Episodes 10-12 of Andor’s second season mark the finale of the series. This is the saddest, happiest, most tragic, and satisfying finale I could ever hope for.
Betraying old allies
Supervisor Lonni Jung has arguably been Luthen Rael’s most valuable asset. The man worked on his own to climb the ranks of the ISB for ten years at this point.
The intel he has provided over those years let Luthen pull off the Aldhani heist, Mon Mothma’s rescue, and probably a dozen jobs more.
Lonni gave everything to the cause and beyond, and Luthen treated him like a regular expendable soldier. It’s fascinating to see how Luthen, despite all the hate he has for the Empire, still has so much in common with them.
If they were about to capture them, then sure. It would be way too risky to leave him alive, but the man was a dedicated rebel; in my eyes, he deserved the opportunity to keep fighting. The amount of Imperial intelligence he possessed would have definitely served the Rebel Alliance.
As conflicted as I am about it, I won’t deny that it’s a great reminder of how even the rebellion had to do some unspeakable things in order to survive. Especially after it went from small individual cells to a combined effort of people from all corners of the galaxy.
Going out with a bang
I never expected Luthen Rael to survive the series finale, especially after his speech from the previous season. Dedra deserves some credit for finally being able to catch up, but it was foolish for her to believe that a man who has done so much to hurt the Empire would allow himself to be captured just like that.
Luthen Rael knew that there was no way out when Dedra got inside. He showed her the bleeder on purpose just to have something he could use on himself when the time came. His job is finished, and he’s going to go down on his own terms.
Dedra is a sadist and has acquired the Imperial habit of being a little too theatrical, maybe from hanging out with Director Krennic. With these two traits combined, it becomes irresistible for her to play with her food, to enjoy and savor the moment.
The Galactic Empire is guilty of making this mistake countless times. Thrawn on the battle of Lothal, Tarkin on the Battle of Yavin, and even the Emperor on the battle of Endor. They see rebels as a band of mere agitators who represent nothing but a big annoyance.
Their lack of respect for their enemy is their doom, and that happens as well with Dedra Meero. What should have been a fairly easy arrest turned out into a mess that ended up backfiring in the most spectacular way.
Like father, like daughter
Kleya Marki is one of the most intriguing characters of Andor. She is always playing a different role depending on who is in front of them. This permanent mask is what makes her incredibly hard to read to anyone but Luthen.
We finally learned about how they got together. It turns out that Luthen was an Imperial Sergeant who was part of the task force in charge of exterminating an entire population. If Kleya had not sneaked into his ship, she would have died just like every other person in that place.
I love to see how he raised and trained her to be a rebel. He took her hate, polished it, and turned it into a very dangerous weapon ready to be unleashed. Who would have known that behind her cold and sad expression, there’s so much determination and talent.
In a bizarre way, it was heartwarming to see how Luthen basically adopted the little girl who lost everything and turned her into his most trusted ally. Basically like a father-daughter relationship.
The way she infiltrated the hospital, planted the detonators to create the distraction, used a patient to get to the 17th floor, and then took down multiple soldiers to reach Luthen looked like the gameplay of a stealth game.
Despite how much she loved and cared for Luthen, Kleya understands that letting him die on his own terms is infinitely better than being kept alive for Imperial torture.
A sad but fitting end for an unsung hero who carried the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders, with the ISB turned upside down and a smile on his face.
The machine eats it all
Dedra is a monster created by the Empire. Always looking for ways to acquire power, information, or anything that allows her to get to the next level. Even if I despise the character, it’s inevitable to feel some pity for her.
Like many hundreds or even thousands of Imperials, their devotion and past successes mean nothing when they commit a mistake. It’s ironic how she loses everything because of her own misjudgment and clumsiness.
Breaking Imperial protocols and not reporting data that went directly to her when the rebellion was spreading like wildfire was enough to put everything she’s done and achieved into question.
For someone who has worked at the ISB for so long, she looks completely unaware of what happens to those who fail.
One thing about fascism and tyrants is that they destroy everything and everyone. Whether it’s their enemies or the people who built these regimes.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an ISB Supervisor, a Grand Moff, an Inquisitor, a mere Stormtrooper, or even Darth Vader himself.
Everyone is just a cog in a huge machine that’s waiting to dispose of and replace them the moment their usefulness is gone. Some might last longer than others, but in the end, there’s no real winners.
One last call
Kleya did a phenomenal job at infiltrating the hospital, but with the whole Empire looking for her, it’s impossible to get out on her own. She looks so desperate trying to send out a message for hours and hours.
I love how Cassian and Wilmon were ready to go to the rescue the moment they heard the radio. I get why Draven gets mad, with so many people involved in the rebellion, it’s very risky to go in and out without proper authorization, but the fact is that Luthen has done a lot for the rebellion.
Despite his many flaws, Wilmon and Cassian now know how important he is. They go to get him not just because Luthen is a pillar of the Rebel Alliance but because they owe him a lot. They’re not out to retrieve a spy, but to help an old friend.
