The following contains major spoilers for the end of Season 1 of Andor on Disney+.
Disney+’s Andor is one of the more critically acclaimed original series to come out of the relatively young streaming service, and it seems clear that Disney had something of an idea they were on to something here, as Andor is one of the few shows that had a greenlight for Season 2 before Season 1 began to film. This means we know there’s more to the story. And now that Season 1 has come to a close, we have some idea where that story will pick up
The first season follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he gets recruited by a band of rebels for his skills as a pilot. He’s essentially brought in to play getaway driver in a bank robbery, but the story takes Andor all over the galaxy, giving him a real look at what the Galactic Empire has done, not only to his own home but to countless other worlds. And everything comes to a head at a funeral.
Where Cassian Andor And The Rest Of The Characters Are At The End Of Season 1
The primary focus of the final episode of Andor Season 1 is the funeral for Cassian’s foster mother Maarva Andor. Knowing that she has died, and that Cassian is likely to try and attend the funeral, all the other major characters of the series go to the planet Ferrix as well. Imperial Dedra Meero goes there to grab Andor, hoping he will give up the rebel leader she calls Axis. Meanwhile, Axis himself, Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen, is on the planet, with plans to kill Andor to prevent him from ever talking. Disgraced Imperial Syril Karn also goes to Fennix in an attempt to capture Andor himself in order to restore his name in the eyes of the Empire he loves so much.
Andor’s own priorities change when he arrives home and discovers that his friend Bix (Adria Arjona) has been captured and interrogated by the Empire in an attempt to capture him. Instead of trying to attend his mother’s funeral, he goes to save Bix, an endeavor that he is successful in, largely thanks to his mother. Her last words, recorded as a message for her funeral, act as a statement of defiance against the Empire, leading to a riot in the streets, one that nearly kills Dedra before Syril is able to rescue her.
Andor gets Bix to a ship where she, Brasso, B2EMO, and others from Fennix are able to escape. They head for a place Andor calls Ganji Moon. Cassian doesn’t go with them, but he promises he will find them later. Instead, Andor tracks down Luthen and gets him to admit he came to Fennix to kill him. Cassian makes Luthen an offer. Either he can go ahead and kill him (and Andor seems weirdly OK with that option), or take him in, and let Andor officially join the cause. Luthen chooses the latter option.
What It Could Mean For Andor Season 2
So with Season 1 of Andor now complete, but with us also knowing where Cassian Andor’s story ends, the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we have the beginning of an understanding of how we’re going to get from here to there. The Rebel Alliance doesn’t exactly exist yet, but we can see its beginnings, and Cassian Andor is right there at the heart of it all.
Cassian has now joined Luthen’s group of rebels, which includes Senator Mon Mothma. Her story in Season 1 ends with her making the choice to introduce her daughter to the son of Davo Sculdun, which should secure her ability to procure funds for the rebel group when necessary.
One way that we do know that Andor Season 2 will ultimately connect to Rogue One, as well as the original Star Wars trilogy, is that the next season will take place at least in part on the planet Yavin IV, the place where the Death Star assault is launched from in A New Hope. Speaking to Collider, showrunner and lead writer Tony Gilroy said…
Tom Bissell is really cool and really, really interesting, versatile, really good writer. But also a very, very, very big Star Wars fan, which we really wanted to make sure we had another pro because we're going into Rogue [One], and we're going to Yavin, and then we're going into places where we eventually need to really weave our way back to the source.
One expects that we’ll see Andor working side by side with Luthen, Vel, Cinta against the Empire. His time in an Imperial workcamp really showed him what the Empire was capable of and has made him a believer in the cause.
The more interesting question is how the additional characters of Andor will fit into it all. Will Andor have met up with Bix, and what sort of shape is she in after her torture at the hands of the Empire? There’s also the question of how Imperials Dedra and Syril will fit in. Will they still be chasing Andor? And what of their own personal relationship, because there’s clearly something going on there, but Season 1 never sees it to fruition.
How Andor Season 2 Will See A Big Change From Season 1
Whatever happens in Season 2, we know that it is going to cover a lot more time than Season 1. Season 1 begins five years prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in case you're trying to watch all of Star Wars in order, and while it’s unclear exactly how much time was covered, it wasn’t more than a few weeks or possibly months. Season 2, for comparison, will cover the remaining four years. As Tony Gilroy explained to Empire, the new season will be handled in blocks of three episodes, which each block set a year after the previous one…
Wow, it’d be really interesting if we come back, and we use each block to represent a year. We’ll move a year closer with each block…’ from a narrative point of view, it’s really exciting to be able to work on something where you do a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then jump a year.
This means that when we meet Cassian again in Season 2, he likely won’t be “the new guy” working with the rebels, but a practiced hand. New characters may appear and disappear between segments as different events happen. It will certainly be an interesting way to handle the rest of Cassian’s story.
Andor Season 2 is reportedly getting filming underway soon, but is expected to film for the next several months. We likely won’t see the new season until sometime in 2024, but after such a solid Season 1, it will likely be worth the wait.
