Andor Andor Episode 1.12 (Season Finale!!) Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

The post-credits Death Star reveal was unnecessary. Probably the only time the entire season I felt like they were pandering.

 

Wow. Just wow!

 

I agree, there are still quite a few unanswered questions. It seems like Cassian's just forgotten about his sister for instance.

 

Disagree entirely.

 

Not one, but two different "THIS IS SPARTA" scenes by the way.

First Brasso with the most badass moment of the episode, and then the Bell Tower Anvil Man launching that pathetic Stormtrooper off the tower.

 

I loved how Brasso wasn't taking the imps harming B-2 for a second.

 

The problem with the previous episodes raising the bar so high...really, it's a problem a lot of shows would love to have. I really would've preferred Vel, Luthen & Cinta encountering Cassian somehow, have a bit more for them all to do together before triumphantly rebelling against the Empire. Why didn't Luthen have Cassian swear "The Vow?" Was Syril's sole purpose on Ferrix to gallantly save Dedra from the mob? No wonder Linus Mosk sat there drinking away his sorrows.
I'll have to watch this one again before I give it a rating.

 

I hear you both and I just don't want this series to end BUT my take on it is that this is essentially like a play's interlude. The rebellion has just begun no, this was the spark to light the rebellion and news of this will get out now. So given this is not the end but the middle, it doesn't really call for an epilogue of sorts, so I am ok with it.

 

Why? Andor being stuck in prison was a massive part of the show and the things they were working on were a big part of that prison arc. To me, it is another element about the pretty horrific thing called the empire that the machine he had a part in building ends up being the machine that kills him and he likely never knew.

 

I wasn't talking about the writing necessarily, but the overall vibe of the episode.
He is the showrunner, so how the story plays out is essentially his work too.
I would say that some of the best episodes were written by Dan Gilroy though

I would think that most people agree that Beau Willimon had the best episode writing credits with Episode 10.
That Luthen monologue stands out as the zenith of the show for me.

 

Amazing episode! A perfect way to close S1 out, in my view. And I'm very happy we got to have more Maarva -- her absence has loomed large.

 

That was great. Loved it all, with Maarva speech and rioting. Death Star post credit scene. Ties it already to Rogue One.

 

That was good. Not what I was expecting. Which is always fun. And Brasso lives!!

Now the agonizing wait until next season.

 

I disagree with this.

Mr. Robot and Homeland for example, are two shows where in every season you have phenomenal episodes throughout the season, and then in the last 2-3 episodes, including the finale, all hell breaks loose. Nothing has ever felt underwhelming. To emphasize even more to that, Mr. Robot Season 4 literally goes from phenomenal, to exquisit, to flawless perfection in my opinion.

 

Up early for this. About to start it now.

 

The writing was rather impressive throughout the whole season. Especially for SW standards.
I didn't feel like there was any particular discontinuity from one writer to the next.

The show is full of memorable quotes, and the more we rewatch, the more they will start being part of our common SW knowledge, I'm sure of that.

 

You know what, this episode in hindsight shows why so much care was given to B2EMO last episode, he wasn't just a robot in mourning, he had an EXTREMELY important job to do and surely they must have been worried that the empire had found out about it since they knew they were being watched.

 

Gilroy, you goddamned genius.

 

I'm speechless. Star Wars has been my safe hide-away since I've been 11 years old and this is the first SW production that truly feels like a pay-off. This is what we as fans have deserved since Empire Strikes Back. Maarva's speech should and will go down as one of the quintessential pieces of SW's history and I had literal goosebumps from beginning to end. My faith in Lucasfilm has been restored. I could bawl like a straight-up Wookie right now but I'm working the graveyard shift at a foster care facility and I want my kids here to sleep uninterrupted so we can re-watch this together in the morning. This is the kind of Star Wars material that makes kids like them into life-long fans and for that I'm thankful.

It truly is a great era to be a Star Wars fan.

 

Agreed. Her speech was moving.

 

Luthen didn't have to ask Cassian to swear the vow in that moment because Cassian essentially sacrificed himself for the rebellion, either way. Luthen shoots him, and the rebellion's secrets are safe. Luthen brings him into the rebellion, and the rebellion's secrets are safe because clearly Cassian has committed. By opening himself up to being killed by Luthen, he conveyed absolute trustworthiness. This was one of the best writing decisions in the show, IMO.

Not to mention that...we saw a one-minute conversation between them. Luthen could quite simply ask him to say the vow later. I mean, they're also trying to get off an Imperial-occupied planet...

