Spoiler Warning: Andor Season One
Andorepisode 11, “Daughter of Ferrix,” sets us up for the finale and slowly takes us back through the worldsTony Gilroy createdfor the series. The show also gave us a look at a lot of new-ageStar Warsship designs and gave us a peak at just how deadly Luthen Rael could be. Dave Chapman’s newest droid B2EMO gave us a heartbreaking performance as we lost Cassian Andor’s mother, Maarva. With the end ofAndorseason 1 in sight, it’s incredible how this episode involves the whole series, bringing us back to prepare the story to come full circle.
Theseries also had many references to otherStar Warsfilms and someIndiana JonesEaster eggs.Andorhas truly given its audience something entirely new to watch while honoring the culture George Lucas created. Along with putting in a few Easter eggs from Tony Gilroy’s ownRogue One, we saw a starship that dates back all the way to the days before the very firstStar Wars.
Before the epic finale,Andoris truly honoring everything it can about theStar Warsfranchise.
Andor in Desperation
We open on Andor and his table mate from prison, Melshi, clinging to a frozen cliffside on Narkina 5. Some fans have noticed that Melshi is actually a character that appears later on the timeline duringRogue One. In that movie, he can be seen as one of the sergeants during the Scarif raid. After escaping prison, he must have joined the rebellion to fight the Empire that treated him so cruelly.
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As he and Andor attempt to climb the cliff, a Tie Reaper appears overhead, looking for escaped prisoners. This ship also first appeared inRogue One, carrying Death Troopers. Melshi is weak, but Andor inspires him to climb once the ship has flown away.
After this scene, we see the tearful performance from B2EMO as he watches Maarva’s body being taken away by the Daughters of Ferrix. Brasso and some members of the Daughters of Ferrix, some type of local organization possibly attached to the rebellion, attempt to take care of Maarva’s affairs as B2EMO grapples with the concept of death. We’re told later that the Ferrix tradition is to cremate the deceased and have their ashes mixed into a brick, then have that brick put into a wall in the town. B2EMO refuses to leave Maarva’s home when Brasso asks since this is where he feels comfortable. B2EMO feels much more than your averageStar Warsdroid.
Later, Andor and Melshi are captured by some native Narkina 5 fishers. The fisherman muse for a minute on how they could get a good reward for escaped prisoners, but then quickly free Cassian and Melshi becausethe Imperial prisonspollute the water and kill all their fish. They give them a ride in a Quad Jumper, the same type of ship that blew up inForce Awakens,forcing Rey to take a ride on the Millennium Falcon.
Luthen Fights a Star Destroyer
When Vel enters Luthen’s antique shop, only Leida is there to greet her, and they discuss the necessity of subtlety. In the background, though, we can see one of the Sankara Stones fromIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
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Vel is forced totalk to Mon Mothmaand see how her daughter is becoming increasingly engrossed in the neo-conservative traditions of her old world that might lead her into that arranged marriage Mon was worried about in the last episode.
Luthen wasn’t available because he was too busy talking to Saw Gerrera. Luthen makes an interesting play here and reveals to Saw that he will let Anto Kreegyr die in his attack on the Empire. He explains that this must be the way in order to keep their spy safely planted inside the Empire. This refers to a battle in WWII when the Allies deciphered the Nazi communications code and were forced to allow an Allied attack to be defeated, lest the Germans realize their code had been broken.
Saw Gerrera doesn’t see the game Luthen is playing and immediately falls into paranoia, believing that Luthen has someone planted in his ranks. It takes some convincing and a gun to Saw’s head, but eventually, Luthen gets Saw to see the bigger picture.
When Luthen goes to return home, he is asked to stop by an Imperial craft that looks similar to a Star Destroyer but with large radar dishes. The ship explains to Luthen this is an Arrestor Cruiser – Cantwell Class. The ship was designed by Colin Cantwell for theoriginal 1977Star Wars: A New Hopebut never made it into the movie. It finally appears here to honor the artist who died earlier this year. Luthen defeats the cruiser in a spectacular space battle, using their own tractor beam to throw shrapnel into their radars and beating four TIE fighters in an amazing dogfight.
The final plot point is Andor returning to his little resort planet to recover his briefcase full of money, blasters, and the Rebel Manifesto. He splits up with Melshi when he learns of his mother’s death, and Melshi feels impassioned to tell people about what the Empire is really doing. Truly these are the seeds of a powerful Rebellion that may spring to life in the next and last episode of season 1 ofAndor.
