Messenger / Who Are You? / Welcome To The Rebellion (Andor - S02E07, E08, E09) - Live Action Series

Discuss the latest Chapter! (Discussion)

"Of all the things at risk the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil!" SPOILERS.

Yavin in 2 BBY

I believe we have just witnessed peak Star Wars this week. Ok, one should be cautious, who knows what follows next, but as of now, I think the current arc of Andor season 2, the episodes "Messenger / Who Are You? / Welcome To The Rebellion" are peak Star Wars, the best ever, even considering the movies, yes. Now of course this is all down to taste. If you prefer more action then Andor will, once again, utterly bore you probably, but if we talk about impact, actual deeper meaning, the acting too, then arc 3 of Andor season 2 is the best we have ever had.

Bix examines Cassian's blaster wound that will not heal properly

In many ways the current arc has similar themes as the prequels. It's very political, it examines how a fascist regime corrupts and twists everything and everyone. In the prequels we saw all those machinations merely in the background, it was mostly subterfuge, in the time period of Andor we see the full power of the fascist Empire even if subterfuge is still used a lot. But one key difference is that while the prequels were more focused on spectactle and entertainment, Andor is focused on character drama and personal stories. Bravery here does not mean you face your former best friend with a lightsaber, but that you deliver a speech in the senate that will end not only your career but will mean you will have to go in hiding and leave your entire family behind. Courage here means that a group of civilians is challenging armed Imperials. not like in the prequels where the Gungans were armed to the teeth as well.

Behold Space France! The plaza is one giant set actually, constructed for the show, including all the attached shops and cafes, the show is expensive for a reason

What Andor does, has been doing, is make evil palpable, more on a ground level, whereas in the movies it often was much more abstract. Killing an entire planet of people is a statistics, seeing individual people in Andor suffer and die is a tragedy. Evil is more personal here. You see and learn what it means to live under a fascist regime and how seemingly futile it can feel to resist, that evil can easily crush you like all those tanks on Tienanmen square in Beijing all those years ago.

Most romantic Star Wars ever

Andor, and especially this arc, is a tragedy on various levels. It's a tragedy on a grander scale when the Empire ruthlessly schemes to take over Ghorman and to discredit its people. It's a tragedy on a personal level when we see characters like Syril who are not even evil, but were deceived and ultimately abused by the system. He never had a chance really.

She can sense something....

Ok, so let's talk about the story for a bit. In this arc we see how the Rebels are slowly setting up shop on Yavin and how the ragtag chaotic band of individual rebel cells is formed into a cohesive whole, an army. And that also means rules of course. Cassian and Bix live in a tree house, quite comfortably, but a prior mission has left Cassian wounded. And it won't heal. Bix has learned about an alleged Force healer who can help. We learn that Cassian is very dubious about all that and does not believe any of it at all. It's not really explained if Cassian just does not trust alleged Force healers or is skeptical about the whole Force thing in general. But he obliges, the Force healer takes a good look at Cassian, touches him... and feels something. Cassian doesn't want to hear any of it and walks away, but to Bix the healer says that Cassian has a purpose, he's a "messenger". And this bit will become very important later in the story. And of course the healer did indeed make Cassian's shoulder better, she was not a fake.

Enza has had it with Syril and gives him what he deserves

But the real focus of this arc is once more Ghorman and the aftermath of the Imperial project on the planet. In fact, this arc of Andor is a companion piece and prequel to the season 3 Rebels episode "Secret Cargo". Which is a nice touch. And the Empire and here I mean the Emperor, has lost his patience, they tried to exhaust all other possibilities, but they need the minerals hidden in Ghorman's crust desperately now. The Death Star needs to be finished and there is no substitute for the mineral on Ghorman, despite attempts to find one.

Sooooo romantic.... this season is indeed about love

And the plan is unchanged. Find an excuse to paint the Ghormans as evil terrorists, that justifies a massive military presence and ultimately even resettlement of the inhabitants. And as you certainly remember the Empire has prepared for this for almost two years now. So the plan is this: make everyone believe the Ghorman resistance has help from the outside, the evil rebels, make them look bad which then gives the Empire the excuse they need to arrive in full force and to punish the people.

