fire on the crowd, setting off a climactic showdown that shows the Rebellion against the Empire growing in numbers. It also invokes the image of the many real-life riots that have broken out in the U.S. between civilians and police officers in recent years.
Mothma’s strife
Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Mon Mothma, one of the leading members of the Rebellion, confronts her husband Perrin for gambling, worrying about where he’s getting the money to do so. It is implied that she suspects that Perrin is dipping into the money Mothma is using to finance the Rebellion, which could put a damper on her plans. Their limo driver overhears their conversation and reports it to the Imperial Security Bureau later, meaning the Empire is growing more suspicious of the Senator/Rebel Leader.
Mon Mothma faces even more trouble when her teenage daughter Leida meets the son of Davo Sculdun, who promised to give Mothma funding in exchange for arranging for their children to marry. Whether or not she is willing to give her daughter away to fund the Rebellion remains to be seen, and her future as an Imperial Senator may be in jeopardy with government spies still snooping around.
The ending
During the riot on Ferrix, Cassian breaks Bix out of captivity, while Cassian’s obsessive pursuer, Syril Karn, saves Meero from a group of violent protestors and seems to establish a stronger bond with her as a result. Escaping to the town’s shipyard, Cassian has Bix flee Ferrix with his friend Brasso and many others on a stolen vessel. Though Cassian promises everyone that he will find them, he is later seen confronting Luthen, who has him at gunpoint, revealing he knows the Rebel leader came to Ferrix to assassinate him.
The main story ends with Cassian asking Luthen to kill him or “take me in,” indicating that he wants to join the Rebellion. Luthen seems to welcome him to the Alliance with a smile, and the episode cuts to black without another word. The fact that the show is a prequel to Andor’s journey makes it clear that he survives this encounter, making this the moment Cassian truly joined the Rebel Alliance. And since Disney has given the green light for a second season, audiences can expect to see more of Andor’s adventures fighting the Empire as a Rebel spy. And that’s not all.
Post-credits scene explained
Viewers streaming the finale should watch out for the episode’s surprise post-credits scene. In it, multiple droids are shown applying parts Andor was forced to build while he was imprisoned by the Empire on Narkina 5. The camera then pulls back to reveal that these droids are building the laser cannon for the Empire’s infamous space station, the Death Star.
This brief scene establishes a greater connection between Andor and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the latter in which the show’s titular character debuted. It also creates a bit of irony in Cassian’s journey fighting the Empire. In Rogue One, he and Jyn Erso worked together to steal the plans for the Death Star so the Rebel Alliance could destroy it. But now, it is revealed that Cassian had a small hand in building the superweapon that he sacrificed his life to help obliterate.
All in all, the latest episode of Andor made for a terrific finale for Season 1. Many of the show’s characters had satisfying endings to their respective stories, with Cassian becoming part of the Rebel Alliance and his friends escaping the Empire. While this could work as the end of the series altogether, it also sets up the second season with the possibility of showing more exciting adventures with Andor. There’s also a chance that Karn and Meero will team up to capture the elusive Rebel spy now that they’ve established a strong bond.
While Andor focused less on the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force, the series did give a greater emphasis on the Empire’s political machinations and the people’s struggle to survive under their tyrannical rule through the titular protagonist. There may have been times when the show spent too much time delving into administrative meetings and bureaucratic monotony. Nevertheless, the series still made for a mature and refreshing addition to the Star Wars saga that shows great potential with its second season.
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