Yahoo Movies How the Andor finale sets up season 2 (spoilers)
All bets were off as we hit hyperspace and dived into an explosive season one finale
So, this is how it ends… for now. Season one of Tony Gilroy’s Andor has come to a close on Disney+, and as the least Star Wars-y show in the galaxy’s history, this sci-fi spy thriller has delivered something different.
Even though a second season of 12 episodes is on the way, all bets were off as we hit hyperspace and dived into an explosive season one finale.
As a prequel to 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the end is already marked out for the likes of Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. Alongside giving our lead plot armour thicker than Darth Vader’s suit, Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera and Genevieve O'Reilly’s Mon Mothma’s appearances in Rogue One also marks them as safe.
Read more: Andor brings grit and politics to Star Wars
When it comes to newcomers like Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero, Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn, and Stellan Skarsgård’s shadowy Luthen Rael, their futures are less clear. Thankfully, it looks like they’re all coming back for Andor season two.
Warning: Andor S1 spoilers ahead...
How the Andor finale show sets up season 2
During the finale titled Rix Road, our cast of heroes and villains gathered on Ferrix for the funeral of Maarva (Fiona Shaw). The Imperial Security Bureau was correct in thinking the death of Cassian’s adoptive mother would lure him out of hiding following his escape from the Narkina 5 prison facility, meaning Meero and the rest of the ISB agents closed the net. Joining the party was Karn, who continues his obsession with Meero and mission of vengeance for Cassian costing him his job with Preox-Morlana.
Read more: How costumes helped Andor stars find their characters
If Cassian being hunted by the Empire and Imperial wannabees weren’t enough, Luthen was on Ferrix and ready to take out Cassian for fear the rogue Rebel knows too much. There was the welcome return of Shaw (via hologram), as a massive version of Maarva inspired the people of Ferrix to turn against the Empire. Saying, “I’d wake up early and be fighting these bastards,” Maarva inspires a young boy to throw a pipe bomb at the ISB, as things literally explode.
There are more ghosts from beyond the grave, thanks to Alex Lawther’s Nemik and his manifesto. Echoing Yoda’s iconic, “Do or do not, there is no try,” Nemik’s voiceover says, “One single thing will break the siege. Remember this… try.”
There’s some poignant foreshadowing here, and while Andor season one gave a fleeting cameo to Saw and his Partisans, mentions of Anto “MacGuffin” Kreegyr and his Rebels show how the various factions of the Rebellion are still scattered at this point in the timeline. The likes of the Aldhani heist, Narkina 5 escape, Kreegyr’s off-screen death at Spellhaus, and now the Ferrix incident are all likely to inspire more Rebels to rally for the cause.
Cassian manages to break Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) free from Meero’s clutches and sends her off to Gangi Moon with B2EMO and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain). Cass doesn’t join them, though, because he has unfinished business with Luthen.
Read more: How Harrison Ford won the role of Han Solo
Confronting the latter on his ship, Cassian tells Rael, “Kill me, or take me in.” A smirking Rael then welcomes Cassian to the Rebellion. We don’t know what’s next for the pair in season two, but with Mon Mothma under pressure on Coruscant — and Luthen not appearing elsewhere in the franchise’s canon — some think he’ll eventually sacrifice himself to save Senator Mothma for the greater good of the Rebellion.
Speaking of Mothma, we were on the money that her driver was spying on her. She’s out of a jam by blaming her husband for their missing funds, but she’s over a barrel as she marries her daughter off to the shady Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane). We know that Mothma will eventually quit the Galactic Senate to become a full-time Rebel thanks to the Ghorman Massacre that was foreshadowed in season one, but whether she can keep her cover until then remains to be seen.
Other major players include Meero and Karn, who look set to become the galaxy’s most loathsome power couple. Karn has been trying to get inside the ISB since the very start, and after saving Meero’s life on Ferrix, he could soon be rising through the ranks.
And there we have it. Going from an unlikely recruit who was paid for his services to a full-blown Rebel, Cassian’s season one arc helps us understand how he becomes the plucky pilot who steals the plans to the Death Star in Rogue One.
Speaking of which, we can’t discuss the Andor finale without mentioning THAT post-credit scene. There were theories that the Narkina 5 prisoners were building parts for the Death Star, and as the camera pans out, Andor confirms the heartbreaking twist that Cassian and Melshi (Duncan Pow) inadvertently helped complete the very weapon that will kill them in Rogue One.
Read more: How to watch Star Wars in the correct order
The spark of the Rebellion is here, and while we’re still five years from the destruction of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, Rix Road neatly cues up season two’s jump through time.
Gilroy has suggested that season two will be split into three blocks of four episodes — with each charting a different year up until 0 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). Much like how Rogue One ended aboard the Tantive IV and the start of 1977’s A New Hope, Andor is expected to end with a tie into Rogue One. There’s no release date for Andor season two, but we know we’ll be heading to the Rebel base on Yavin 4.
Andor season one lives up to its promise that it wouldn’t bend to the usual fan service of the series; however, that didn’t stop a slew of Easter eggs to the wider lore appearing in Luthen’s shop on Coruscant.
Read more: Every Star Wars movie and TV coming soon
As we head into season two, there’s already word that Alan Tudyk could reprise his Rogue One role as K-2SO. In terms of others, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, and the rest of the Rogue One cast could stop by, while Star Wars Rebels favourites including Hera Syndulla and Grand Admiral Thrawn could make their live-action debut.
Finally, it just wouldn’t be Star Wars without the obligatory cameo from Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine.
Andor season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.