It’s unclear to me why Kleya was reluctant to leave. There’s nothing else in Coruscant but living in perpetual paranoia and waiting for the inevitable. I’m so happy she is among the survivors of the series.
How the tables turn
To be honest, the team that is sent by the ISB appeared lackluster from the beginning. I counted twelve members, including both pilots and Supervisor Heert. It’s so funny and ironic that the reason they don’t have more teams available is that those troops are putting out the story they fabricated.
The lack of backup is only caused by their own incompetence and lack of preparation. Considering that they’re trying to find someone who has such vital information, one would believe that they’d be a lot more careful. Especially Partagaz, knowing that the stakes are as high as they can be.
Watching the Imperial incompetence was fun, but it doesn’t compare to K-2SO being an absolute menace for a few minutes. He single-handedly took out every single member of the team.
That scene in the hallway is straight from a horror game, and I love it. Particularly that bit when K-2 uses Supervisor Heert as a shield.
Watching Imperials be terrified by the same droid they use to annihilate populations of unarmed civilians was glorious.
It really puts into perspective how incredibly dangerous a KX droid is for anyone who isn’t a Jedi.
Too much Rhydonium
The dialogue between Mon Mothma and Saw Gerrera is very revealing of Saw’s current state of mind. He can’t even recognize allies from enemies.
Even if their views are very different, the Rebel Alliance would not benefit from Saw and his Partisans disappearing.
It’s probably the amount of Rhydonium Saw has inhaled in the last few years that has clouded his judgment to this point. Even in Rogue One, he refuses to hear or see what’s in front of him. Only after seeing Jyn Erso he behaves like a reasonable person.
I was really hoping to see more of him in this season, but even if that wasn’t the case, I still like that they show us how he ended up being that way.
The price of failure
It’s astounding how after everything, Partagaz and the Empire don’t understand anything. They think that it’s a group of bandits to spread chaos and destabilize regions just for the sake of it.
It never crosses their minds that the widespread rebellion is a direct response to all the atrocities they’ve committed in the name of “order and peace”. For every person killed, imprisoned, or tortured, there are a dozen more thinking about how to make the Empire pay for what they’ve done to their family, communities, and homes.
Dedra Meero was right, but their lack of patience to get results allowed the rebel network to grow and expand to unprecedented levels. Even in A New Hope, they keep underestimating them. We all know how that ends.
Major Partagaz is just another Imperial added to the list of failures. Someone else will replace him in no time, and nothing will be learned from his mistakes. At least Partagaz was able to go down on his own terms, unlike Heert, Lonni, Dedra, or Syril.
Politicians nonetheless
Hearing the rebel council is always so tiresome. It’s the same Senators who were too afraid to fight the Empire in Rogue One who didn’t hesitate to dismiss what Cassian had to say.
These people, despite being part of the rebellion, had not seen the galaxy as the other members of the alliance. One thing is learning from something through the Holonews, living it in their own flesh is something completely different.
Their experience in politics and economic power is likely what earned them their seats at the council, because I’m sure that experience in battle is definitely not one of those. Unlike Raddus, Draven, or Cassian, they don’t know what it is to go and risk your life on every mission.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Empire or Rebellion, it always seems to be at least a couple of incompetent politicians at the top of the command chain.
A proper ending
This series ending has everything. Cassian, preparing to leave Kafrene while Melshi trains the troops that will go to Scarif, is great foreshadowing.
Perrin and Sculdun’s wife being together is bizarre.
Kleya being alive on Yavin is comforting.
Dedra ending up as a prisoner in a facility similar to Narkina 5 is ironic.
Seeing B2EMO and Bix with her baby is incredibly sad and happy at the same time. It makes it so much easier to understand why Bix left.
I love how everything comes together and immediately takes us to the events of Rogue One. It was already a great movie, after these two seasons of Andor and knowing how much had to happen in order to get to that point, it’s going to hit so differently.
Final thoughts
Season 2 of The Mandalorian was my favorite finale of a Star Wars series (or season) until now. I experienced so many things while watching these three episodes.
Joy, anger, laughter, anguish, sadness. All of them in a roller coaster that lasted a little over two hours. It actually made me cry.
This series is a love letter to Star Wars fans. The amount of effort, passion, money, and resources invested in putting this together is nothing but unbelievable.
To me, Andor is the most special thing done since the original trilogy. It raised the bar so incredibly high that I doubt we’ll soon get something like this again.
I couldn’t be happier with this season, the topics it addressed, and the way in which it did. Combining that “Star Wars feeling” with problems, feelings, relationships, and situations many of us can relate to. I’m sad that it ended, but so happy about what I experienced during this entire month.
Let’s hope that all future movies and series take some notes. This is how a Star Wars project is done right from start to finish.
We have a full breakdown of all hidden details and references in the series finale. Check it out to see what you may have missed in episodes 10, 11 and 12.
Andor Season 2, Episodes 10-12: Hidden Details and References
