Star Wars Andor Episode 11 Review and Breakdown

I’ve never been this impatient to know what happens in a series. Andor Episode 11: Daughter of Ferrix was another slow episode with key moments and a few weird and interesting easter eggs. Everyone that is directly or indirectly involved with Cassian Andor is getting important information about where he might be heading, it’s time to move the pieces and be ready for any possible outcome.

This review contains heavy spoilers.

Andor recap: The story so far

The prison escape is a success, guards are neutralized and every prisoner is able to get out. Sadly, Kino Loy stays behind because he can’t swim. Cassian and Melshi are able to reach solid ground, there’s no sign of any other prisoner.

Mon Mothma meets with Davo Sculdun, he agrees to help her on one condition, that Leida and his son are introduced. Pre-arranged marriages are common in Chandrila and that’s what he’s seeking, Mon Mothma initially refuses but it’s unclear if she’s actually considering it.

Luthen Rael tried to convince Saw Gerrera of joining Anto Kreegyr, the leader of another rebel cell, to make a combined attack on an Imperial installation. Saw refuses to work with him due to personal differences.

The ISB has discovered Anto Kreegyr’s plan to attack Spellhaus, they’ll be waiting for him. We also learned that Lonni, an ISB Supervisor is part of Luthen’s network.

Andor Episode 11 Daughter of Ferrix - Poster of Saw

Farewell Maarva

This is something that was expected by probably most of us, her health was rapidly deteriorating, both physical and mental. But knowing that it was going to happen doesn’t make it easier, I certainly didn’t expect it to happen off-screen. Learning that Maarva passed away without us knowing has been, in my opinion, one of the saddest moments of the series.

This was a very good way to help us understand how Andor feels when he receives the tragic news. No warning, she’s just gone. Maarva was the most important person in Cassian’s life, I’d dare to say that she’s the only one he truly cared about. She might not have been his biological mother but their strong bond was undeniable.

Now that his only reason to return to Ferrix is gone, I have no doubt that Cassian will leave the planet for good. Though first, he must go to his mother’s funeral, that’s the most predictable and dangerous thing to do, saying goodbye to her mother is necessary for him to close this chapter.

In the last scene of the episode, we see Andor contemplating Niamos’ horizon as he processes the news of Marvaa’s passing with a very similar expression to the one that he has at the end of Rogue One, where he’s also contemplating the horizon for few seconds before meeting his end.

George Lucas has repeated multiple times how Star Wars “rhymes”, this has been emulated by Disney on multiple occasions, sometimes they hit, and with many others it’s a miss, but this one was perfect. A grieving son that wanted to make his mother proud in a setting that foreshadows his own death, gotta love it.

The meeting with the Narkinians

Melshi and Andor have been on the run for many hours if not days, they look exhausted and almost desperate, and escaping the prison was just the first step.

They find a couple of Narkinians fishing nearby, Melshi is so impatient to get out of the planet that he rushes to the Quadjumper without properly evaluating the situation.

The Narkinians activate a trap and capture both Andor and Melshi, they look amused by their attempt to hijack their ship. At the start of their conversation, it appears that the Narkinians are antagonizing them, Andor quickly reiterates that they escaped from the Imperial prison.

One of the locals says that there’s a reward of one thousand credits for each prisoner, dead or alive. Then, he proceeds to talk about how the factory/prison has contaminated the water of the planet and killed the local fauna, making fishing harder.

Back to Niamos

Surprisingly, they release them, help them escape the planet, and drop them off at Niamos, the planet where Andor was captured. He’s able to recover his weapons, money, and other belongings. Andor and Melshi decide to split up and spread the word about what’s happening.

The encounter between Melshi, Cassian, and the two Narkinians is a good example of what Luthen mentioned in previous episodes; “oppression breeds rebellion”. Rebellion is not necessarily rising in arms or sabotaging Imperial operations. Something so simple as helping two escaping prisoners or playing dumb when being asked questions can count as a rebel act.

The Empire has made sure that everything they touch is perpetrated, there’s not a single planet with Imperial presence that was spared from the negative effects of said occupation; Poisoning the environment, displacing people from their homes, or hanging people who disobey the authoritarian rules imposed are just some of the things that the Empire is used to.

With every act, they push more people in a direction that eventually leads to the creation of the Rebel Alliance, humans and beings from all races coming together to fight against the regime that destroyed so many lives.

Desperate measures for desperate times

Vel goes to visit Mothma one more time before leaving for Ferrix, they watch as Leida is in some type of lesson about Chandrila’s costumes. Vel understands what this means and immediately asks Mothma about it, the Senator reveals that this wasn’t her idea or Perrin’s, it’s Leida herself who wanted it.

Leida is a teenager, and confronting her parents is something relatively normal at that age. Mothma is open about her discomfort with the pre-arranged marriages that are so common in Chandrila, I wonder if this is one of the reasons why Leida is so into it, to defy her mother.

Another reason could be that it’s a way out of Coruscant, I can imagine that being so restricted about what she can do, where she can go, and who she can be with must be extremely suffocating for a young girl. Of course, Mothma knows that a marriage of such nature can be a disaster.

As the conversation progresses, Mon reveals to Vel that her accounts are going to be scanned and the missing money might raise unwanted questions. The Empire is taking extreme measures after what happened at Aldhani and not even an Imperial Senator is exempt from this.

