Thoughts On Andor Season 1's Powerful Finale

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 It's all led to this, and the finale of Andor Season 1 serves an inspiring climax. Cassian returns to Ferrix after news of Maarva's passing reaches him. Maarva looms large in this episode as she delivers  a speech for the ages. In the form of a hologram, Maarva addresses the citizens of Ferrix and reminds them of their honorable history. Maarva tells them to rise up and fight the Empire before all is lost, and before her speech is finished, all hell breaks loose on Ferrix, as everyone attending Maarva's funeral on Rix Roadjoins hands to fight the Imperial troops valiantly.

 There are several inspiring, heroic moments in this episode that signal a change in Cassian, and let us know that he has finally chosen his path. He rescues Bix, and is able to get Bix, Brasso ad B2EMO safely off world. Cassian is also shown remembering his father, Clem, fondly. Clem obviously serves as a role model for Cassian to stand up for what's right. Along with Maarva, Cassian has been raised right, and already has the heart of a Rebel thanks to Clem and Maarva's teachings. He was just lost all this time due to his tumultuous and tragic childhood. He doesn't actually attend Maarva's funeral, but he is able to hear what she had to say to the funeral attendees. 

 We also get to hear a bit of Nemik's manifesto, and it's extremely well written as expected. I hope the entire thing will eventually be released either in video or audio format for Star Wars fans. From the start and based on the type of person he is in Rogue One, it has been obvious all along that when Cassian commits to something, he sees it through to the end. We just needed him to get to this point. The episode ends with Cassian promising to find Bix, Brasso and B2EMO again, and then finding Luthen Rael, and asking him to either kill him or let him join the Rebel cause. This is a big win for Luthen, who just explained in the previous episode that he needs all the heroes he can get. His smile is a confirmation of how pleased he is to hear Cassian's commitment to the Rebellion. Freedom is a matter of life and death for Cassian now, and he'd rather die fighting than live under the oppressive rule of the Empire. That's step one of his journey, and step 2 will likely take place during the course of season 2. Cassian has yet to become the expert Rebel spy he is in Rogue One. 

  

Diego Luna in the 'Andor' S1 Finale- Photo from Disney.

 For now he is just a person who's lost almost everything because of the Empire and is willing to lose the only thing he has left, his own life. My favorite part of the episode was Brasso repeating Maarva's last words for Cassian to him. She tells him that he will "become an unstoppable force for good" and that "I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong." These lines are incredibly touching as they come from a mother who raised him for most of his life. She always knew he had it in him to do something big, only she had no idea how big of a sacrifice her son would eventually make. Cassian does end up as an unstoppable force for good. Now we know that Cassian does everything keeping his mother and father's beliefs in mind. In Rogue One, when he decides not to pull the trigger at Galen Erso, it is because he sees Clem and Maarva in Galen, and himself in Jyn.

  The post credit's scene is incredibly cold and stunning. We are shown what exactly Cassian and the prisoners on Narkina 5 were building. A few fans had predicted that they were building the Death Star, and the post credits scene confirms these suspicions. Not only were they building the Death Star, but were in fact building the part of it that did the damage. Cassian has unknowingly helped make the weapon designed by Galen Erso, which will end both his and Jyn's life. It's a cruel fate, and a scene that serves as a reminder that this story doesn't have a happy ending.

 My overall rating for the episode is 9/10. The acting by Fiona Shaw and Diego Luna and others was outstanding so a 10/10 for them.

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