I think that's why it was after the credits. It's a tangential part of the narrative they're telling. It's a look towards the next season. But also it's a reminder that...resistance isn't easy, or over with one fight. The enemy is massive and resourceful. So committing to the rebellion has to be massive too (and requires massive resources, as Mothma 's story tells us...).

I was waiting for him to crush the stormtrooper with a hammer, but maybe that would've been too on the nose. The kick worked! No Wilhem scream, though. But that's understandable.

Oh, and Maarva's speech. Wow. The script and the visual of her towering over the square. This was full to the brim Star Wars. And now I understand why Gilroy had holograms used very sparingly, with the Empire conversing almost fully through screens. For this moment. Beautiful. And a great companion to Galen Erso's hologram speech (and Luthen's non-holo speech in episode 6).

In my view, a perfect way to conclude the season. Anything more, and I think it would have started to feel overstuffed.

 

So I feel bit conflicted now. It was such a great show, but now it's over.... well season 2 is coming fortunately. It was great to have high quality Star Wars drama every week.

But it was another great episode that tied up most of the knots pretty well. Obviously one that was left hanging was thing with Cassian's or Kassa's sister. And what was the deal with Willi? The bus guy. I expected him to return later on, but he didn't. Spiky-haired dude Nurchi however returns in bigger role now. Not Vetch with him this time unfortunately.

Maarva is quite awesome being able to inspire rebellion beyond the grave quite literally. Paak's son building a bomb and all were pretty nice continuity there. One minor issue was that there were so many characters that many viewers probably struggle to remember them all and their names. Even I do while I'm quite a nerd lol.

It was made clear that Luthen really did order Andor dead personally so Kleya was following his orders to the letter. This seemed quite obvious, but it was not confirmed until now I think. Anto Kreegyr thing was not important after all, it was more of a red herring for imperials as Luthen intended it to be. It could've been something, but Saw's reluctance to join ruined it. It would be very interesting to have comic or novel about Spellhaus though. Would make a great story of failed operation and mindless massacre. I would imagine as separatist Kreegyr could have some CIS-assets in his use for example. This would make sense and be interesting visual connection to prequels. His rebel cell was more or less decimated, but it was mentioned several times.

I criticized Bix as character when first episodes came out. Just didn't like her or really even know what sort of person she was supposed to be deep down. But her arc was all about being the victim of the imperial brutality I think. She is so broken now. It was clear she was rather strong-willed and independent woman before and now she is scared and insane. I still think she could've had more characterization to begin with though, I think she would've been better then, but that would've made her situation even more tragic now. Another person I would like to have more character is Brasso. It is established he is dependable friend. Big but gentle worker. Bit like a human Chewbacca in that. Some scenes with B2 did establish his character nicely though. That is something I think Bix could've needed too. She had interactions with Timm, Salman Paak and Cassian, but it was hard to say what sort of character she was. Now she is lost in terror-

Most characters were well-written, multidimensional and interesting to follow. Syril now had his imperial hero moment. Dedra would've deserved worse though, but Syril is now obsessed about her, maybe more than Andor even. He came for Cassian but stayed for Dedra. Poor Linus Mosk, he is just a third wheel... Syril and Dedra scenes are fantastic in their awkwardness again

Death Star scene in the end was bit unnecessary but I think it was nice they confirmed that. It was obvious in my mind they are Death Star parts, but now it's official so no longer arguments about them. Way how it establishes and visualizes the scale is done nicely. Amount of imperial prisoners is immense and it was only the Death Star I!

Philosophy of oppression was nicely done there in Nemik's manifest and Maarva's speech. It is central theme in Star Wars. How fear is the root of most evil. Sith used the fear to establish the empire. Being imperial is being constantly afraid. Afraid of both rebels and their own superiors. They however often fear wrong things. Syril fears Cassian why he should fear Dedra. ISB fears Kreegyr why they should fear Axis. There is the key to defeating the Empire, obvious weakness to exploit. Fear often clouds judgment.

Oh and btw. Mon Mothma is quite clever there using the imperial agent for her benefit instead of being afraid of him. It is really important to focus on thinking how to be brave instead of letting fear to consume you and make decisions for you. Often people simply fear wrong things. Something that feels very bad right now may be a smaller issue in the future than thing that feels insignificant right now.

 

Canto Bight name drop was a nice touch, if for no other reason than to just subtly tie the wider universe together