Andor – Rix Road Review

Of course Cassian and the inmates on Narkina 5 were helping to build the Death Star. Of course they were. Because, like everything else in this exceptional first season of Andor, each moment – each line of dialogue, each carefully constructed speech, each key character beat – is leading our central characters to their ultimate destinies. Now, we know where two of our cast of characters end up – Cassian, dying on Scarif after providing the plans for the Death Star’s weakness to the Rebels, and Mon Mothma, leading those same Rebels, underground and without her family – but I had expected this season finale to move the needle a bit more when it came to our new characters. But, even without a major death (although pour several out for the various tertiary Ferrix characters who didn’t survive the clash with the Imperial troops on Rix Road), this was an episode that still worked incredibly well as it finished moving our key characters into position for season two.

I’m shocked that Luthen made it to season two. Absolutely shocked. But, of course, not disappointed. Star Wars is often at its best when it provides us the story of a mentor guiding a younger disciple in the ways of their trade – think our various instances of Jedi Masters taking on younger charges (for good and for ill). Getting even a little bit of time in season two with Luthen counseling Cassian on the ways of the Rebellion would be a joy to watch – not least because it means more Stellan Skarsgård getting to bring out the best in Diego Luna as his scene partner. Now, I’ve read from several other critics that they haven’t been as fond of Luna’s portrayal in the series as I have, but I certainly understand that piece of criticism. What makes Cassian work so well in Andor is that Luna isn’t the center of the scene when he’s on screen. Rather, Luna has mastered the ability to make Cassian a cypher of a character – we don’t get into his head, know what he’s thinking, we can’t read his emotions easily. Instead, Cassian reflects back the emotions, the pain, the needs of those around him. He, through Luna’s choices, makes the other characters in the scene shine. And this is never as clear as when he’s teamed with Skarsgård’s Luthen – a character that pulls our focus every time he’s on screen simply by his presence. It’s a hell of a choice to make – to have the titular character not be the focal lynchpin of the camera – but one that allowed so many of Andor’s supporting characters the chance to shine in ways that let us come to know them so intimately.

Just think – would Brasso, Cassian’s large friend from Ferrix, have popped as much if Luna were trying to pull focus in their scenes? Nope. And you better believe I was terrified that he wouldn’t make it out alive from that skirmish. I also can’t wait to see if Cassian finds him – and Bix, Adria Arjona more than earned a chance at more screen time with her exceptional work throughout the back part of the season – at some point next season. And Vel and Cinta – while the series did allow them their own, individual screen time (and, for Vel, key familial connections that likely mean she’s got some interesting story bits coming as the noose continues to close on Mon Mothma next season), their scenes with Cassian at their introduction allowed them to shine as complete characters. I do hope, at least for Vel’s sake, they finally get a chance to talk about their relationship, because I don’t like seeing Vel look so sad about it all. Luna’s work allowed those around him to shine – and let their character journeys expand beyond what one might typically see from secondary characters. It helped create the complex and layered universe that Andor operates in. This isn’t just the story of how two characters we know from other Star Wars projects became heroes, it’s the story of how several characters’ lives linked together over the course of several years to build a tapestry that would one day take down the Empire.

If I have one complaint in the finale, it would be the continued push of Syril and Dedra together. Now, that’s not saying I don’t enjoy either character – I do. I find what Tony Gilroy and his team have done to show the complicated (and painfully inept) levels of bureaucracy that were also key in the destruction of the Empire (they killed all of Kreegyr’s Rebels – which Dedra accurately says was a horrible error, even as she’s essentially told to be quiet – which is just insanely stupid to order) fascinating. And, when you have a character like Dedra, who could be crucial in a higher post to turning the tide of the coming war, and you watch how much resistance she meets in her climb up the ladder, it’s crazy to see that the Empire power structure isn’t as different from any other company we have. I mean, if someone with her commitment can’t get into real authority after her recent success, what hope is there for any of us? But, back to the complaint. I desperately don’t want to see any sort of romance between Syril and Dedra. At all. Dedra hiring Syril into the ISB? Sure, that’s fine. It would allow him to continue his Javert-level attempts to capture Cassian. But they’ve been pushing his creepy obsession with her to levels that warrant her smacking him down, not falling for his charms. So, if I have any wish for season two, it’s that they keep things strictly platonic in that area.

But, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a minor complaint. Andor’s first season was an unexpected success from start to finish. I haven’t felt this level of connection to characters, to a story, to the beating heart of the narrative within a Star Wars property since I first saw the original trilogy as a child. And this is coming from someone who didn’t enjoy Rogue One all that much. While I understand Andor isn’t something that will satisfy all Star Wars fans – particularly those who need their Star Wars IP with a heavy dose of legacy characters and intergalactic battles – the series marks a key step in the right direction for a fantastical world that had recently lost its way and identity. Proving that a series like this can exist alongside something much more traditionally Star Wars in nature like The Mandalorian (which I also enjoy, although I certainly feel it started trending a bit too close to the “legacy character appearances solve all problems” arena in recent outings) opens the Star Wars universe in ways I didn’t think possible. Having a series, grounded in normal characters, showing how the fascist regime of The Empire was able not only to invade ever corner of the galaxy, but also how a band of Rebels was able to find each other across that same expanse? Well, that’s a hell of story that I want more of.

Season two will be coming our way next year – another 12-episode run that presumably will cover a larger swath of time than season one – and I’m intrigued to see just where Gilroy takes the story. We know some of the beats that need to be hit (while I didn’t spend much time on her arc here, Mon Mothma made a key move in the finale, setting up her husband as the source of her mishandled funds by planting the idea that he’s gambling again, a choice that makes him a potential pawn for the Empire to tap and that officially marks the beginning of her break with her family in service of the Rebellion), but I love that so much of what to come is unknown to us. But what I do know is that I now genuinely care about what happens to these characters. I want Bix to heal and grow into a formidable fighter for the Rebels – and I would love for her to be the one to face off against Dedra at some point. I want Vel to make it out in one piece and work alongside her cousin to protect the galaxy from what is to come. And I want Luthen to achieve his goal: Creating a formidable Rebellion fighting force where the Rebel cells work together to fight for one cause. We know that, ultimately, that will be achieved. But I certainly hope he lives to see it happen. Judging from what we know about wishes in this universe, however, I have my doubts.