The first season of the Andor series has come to an end, there are many things to discuss and reflect on. It started as something slow but as the story progressed I understood why they made it that way!
This series was an absolute joy and it has become one of my favorite things in Star Wars. Here are my thoughts, and impressions about everything that happened in Season 1.
Andor Season 1 Recap
Many things happened in the first season, the journey was full of ups and downs, moments that filled me with joy and others that felt like a punch in the stomach. Let’s remember how the story developed.
Everything started with Cassian Andor looking for a character that has not appeared yet, his sister. In a series of unfortunate events, he kills two Morlana security officers, which draws the attention of Syril Karn.
Karn has a very strong sense of duty and goes against his superior’s orders to pursue the man that killed his colleagues.
Andor is involved in the black market, he steals and sells Imperial technology to a mysterious buyer. He wants to sell a new item and arranges the meeting with the help of Bix.
Luthen Rael is our mysterious buyer, he knows everything about Cassian Andor and tries to recruit him for the cause. They’re in the middle of negotiations when the Pre-Mor Corpos find them.
Luthen and Andor outsmart them, leaving a confused Syril Karn to answer for the deaths of the men under his command. Karn is demoted and the Empire takes control of Ferrix, leaving a garrison permanently stationed.
Cassian joins Vel Sartha, Cinta, Nemik, Taramyn, Skeen, and Gorn. All of them are very different from each other but have the Empire as a common enemy. A bold and ingenious plan that involves an astronomic phenomenon is the key to their success.
The heist is a success but only Vel, Cinta, and Cassian survive to live another day. The Empire is furious and all security measures are increased, they want to make sure that no one dares to think of replicating what happened at Aldhani.
Dedra Meero, an ISB Supervisor connects the dots and discretely starts hunting him. When she brings Cassian Andor up for the first time she’s ignored but after some events and proper investigation, she’s given green light to pursue any clues that might lead to Andor.
Cassian has an unfortunate interaction with a Shore Trooper, he’s arrested and sent to an Imperial factory/prison. After a month inside, he learns the movement of the guards.
Cassian and the other prisoners manage to escape, once he’s in a secure location he tries to send a message to Maarva but it’s too late, her mother has passed away.
A funeral is held, and a message from Maarva inspires the people of Ferrix to fight the Empire. Cassian takes advantage of the chaos to rescue Bix, who was arrested and tortured to obtain information about him and Luthen Rael.
Bix, Wilman, Jezz, Brasso, and B2EMO leave the planet but Cassian stays behind.
Luthen was also at Ferrix, he planned to kill Andor as it was the only way that the Empire could learn who he is, but he failed and returned to his ship. Right before taking off, he’s surprised by the man he was trying to kill.
Cassian gives him an ultimatum “Kill me or take me in”, Luthen smiles, he ended up winning a valuable ally and his identity remains intact.
Best moments of Andor Season 1
Here’s a small list of what I consider to be the best and key moments of the series. They’re not listed in any particular order.
What a reckoning sounds like
A moment full of tension, I loved how Maarva was sitting while the Corpos started to panic. This was the first moment we saw the people of Ferrix act collectively.
Escape from Aldhani
A visually beautiful scene, the biggest victory of Luthen Rael so far. The consequences of it are felt throughout the series.
Mon Mothma and Tay Kolma’s conversation
Speaking to Tay Kolma about her activities while having a party with many people around them shows how brave and smart Mothma has to be. Creating a fake image of yourself while being watched 24/7 isn’t something easy, especially when this means being involved in Imperial politics, but Mothma manages to do it flawlessly.
Never more than twelve
This phrase has become such a fan favorite, after realizing what happened to the prisoners of level two Kino Loy finally understands that there’s only one way out of the factory, and it’s up to them to make it happen.
Luthen Rael’s reflection
When talking to Lonni, Luthen tells him everything he’s sacrificed, how he’s condemned to use the same methods he despises to take down his sworn enemy. He has surrendered any chance of tranquility and a future for the sake of people who’re never going to know about it. A necessary evil for the greater good.
The Fondor Haulcraft
When it comes to Luthen Rael there’s always more than meets the eye, his ship is heavily modified with weapons and devices that make it a very powerful vessel. While brief, this was my favorite action sequence of the entire series.
Maarva’s hologram speech
A simple, but very powerful message that can resonate with anyone who has experienced the fist of oppression. Even in death, she became a beacon of light for her people and inspired them to fight against the Empire, this moment gave me goosebumps.
How Andor has opened new possibilities for Disney
I remember my reaction when I learned about the making of this series. “Why would they make a series about him? I want to see new characters or some of my favorite ones get a series. He’s already dead after all”.
I think that sentiment was shared amongst many of the fans. While Rogue One was an amazing movie, we didn’t have enough time to really get to know more about the characters on it so there wasn’t any curiosity about Cassian Andor or any member of the Rebel Alliance.
Disney really took a risk with Andor and while the reported numbers have been lower than expected, I have the (subjective) impression that the majority of fans that have watched the series really enjoyed it.
It really feels like Star Wars for a more mature audience, the topics exhibited are more profound and even uncomfortable for some; forced labor, politics, systematic oppression, revolution, and cruelty are some that come to my mind. This is “adult Star Wars” without the need for extreme violence, gore, or explicit sex; something that I consider pretty rare by today’s standards.
The characters are deep, with different stories, flaws, virtues, motivations, and fears. Let’s look at the crew of the Aldhani robbery; they all are very different both physically and mentally; their ideals, values, dreams, the color of their skin, and even their accents are all very different from one another.