Even Wilmon needs some love

Syril is still on Ghorman, still unaware of what is really going on and how his girlfriend Dedra and effectively the Empire has used him like some useful fool who believes to do the right thing when in fact he helps an evil, immoral, fascist regime that is not above using its own people like disposable assets. But even Syril is not entirely clueless and knows too many things do not align and are off, he does not really believe the narrative of the Empire. So after a short tete a tete with Dedra who promises him that soon all will be over and they can be on Coruscant again, he tries to approach Enza, the daughter of the underground leader, but she won't tolerate his presence anymore and just slaps him and leaves him standing.

I got that reference!

Back on Yavin Wilmon arrives. I erroneously believed Saw wanted to kill him last week, instead it was just Saw's crazy initiation rite for Wilmon. And Wilmon informs Cassian that the person responsible for Ferrix and his father's death has been found on Ghorman. So Cassian leaves, against the explicit wishes of his military superior. Cassian is not too happy about being part of some big military machine and is still too accustomed to doing his own thing. Something that will also be important later.

Syril meets the KX units.

We then learn the true depravity of the Imperial plans for Ghorman. They want to provoke an incident, an uprising, they want people to gather. They fly in rookies, cannon fodder really, who are supposed to keep the peace and provide security. But in reality an Imperial sniper has orders to kill one of the Imperial soldiers, making everyone believe the Ghor fired the first shot. Things do heat up according to plan, the Ghor are provoked and gather on the plaza to protest the Imperial occupation and their wrongdoings.

Allons enfant de la patrie ... (only in Space French and about hills and valleys really, but otherwise the same)

Syril can't believe what is happening. He hears rumors that massive mining rigs have landed on the planet and he wonders what could be going on, he sees the tragedy in the making and despite being in safety, with a few other Imperial civilians, he decides to confront Dedra. So he rushes to her office. Syril, much, much too late, grows somewhat of a backbone.

That face you make when your pet suddenly talks back at you

And the next few minutes are quite something. Syril, who has been pushed around and abused by the people in his life and the system for basically all of his life, first by his overbearing controlling mother, then by a system he just lawfully wanted to serve and that spat him out when his actions proved to be very inconvenient, only to be dumped in some soulless office and ultimately finding a girlfriend who is even more controlling than his mother, has finally reached his own breaking point. He wants answers and he wants them NOW! So he confronts Dedra in her office and not only shouts at her, but becomes violent.

You do not treat your partner like that, even is she's a psycho bitch

Syril is so enraged when he finally presses the truth out of Dedra, about the secret plan to extract some minerals, that he won't have any of it anymore. After choking Dedra who tries to calm him down and hopes that everything will still be alright, Syril storms out of the office. The ultimate betrayal, he was used once again, and even though his moral compass is seriously misguided, Syril does have morals, he certainly believed he is doing good, that the Empire is doing good, bringing law and order and peace to the galaxy. But when he learns they are scoundrels, liars who have used him like a useful tool he snaps. So he storms out. Back into the plaza. When all hell breaks lose.

The Empire kills its own soldiers to have an excuse to massacre the Ghor and portray them all as terrorists who deserve what is coming

Andor and Wilmon arrived on Ghorman a short while ago. We get the Star Wars version of Day of the Jackal, Andor even gets a sniper rifle assembly scene, but he never gets an opportunity to shoot Dedra from his hotel window. And on the next day, when the Ghor gather on the plaza to protest the Empire the Imperial plot fully unfolds. A sniper shoots an Imperial rookie soldier and then all hell breaks loose. Stormtroopers fire, the soldiers fire, the Ghor fire back with whatever weapons they have. It's a slaughter.

In Andor droids feel like terminators, not odd robots or comedic relief

Eventually the KX droids are unleashed and they begin to toss and kill humans en masse like dolls. Andor is amidst the chaos, still trying to get a good shot at Dedra, he glances her here and there but never gets a chance to shoot.

Poor Enza, she deserved so much better, such a pointless, violent death

Enza, the daughter of the underground leader tries to get away as well, but a KX droid seizes her, tosses her across the plaza like a ragdoll and the impact of the landing kills her on the spot. It's all very violent, but it never feels gratuitous. Each single death is felt, each casualty hits you, affects you and Enza's pointless death hits especially, since she has been a recurring character throughout the season. The entire massacre scene is heartbreaking and in many ways the things we see here much better show us the truly evil nature of the Empire. Alderaan was very abstract in A New Hope. More a statistic really. Death here is very, very personal, as mentioned, it's all on the ground level here, but you get to see what it really means to suffer under the yoke of the Empire and what the rebels are truly fighting for.

Let me tell you the tale of Syril the unwise...

