‘Andor’ Season 1, Episode 11 Review

Now that it’s nearly over, it’s easy to see that Andor was not what fans were expecting. Although it is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and a character vehicle for Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the show is so much more than that. It deals with the birth of the Rebel Alliance at large. But unlike the Star Wars Rebels animated show, this deals with the Rebellion on a much smaller level. The Rebellion is largely built upon inspirational heroes and money. While there are certainly militarized factions that were featured in the animated show, Andor deals with the inner workings of the rebellious network that allowed those militarized factions to operate.

Cassian is largely absent from this episode as he has to find his way off of the prison planet from the most recent storyline. Instead, the focus is on a lot of auxiliary characters as they set up the pieces for the final episode and beyond. Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) seems to have the most work to do as he is planning an operation. Also, as the Empire closes in on his Rael, he escapes in what might be one of the best space sequences in all of Star Wars. Also, Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) continues to face pressure from her financial troubles.

The Empire is definitely closing in on both Rael and Cassian, but they are still a ways away. It’s uncertain whether or not any grand climax is in store for the next episode. But now that Cassian’s mother is dead and the Empire has set a trap for him, there will certainly be some action involved in the season finale even if it doesn’t appear to wrap up all of the loose threads. It is certainly a different kind of Star Wars show as it’s a slow burn deals with a lot of political elements. They are interesting, but also far too expansive to be wrapped up in one episode alongside the finale’s necessary action.

Andor streams Wednesdays on Disney+