Just like how a crew made of people that come from distinct places would look. They might have differences but this isn’t about what makes them different from each other but about what brings them together.
In the original trilogy, we see the perspective of the big heroes of the galaxy, Andor shows us how the “common people” live and die under the Empire’s reign. It has a more personal and intimate approach that made me care for characters that I wouldn’t normally think about.
Of course, as with any Star Wars show, there are always people that won’t like it for x or y reasons, that’s perfectly fine but I think we should be glad to see that they’re willing to try different things, whether we like the end result or not.
I understand that lightsaber duels and big-scale conflict are very entertaining but if you want more of that there are already plenty of movies and shows to watch. I think this series was incredible and I’m sure that it has opened up a ton of possibilities for the future.
The secondary characters: giving credit where it’s due
Tony Gilroy made an incredible job, Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Fiona Shaw, and Stellan Skarsgård had amazing performances, there’s no doubt about that. However, I’d like to point out some things that might be overlooked by some but I consider them to be just as important as the leading actors in making this series such an incredible experience.
The casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware made so many good choices, not only the actors they chose to play secondary characters like Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), Bix (Adria Arjona) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) were perfect.
It felt like Jolin Sibtain (Brasso), Anton Lesser (Major Partagaz), Muhannad Bhaier (Wilmon Paak), Alex Lawther (Nemik), Alex Ferns (Sergeant Mosk), Andy Serkis (Kino Loy) and Varada Sethu (Cinta) were born to play their roles. Something that I don’t feel very often when it comes to minor characters.
The music written by Nicholas Brittel was gorgeous, I’m someone that really gets into a movie or series when the soundtrack fits. Being able to enhance the suspense, sadness, or joy with a full orchestral arrangement or a single instrument is something that should never be underestimated.
The fact that they brought an actual orchestra to play the music while filming the scenes is a very simple idea but I’m sure that it made everything more intense, and that’s translated into the final product.
Easter eggs are always fun to spot, learning and theorizing about possible connections is something that it’s never going to get old for me. Hearing or seeing things that are linked to The Clone Wars, Rebels, the prequel trilogy, and games like Star Wars: The Old Republic or The Force Unleashed is something that I appreciate a lot.
Bringing together things from all Star Wars media is essential to make Star Wars feel like a cohesive universe instead of many things that happened in the same galaxy but that are never mentioned or acknowledged in other media.
Going into Season 2: what we know and what to expect
There’s going to be a time jump, as the next season is going to end right before the events of Rogue One. The Rebel Alliance is also going to be formed in the second season.
Production for Season 2 has begun
The production started just a few days ago, if the production doesn’t get delayed it’s likely that Cassian Andor’s story continues by the end of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.
I expect it to be greater in every sense; the stakes, the missions, the enemies, and the losses. We’re finally heading into a bigger-scale conflict that involves many individuals and sets up everything for the Original Trilogy.
My predictions
Cassian Andor will become a top operative, every time doing more dangerous missions and succeeding one after another.
Syril Karn and Dedra Meero are going to be an unstoppable duo, the enemies of the Empire will learn to fear their names, but also their colleagues are going to feel threatened by them, and action will be taken.
Sadly, I think that Brasso, Bix, and even B2EMO are going to die. In Rogue One, Cassian says “I’ve lost everyone I cared about” and they are the only ones that he has left, so I think they’re doomed.
The dissolving of the Imperial Senate is one of the things Darth Vader mentions in A New Hope, it would be so interesting to see it happen. Considering that when Rogue One happens Mon Mothma already left it’s not too crazy to think that we could witness it.
Luthen Rael is going to fall fighting, but in the process, he’s going to deal a devastating blow to the Empire.
We have prepared a guide to help you get up to speed with everything you need to know before watching Andor Season 2. The second and final season is releasing in April and May of 2025 on Disney Plus.
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.
Star Wars Andor Premiere Episodes 1-3 Review and Breakdown
An emotional Andor Premiere review. Why? Because we’ve been waiting for it for so long and because it’s a show that tells a unique story!
Star Wars Andor Episode 4 Review and Breakdown
Andor Episode 4 is the first after the 3-episodes-long-Premiere and gives us a better idea of the show’s pace and how it will develop further.
Star Wars Andor Episode 5 Review and Breakdown
Episode 5 of the Andor series is another build-up where we learn more about the relationships between the characters and their motivations!
Star Wars Andor Episode 6 Review and Breakdown
Star Wars Andor Episode 6 finally relieved the tension that the last two episodes accumulated. It was full of action, drama, and surprises.
Star Wars Andor Episode 7 Review and Breakdown
Andor Episode 7 is exploring all the consequences of the robbery at Aldhani: political, economical, and military in the whole galaxy!
Star Wars Andor Episode 8 Review and Breakdown
Episode 8 of Andor shows a more real and cruel side of the Empire. The pieces are moving, what happened on Aldhani is just the beginning.
Star Wars Andor Episode 9 Review and Breakdown
Andor Episode 9 has a little bit of everything: dark scenes, tense moments, and incredibly high anticipation for what’s about to happen!
Star Wars Andor Episode 10 Review and Breakdown
Full review and analysis of Star Wars Andor Episode 10: One Way Out. It's incredibly exciting, nerve-wracking, satisfying, and sad!
Star Wars Andor Episode 11 Review and Breakdown
Andor Episode 11: Daughter of Ferrix was another slow episode with key moments and a few weird and interesting Easter eggs!
Star Wars Andor Episode 12 Review and Breakdown
This is an in-depth review, analysis and breakdown of the season finale of Star Wars Andor Episode 12, titled "Rix Road".