And then Syril spots Andor. The object of his obsession! In his rage twisted mind Cassian is probably responsible for his miserable life, even though it's all Syril's own decisions that brought him where he is now. He attacks Cassian like a maniac, wants to kill him, a confused Cassian even asks Syril who he is, since he has of course no clue that he has lived inside Syril's head rent free for several years now. But just as Syril seems to come to his senses and actually lowers his blaster Enza's father Carro, the quasi leader of the underground, shoots Syril in the head. And thus ends the tale of Syril the man who meant well all of his life, stood for law and order... and never realised he's supporting evil fascists who do not give a damn about people like him. Including his psycho girlfriend who used him like a puppet as well, a useful tool she can control, because he's weak and she's strong. Syril's tale is especially tragic because he never really was evil to begin with. He could have easily been a rebel. But his story stands for all the good people who were ever twisted by evil, tyrannical regimes throughout history and even in the modern day. And there is another tragic tale embedded here, Carro, the quasi leader of the resistance, who has insisted on resisting peacefully, against what his own people want, has not only just lost his daughter. But he has killed someone, Syril, even if you may argue it was more than justified. But Carro is another victim of a fascist regime that twisted him into something he never wanted to be, being violent, a killer. His good intentions twisted, destroyed and actually even used to the Empire's advantage. His family in ruins. His only daughter: dead. And his planet: soon merely an Imperial asset ripe for exploitation. A real tragedy.

Cassian has had it for real this time

Cassian eventually manages to escape the carnage. They defeat a KX unit attacking them all, when someone steers an Imperial transport into the droid. Cassian has the remains loaded onto the transport, as he makes his way to the ship. But Wilmon stays behind, he has found love on Ghorman, Dreena, the cute blonde and he won't leave her behind, he wants to find her and then somehow make his way off planet.

Jimmy Smits had scheduling conflicts, so Bail looks somewhat different in Andor

And in the last third of the arc the focus then shifts to Mon Mothma and her life changing moment, when she decides to deliver one final speech in the senate, telling the truth about the Empire. We see how the Ghorman senator gets arrested. The Empire is cracking down hard, and the embedded press on Ghorman has done their part as well, the propaganda machine is in full swing. Parallels to our own present day (or history) are of course more than obvious here and the following 50 plus minutes are probably the most political Star Wars has been since the prequels and I can already tell that not everyone will like that. Not that I think that people who could be offended are even still watching the show.

Kleya has yet another mission for Cassian, rescue Mon Mothma from the wrath of the Empire

We then see how Mon Mothma decides to deliver the final speech of her career as senator and we witness how fragile the connections between her and people like Luthen are. When Mon finds out that Luthen had one of his men work as Mon's aide, without her knowing, she feels utterly betrayed. And while Luthen talks to her about her escape from Coruscant after her speech she believes that Luthen is only truly concerned about himself since her capture would almost certainly also mean the end of him. Mon would certainly not be able to withstand Imperial interrogation forever. Luthen insists though that she follows his man to safety, because according to his intelligence Bail's team which is also supposed to escort her to safety is compromised.

Mon does not trust Luthen at all really, it's a very uneasy alliance between the two

But the wheels are set in motion now, there is no return. Bail Organa eventually informs Mon that he won't escape with her, someone needs to stay behind according to him at least. But he has aforementioned extraction team ready, which is a bit awkward because Luthen, via Kleya, have already also tasked Cassian with extracting Mon after her speech so she can get to safety. And things are even more complicated because Mon was told that Bail's team is compromised. So will she trust an old friend who is an actual friend, or an ally who keeps all these secrets from her and even planted one of his spies in her office?

The Space STASI in their headquarters

We learn that the Empire has all "problematic" senators bugged. And in the massive listening post conversations are monitored throughout the senate building. But Mon and her aide (soon to be fired because he's Luthen's spy) find the mic and destroy it. She can work on her last speech and is ready to face reality the next day. The last day of her career as senator.

Mon Mothma moments before the most important speech of her career

After some final words by Bail, who has devised a scheme to exploit procedure so Mon can speak, Mon Mothma finally addresses the assembled senate. This is at a time where the Empire still pretends to have something akin to a working senate and the speech is therefore broadcast to the public. But the second the Imperials realise what Mon Mothma is saying they hysterically try to shut down the transmission. We get an ever so slightly comedic moment when the Imperial tech responsible for it all finds himself in front of a locked door to the room with the breaker, said door was only repaired yesterday after years of being broken, just as ordered. One has to love bureaucracy... it is implied, I believe, that the two female tech workers repairing the door knew exactly what they had to do to allow for Mon's speech to be broadcast.

