In Andor, Cassian Andor continues the path toward his heroic rebel destiny. With the first six episodes now streaming on Disney+, join us as StarWars.com digs into the making of a leader and a burgeoning rebellion poised to take down the Empire.
Spoiler warning: This article discusses story details and plot points from key Season 2 episodes of Andor, “Ever Been to Ghorman?”, “I Have Friends Everywhere”, and “What a Festive Evening” as well as previous episodes of the series.
Time marches on, bringing Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the rebels closer to declaring all-out-war against the Empire on Scarif.
In the latest three-episode installment of Andor Season 2, set in BBY 3, the crisis on Ghorman begins to heat up as Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) sends both Cassian and trusted agents Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) and Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu) to assess the brewing rebellion on the frontlines. And while Wilmon Paak (Muhannad Bhaier) learns what it takes to survive in the trenches from none other than Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) continues to fight through diplomacy, facing Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) with as much decorum as she can muster.
Meet Varian Skye
In the year since Cassian rescued his friends from Mina-Rau, he and Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) have started running missions for Luthen Rael together. But to investigate the brewing rebellion on Ghorman, Cassian must go alone. Disguised as Varian Skye, a budding Coruscanti fashion designer making his first pilgrimage to the House of Rylanz to see the fine fabrics crafted by the longtime twillery, Cassian makes contact with Carro Rylanz. The esteemed businessman is also the leader of the Ghorman rebel cell, counting his daughter Enza among its members. They are a proud family, upholding a legacy that has withstood 19 generations, and fearful of the Imperial occupation, but they are not so impressed with Cassian and his distaste for starting a fight in the open. “It’s not stealing things that’s hard. It’s getting away,” Cassian cautions. Perhaps he’s thinking of Ferrix and the home he lost, the transient life he’s led in the years since. But with the Empire closing its fist around so many star systems, the people of the galaxy will soon have no choice.
And Cassian is unaware that their source on the inside is Syril Karn (Kyle Soller). Karn may not haunt Andor’s dreams, but he continues to plague him from the shadows, acting as a double agent from his new post at the Bureau of Standards office on Ghorman. Invited to a secret meeting of the Ghorman Front through a note left in a ghorlectipod trinket, we must admit Syril Karn seems an unlikely candidate to pull off a top-secret ISB double-agent infiltration. But with Imperial Security Bureau Supervisor Dedra Meero’s (Denise Gough) backing, Karn finds himself working directly for Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser). If only his mother could see him now!
Through the eyes of these outsiders, we are introduced to Ghorman on a more intimate level, as Cassian and Syril encounter the locals and get a sense of the burden they carry. In the center of town, a memorial pays tribute to the innocent lives lost in the Tarkin Massacre, an earlier incident of public unrest and Imperial reprisal that is an unhealed wound in Ghorman history. And now the Empire boldly erects an armory to choke out the sunlight, a looming shadow over the Ghorman people not unlike Tarkin’s massive craft refusing to delay landing despite the peaceful protest down below. As told by the young hotel worker, Thela, this tragedy becomes the story of a boy who lost his father too young, yet refused to leave his home.
Life, interrupted
Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz also soon find themselves on the Ghorman front, with a surprisingly tender reunion considering their estrangement. Vel admits she’s only on this assignment as a means to get to see Cinta, and although she doesn’t dig into the details it would seem their time apart has been orchestrated out of an attempt to protect Vel. It’s a very Han and Leia type of connection — down to a line about how Cinta’s hair is different — and it serves as a reminder that the rebellion often interrupts the personal lives of those who choose to fight.
Poor Vel. At the start of the heist, she’s as authoritative as ever, ready to whip these wannabe rebels into shape by teaching them about the chain of command. The Empire benefits from being a militaristic operation, and the rebels must fall in line if they hope to have a chance at beating their foe. But when a scuffle breaks out and a shot is fired killing Cinta, Vel suddenly loses sight of her whole purpose and place within the operation. In a flash, the roles are reversed and it’s Enza reminding Vel of the job they must complete. But like a good soldier, Vel is only briefly lost in her emotions. By the time the crew is on their way with their stolen Imperial crates, Vel has regained her mettle. Her admonishment begins more like a eulogy to the fallen. “She was a warrior! She was everything that you have daydreamed about,” Vel tells the sobbing Samm. “She was a miracle and you…to die like this? Because of you? Some whining, simpering childish fool? Don’t you dare cry… You’ll make up for this forever.”
And speaking of making up for things, we’re happy to see Bix’s transformation from untethered to carrying out her rightful retribution. It’s a mission tailored just for her, as the Empire is poised to turn Dr. Gorst’s horrifying methods of torture and turn them into a playbook for compliance. It’s arguable that Bix needs this win to beat back the demons that haunt her evenings. If she wasn’t the one to end Gorst, would she ever have believed she was truly free of that particular pain? It’s a small victory for the rebels and an explosive end to Bix’s torment, but a moment worth cheering all the same.
Spies at the highest levels
And on Coruscant, Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and her husband Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie) make the rounds to Davo Sculdun’s (Richard Dillane) fancy soiree. It’s a who’s who of the capital’s elite, including Director Orson Krennic and Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), Luthen Rael and Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau).
One of the most daring of all the missions in this arc, Kleya must expertly remove a listening device from a Tinian Codex while some of the most powerful players for the rebellion and the Empire stand just a few feet away. At any moment, she could be compromised, and everything they’ve sacrificed and worked for unraveled. But Kleya is unwilling to admit defeat, and it takes her own blood to complete her work this time.
Meanwhile, on D’Qar, Wilmon Paak is getting a lesson in the harsh realities of war. So far from the young man who took action when his father was stolen by the Empire, Wilmon is beginning to become more confident in his place among the rebel ranks. But Saw Gerrera still — quite understandably — terrifies him. The base looks so different from when the Resistance will make use of it in the fight against the First Order. In that future time, General Leia Organa will lead with compassion. But that’s not Saw’s strong suit. His rebel cell adheres more to a pirate’s code, taking what they wish and killing traitors where they stand. Is this the beginning of Saw’s descent into madness?
