Andor is, I can say with confidence, the best thing Star Wars has given us. It highlights the horrors of the Empire mixed with the desperation of the Rebellion in such a way that you feel their pain and desire to be free with each new episode. So it is no surprise that the finale brought us a spark that will surely lead into season 2 of the hit Disney+ series.
At the end of the 11th episode, we watched as Cassian got the news that Maarva had passed away and he learned when her funeral would be—information that I was nervous about because I didn’t want Cassian to go back to Ferrix where the Empire was waiting for him. However, it worked out given how desperate the people of Ferrix were to fight back against the rule of the Empire holding them down.
As the episode is building toward Maarva’s funeral, we get to see the Daughters of Ferrix and the town all band together (despite the Empire putting a limit on how many people could be there). They’re watching as B2EMO shares Maarva’s last message, and it is the one of hope they needed.
“The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness,” she said, projected above the town center. “It is never more alive than when we sleep. It’s easy for the dead to tell you to fight and maybe it’s true, maybe fighting’s useless. Perhaps it’s too late. But I’ll tell you this: If I could do it again, I’d wake up early and be fighting these bastards from the start. Fight the Empire!”
And it was all Ferrix needed to actually push back. A war breaks out—one that no one on the side of the Empire was prepared for—and it shows just how willing the Rebellion is to take back what is theirs.
How the finale sets up ‘Star Wars: Andor’ season 2
At the end of the episode, as everyone is trying to flee Ferrix after the attack, Cassian makes it clear that he is getting Bix to safety and not going with them. Where he ends up, though, is on Luthen Rael’s ship, where he says that he knew Luthen was there to kill him. But what he offers is a proposition: Kill him or take him in.
Luthen is standing, holding a blaster and looking at Cassian when he smirks at the offer. We end the episode with the two standing in the ship, with the knowledge that Cassian and Luthen are most likely going to work together in season 2 to keep fighting against the Empire.
Rebellions are built on hope
What the Andor finale did was remind us what Star Wars has always been about. It’s a franchise that is built around fighting against those who want to control the galaxy to their advantage. From the jump, it has been about taking down the Empire, but Andor proves that it is about more than that. It is about those willing to sacrifice everything to stand up for those who cannot.
The people of Ferrix were willing to die to protect what is theirs, and they pushed back against the hold that the Empire had on them because Maarva reminded them that this was their home—not the Empire’s. That mindset bleeds through into all Star Wars media. The Empire wants to take and take, but the people they’re taking from are the ones who say no. It’s not some other powerful force. The Rebels are the people that the Empire thought they could push around.
And the finale of Andor showed that that is not the case. The people are what make the Rebellion strong. Honestly, what an absolutely breathtaking season of Andor!
(featured image: Disney+)