An ISB agent wants to arrest Mon Mothma

And Mon Mothma delivers quite the speech. She informs the public that what happened on Ghorman was a massacre and then she says, and I quote: "Of all the things at risk the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil." and eventually she warns everyone: "The monster who will come for us all soon enough is Emperor Palpatine!". And all of this is broadcast over the holonet to anyone who wants to watch senate hearings. So the entire galaxy (or at least Coruscant) has heard the words of Mon Mothma. Cassian is already waiting for her when she emerges in the senate hallway, she ultimately does decide to trust him and follows him. Meanwhile Bail's team was indeed compromised, they had an ISB agent among them, at first she kills one of her team members, then she manages to intercept Mon near the exit. But Mon's aide who is still in the building (and not a traitor really, he was always in support of Mon) saves the day by shouting that the ISB agent is a rebel. Cassian uses the short confusion and shoots the woman. And on we go!

That face you make when you get a crash course on ground level rebelling

Cassian is not done shooting people. It's very interesting to see how Mon Mothma is terrified by it all, she has always been in the upper echelons of the rebellion, very far removed from any dirty work Cassian and the others had to do. She knows nothing really. But gets a harsh reality check when Cassian shoots Mon's chauffeur (who is an ISB plant, as was established previously). He then commandeers the speeder and makes his way to the safehouse on Coruscant he and Bix stayed in a year ago.

Bix is making one of the most difficult decisions in her life

Wilmon and his new girlfriend from Ghorman are on Coruscant, but Wilmon has been injured. Kleya who is with the group to coordinate stays behind with Luthen, who won't go to Yavin (he will probably never even get there). Kleya informs Cassian that another transport will get Mon Mothma to Yavin, to make it all very special, Mon is supposed to deliver a first grand speech on Yavin, to be broadcast across the galaxy, so Andor does not contradict the events in the Rebels episode Secret Cargo, I had hoped, for a second or so, that we might get a short glimpse of live action Hera and the team, but they are not even referenced by name.

Hello, K-2SO!

Back on Yavin Cassian and Bix reunite and Cassian confesses to her that he's had it. That was it for him. He says his main talent is just being lucky, but that he can feel how his luck is running out. He wants to run away with Bix and find a place where they can live out their days in peace, far away from it all. Cassian is also clearly not happy with being part of a proper military machine. And now we return to the Force healer from the beginning. Bix believes in her words. Also, Bix is, at least right now at this moment, the much more empathic person. She simply could not pretend to live in peace and happiness while the whole galaxy is suffering under an evil, tyrannical regime. Rebellions are not just built on hope, but fundamentally and first and foremost on empathy, You don't just rebel for yourself, you do it for all the other people, so they can live a free life, free of oppression, this is the reason rebels, freedom fighters, are even willing to give their life for the cause. Anyway, Bix is convinced Cassian is indeed destined to do and be more. But she knows that as long as she is around Cassian will be distracted. He loves her too much, he wants to be with her instead of dying in a year or two or whenever his luck runs out. But Bix cannot accept the price tag this personal happiness would come with, the suffering and oppression of all those billions and billions of people in the galaxy. So she records a farewell message for Cassian, promises that she will find him the second this is all over, but that he has to do what he has to do and that she must leave - for now.

I do admit I did not really see Bix' arc end like that, but it makes perfect sense. The cause is bigger than the personal happiness the two could maybe enjoy somewhere. Bix knows this, she could not pretend to be happy when the galaxy is suffering under the yoke of an evil fascist regime. And if that means Bix' arc is over for good now, as in, she will not return in the final arc, then this is still a fitting, even if somewhat tragic conclusion of the tale of Bix and Cassian. Because he only has about one more year to live, but his ultimate sacrifice does indeed make a difference, by acquiring the plans to the Death Star that ultimately allow Luke to hit the reactor shaft opening. And in a way Bix is now a major contributor to all of that. I like that. It shows that it's never ever just that one person doing all the heroic deeds, it's all a long chain of events.

And we end this arc with Cassian desperately looking for Bix, until he realises that she is indeed gone. He immediately focuses on the reconstructed KX droid he brought back from Ghorman, we see how the tech responsible for the reprogramming gives all these dire warnings, but Cassian just aims his blaster at the droid as it is turned on, and K-2SO kindly asks that Cassian please point his blaster away from him. Welcome K-2SO!