With tears and an expression full of anguish, she reveals that she’s found a solution. I really thought that she wouldn’t even consider it, exposing her own daughter is something that is contrary to the image that I have of Mon Mothma.

Vel doesn’t get to hear what the solution is because they’re interrupted, but she obviously has something in mind. Since she was the one to deliver the money from the Aldhani heist I wonder how much was her cut, hopefully enough for her to prevent Mothma from making a mistake that she could regret for the rest of her life.

For the greater good: Luthen meets Saw again

Luthen returns to Segra Milo to meet with Saw, to his surprise Saw reconsidered the offer and is now willing to aid Anto Kreegyr in his operation.

Luthen learned about the ISB’s plan to give Kreegyr a proper welcome, he reveals this to Saw who immediately becomes paranoid and questions who of his men might be Luthen’s agents.

This moment revealed how Gerrera can lose control so easily, Luthen is extremely convincing but still, a leader who doubts his men’s loyalty just because someone said it is not a good thing. If not for Rogue One, I’d assume that his downfall would be caused by his own hot head.

After this small misunderstanding, Luthen Rael explains to him the two choices he has: to warn Anto and burn an extremely useful source or to sacrifice him and his men to make the ISB feel like they have the advantage.

Saw understands what’s at stake and agrees to let Anto Kreegyr and his men die in this operation.

Once again, Rael has proved how he’s become like the enemy he swore to destroy. Someone that uses people as pawns and sacrifices them as soon as they’re no longer valuable to him, all of it for the “greater good”. It’s something that has worked so far but I have the feeling that it’s going to backfire sooner or later.

Counter Measures: The Fondor Haulcraft’s escape

One of the best action sequences that we’ve got in the series. The Fondor Haulcraft caught my attention from the moment it appeared on screen, it is small, elegant, and heavily modified. It reminded me of some of the cars that appeared in the 007 movies.

The cockpit is very similar to the Millennium Falcon’s, I don’t remember if this has been mentioned but I’d assume that it was made in Corellia.

Seeing one-of-a-kind ships in Star Wars media isn’t that common, and even when that happens it’s mostly big ships with an all but discrete prototype weapon.

Luthen’s ship looks like it’s equipped to face any type of threat, big cruisers, multiple starfighters, and who knows what else. Making the Imperial cruiser increase the power of the tractor beam to full capacity so that it attracts all the projectiles, was such a good move.

The laser beams that came out of both sides were super cool, it wouldn’t be too crazy to think that this ship is powered by Kyber crystals, those fighters didn’t stand a chance.

I don’t think that we’ve seen all the things that the Fondor is capable of, hopefully, we get to see more of it in the next episode.

The Officer of the Arrestor cruiser displayed classic Imperial arrogance, thinking he could intimidate the owner of this small ship, but instead of that, his ship was neutralized and the fighters destroyed, the expression he had at the end of the scene was priceless.

Andor Episode 11 Easter Eggs

For desert, let’s dig into some of the cool references and secrets in Andor Episode 11: Daughter of Ferrix.

Collin Cantwell and the Arrestor Cruiser

Collin Cantwell designed many of the ships that appeared in A New Hope; X-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Fighter, and Imperial Star Destroyer to name a few.

As always happens in this type of movie, some designs change to properly fit the director’s vision and after many modifications, they evolve to become what we see on the big screen.

Andor has brought back one of his early designs and actually named it after him; the Arrestor Cruiser, Cantwell-class.

Andor Episode 11 Easter Eggs - the Arrestor Cruiser

Aztec Calendar

In Luthen’s shop, when Vel and Kleya are talking we get to see a couple of new pieces, my favorite one is for sure the Aztec Calendar, there are other easter eggs that have nothing to do with Star Wars but this one doesn’t even relate to Lucasfilm.

The center image has been changed, it looks like a Zeffo, an ancient force-sensitive species. It’s really hard to tell what it is without looking from a closer distance but this is my best guess. I really want to learn the story behind this piece!

Andor Episode 11 Easter Eggs - Aztec Calendar

Andor Episode 11 Easter Eggs - Aztec Calendar up close

The last episode of the season is going to be chaotic, everyone is heading to Ferrix; Vel, Luthen, Dedra Meero, and Siryl Karn. All of them after the same prey, Cassian Andor.

With how everything has gone I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone betray an ally, lots of things are linked to him and both sides want him dead.

Maarva’s funeral is an important event and if the Imperials do something to enrage the people of Ferrix, Andor could become the least of their immediate concerns.

I’m not gonna lie, I really want to see the people of Ferrix fight back against the Imperial occupation, but the cost of it might make me regret saying these words. What do you think is going to happen in the series finale?

Star Wars Andor Season 1 Episode Reviews and Breakdown

This is a collection of individual reviews and a breakdown of all events, secrets, references and easter eggs in the first season of the Star Wars series Andor available on Disney Plus. Adrian goes beep behind the plots of each episode to discover what the world od Star Wars was like when the Rebellion was born!

Please note that every single one of the reviews contains heavy spoilers from the episode it analyzes. It's better to watch the episode and then read the articles.

Also, each review starts with a recap of the events leading up to this episode, so you will never be lost with where things pick up from last week.