It’s almost time, Star Wars fans. The final season of Andor will launch exclusively on Disney+ on April 23rd with 3 episodes to watch every week. Each trilogy will focus on a different part of Andor’s life leading up to the events of Rogue One. With that, it’s safe to assume that there will be some heavy links to Project Stardust and the Erso’s. Now, to prepare ourselves for this season, which focuses on Cassian Andor’s prolific and daring history within the growing Rebellion, we’ve decided to give you guys a quick recap on the events of the first season so that you’re prepped and ready for season two.
Let’s start with Andor himself
Cassian grew up on a rather primitive planet known as Kenari, where he was originally known as Kassa. On this heavily mined planet, Kassa and his sister Kerri were part of a tribe that survived in the woods. After discovering a Republic transport wreck, Kassa was adopted by Maarva and Clem Andor and taken to their home on Ferrix where he was named Cassian Jeron Andor. Kenari was later abandoned after a major mining distater where it was believed that most inhabitants were killed. Believing his sister would have survived this incident, Andor began searching for Kerri.
Cassian discovered a lead on the planet Moriana One, but things quickly took a very nasty turn. Two sentry guards where killed by Cassian and the dominos slowly began to fall. His actions caught the attention of the Galactic Empire as well as the secretive rebel movement.
The Growing Rebellion…
Attempting to lay low from the Galactic Empire doesn’t go according to plan as Cassian soon meets Luthen Rael (code-named “Axis”), an antique dealer by trade and one of the founding members of the rebel network. Luthen hires Andor and a small team to travel to a planet called Aldhani and steal an Imperial payroll. Cassian learns a lot about the rebellion through his newfound team, but unfortunately the mission wasn’t a complete success. Many of the group perish and Cassian ends up taking his cut of the payload and leaving to enjoy his spoils; rejecting the rebellion once more.
Cassian travels to Niamos as “Keef Girgo” to live a free life after failing to persuade Maarva to join him. Shortly after, Cassian is falsely accused of a crime and sent to an Imperial Prison Complex on Niamos. There, he is forced to build components for Project Stardust (Death Star) with the other inmates. Poorly treated and overworked, Andor and the brilliant Kino Loy orchestrate an uprising and a mass breakout. Unfortunately, due to Kino’s inability to swim and escape Narkina 5, we have no idea what’s happened to him- a question many fans are hoping season two answers.
Whispers of the Aldhani heist spreads like wildfire. The news of the heroic and brave act finds its way to Ferrix, the home of Cassian and Maarva. With the Empire tightening its grip on Ferrix following Cassian’s actions and Bix’s relationship with an alledged rebel and troublemaker, Maarva uses the Aldhani heist to inspire an uprising. Unfortunately, Maarva falls ill and refuses to take medication which ultimately leads to her death. However, her death is a major catalyst. The people of Ferrix unite and dismantle the Imperial’s harsh grip, and Andor finally decides to fully dedicate his life and skills to the destruction of the Galactic Empire- by any means necessary…
Two ways to lead a rebellion
The formation of the Rebel Alliance is a messy one, and season 1 certainly reveals just how chaotic it was. It’s not like it all came together perfectly, like fitting in the final piece of a puzzle. Quite the opposite, actually. Luthen is definitely seen as a accelerationist. He believes the only way to enforce real change is to make things worse. The Aldhani heist forces the Empire to become more cruel and menacing, which, in turn, hightened the necessity to rebel. On the flip side, Mon Mothma believes that a rebellion should be fought politically- without crossing any moral boundaries. Rather than fighting the head on, Mon Mothma uses her prestige and influence to acquire funds that will help fund acts of rebellion against the Empire, including Luthens shinanigans.
Her actions cause a massive rift. She had to blame her dodgey spending sprees on her estranged husband’s gambling addiction. She also had to collaborate with some shady people, even using her own daughter’s Chandrillan arranged marriage to form a profitable alliance. Her family gradually grow to despise her, but they have no idea the war she’s attempting to fight.
The Imperial Security Bureau closing in…
Syril Karn and Dedra Meero have entered the chat. Dedra was the first ISB agent to establish a link between the somewhat scattered and random acts of rebellion. Her experience within the IBS revealed a hefty amount of competition and pettiness in order to ascend the ranks, but her work helped identify “Axis” and Andor, putting her on the ISB’s good list. Syril Karn was a hard working and motivated Pre-Mor security operative who lived a pretty mundane life. He took his role very seriously and became obsessed with Andor. This eventually led him to Dedra where he actually saved her during the rebellion on Ferrix. We’re not expecting a romance to blossom, but two heads are certainly better than one and season two could see the team pair up in their bid to squash the sparking rebellion.
Check out the trailer for the final season below:
This second season will see the return of Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård).
Andor was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull and John Gilroy. Tony Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9 and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12.
The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (episodes 1-6), Janus Metz (episodes 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (episodes 10-12).