And that is it. As I said, I feel this was and is peak Star Wars. Certainly not in a way many think Star Wars should be. And maybe it would have been better if this show was some generic SciFi, not necessarily Star Wars, but as an examination of how a tyrannical regime corrupts everything and everyone and creates its own alternative facts and twists reality like a pretzel Andor is peak "entertainment". I use quotes here because to call Andor "entertainment" is like saying Hamlet is entertainment. Now I am not saying Andor is Shakespeare, but these three episodes, for me, are peak tv (streaming), a gripping drama about fascism and the people who are abused by the system, both as willing but unsuspecting (more or less) useful idiots, as willing participants who know what they are doing, as innocent victims and even as people who are forced to abandon all hope of happiness because they feel they have to fight the system. Everyone's life is basically in ruins here. But the rebels have something worth fighting for at least. A better tomorrow. They have hope, and empathy.

Of course one has to ignore the sequels here that render any and all accomplishments by the rebels null and void. I won't discuss this here, I will just pretend none of that ever happened, or the utterly brilliant Andor is rendered entirely pointless, more or less.

What else is there to say... Star Wars has rarely been as political as here in Andor only the prequels come close. Certain parallels to certain recent political events or trends are more than obvious. Just as the prequels provided a commentary on the era of George W. Bush as president, Andor is certainly a commentary on events in the US not too long ago in the past or even currently (the scripts were written a while ago of course so are mostly influenced by things happening up to ca 2021/22. I will venture a guess and say that some people will not like that at all. But Star Wars has always been political to a degree, Andor is no exception, it merely puts some more focus on political themes here as usual. But then again, as mentioned, I do not think all that many who would take offense are even still watching the series.

Syril's arc is particularly impactful and tragic. He's the proverbial "law abiding citizen" who wants to feel useful, not realising he is invested in a regime that not only has zero regard for him, but is evil to the core and not about law, order and peace at all, but oppression and death. When Syril glimpses a small part of the truth he breaks. He then blames Cassian for his own failings and predicament, something that ultimately costs him his life, ironically at the very moment you think he is regaining his senses. But Syril was lost ages ago. His backbone grew too late and his moral compass was recalibrated when he was already in too deep.

And I can only repeat myself... the acting here is outstanding throughout, by everyone. But a particular shoutout to Denise Gough as Dedra his week, her performance as someone who loses her cool for the first time ever maybe was more than impressive. Set design is impressive of course as well, this is a Star Wars series where you can actually see where the money went, this is movie level of production quality, but one should expect that when the series has a movie budget. It is tragic that, based on all we know, very few people are watching Andor. After two weeks the Luminate Streaming charts tell us that Andor may have lost about half its viewership compared to season 1. But we need to wait for Nielsen to know that for sure, if Andor even makes the Nielsen charts.

It's also tragic that so many people do not want to see Andor. And while I perfecly understand that it is probably too far removed from the Star Wars they know (and want), it is still by far the best written, best acted and most impactful entry of the franchise. Yes, the movies are much more grandiose with impressive duels and set pieces. But seeing Enza getting tossed through the air like a toy has more impact for me than seeing Obi-Wan and Anakin hack away at each other with lightsabers, I felt more here than in the movie, which is more of a heightened reality, larger than life, whereas Andor IS life, more like a documentary at times. I believe this arc now is the entertainment we need currently, it has never been more important. Mon Mothma (so basically Tony Gilroy, a Brit) is 100% right when she says that the loss of an objective reality is the worst and most dangerous thing. If we can no longer all agree upon what is true or not and some regime or people with ill intent can just make up facts on the fly and create their own version of "reality" that is opposed to any objective reality then we are all in grave danger.

I can give the current arc nothing else but a perfect score, 10/10 or 5 out of 5 holocrons. This is the best Star Wars can ever hope to be on so many levels. I am glad we got that, even if we may never get another series like Andor ever again, at least we have that. I thank Lucasfilm for being willing to spend so much money on something that is a commercial disappointment but critical success, I thank Kathleen Kennedy for one of her good decisions she made, I thank Tony Gilroy and his brother, I thank all the brilliant actors who give it their all. So... thank you! Until next week, when we will get the series finale. I hope you enjoyed my reviews somewhat at least, even if you may disagree here or there or even when some things like Wilmon not actually dying but undergoing a weird initiation Saw Gerrera style flew over my head. Kudos to the commenters from last week who pointed this all out!