Andor is the best series in the Star Wars universe. I can say that forever. That’s because it focuses on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the Rebel spy who played a key role in the destruction of the Death Star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and a soldier who doesn’t have Jedi skills or a silver spoon in his mouth. He’s just a man who gave his life to save the universe. Or try to.

The Rogue One movie isn’t about Andor, but Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), and this dense, twisty, and dramatic spinoff shows Cassian’s journey from a disillusioned thief to one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance.

Season 2 premieres on the 24th, but it’s time to refresh our memories because we’ll be seeing some familiar faces and getting closer to the dark days of Rogue One.

Season 1
Arc 1: The Escape from Ferrix (Episodes 1-3)
We meet Cassian Andor, who lives on the planet Ferrix, an industrial world under Imperial control. He’s searching for his missing sister, but ends up accidentally killing two corporate guards from the Pre-Mor company. This draws the attention of Syril Karn, an inspector obsessed with capturing him.

Cassian tries to sell a valuable stolen Imperial navigation module to Luthen Rael, a mysterious Rebel agent. When security forces arrive to arrest him, Luthen helps him escape, convincing him to join the Rebellion. Meanwhile, Karn fails in his mission and is fired.

Arc 2: The Aldhani Heist (Episodes 4-6)
Luthen takes Cassian to the planet Aldhani, where a group of rebels are planning to steal the payroll of an Imperial garrison. Cassian, codenamed “Clem,” reluctantly joins the team led by Vel Sartha and Arvel Skeen.

The heist takes place during a rare astronomical event, the Eye of Aldhani. The group manages to steal millions of Imperial credits, but the mission goes awry: several members die, and Skeen suggests to Cassian that they flee with the money. Cassian kills him and flees with his share of the payment.

Meanwhile, Mon Mothma, a secret senator for the Rebellion, struggles to hide her Rebel involvement. Meanwhile, Dedra Meero, an ISB (Imperial Intelligence) officer, begins to notice patterns in the Rebel attacks.

Arc 3: The Prison in Narkina 5 (Episodes 7-10)
Cassian tries to hide out in Niamos, but is wrongfully arrested for a minor crime and sent to the maximum security prison Narkina 5, where prisoners are forced to build components for the Empire. There, he meets Kino Loy, a prisoner supervisor who believes that following the rules is the best chance of survival.

When they discover that no one leaves the prison alive, Cassian convinces Kino and the others to rebel. After an epic escape, Kino hesitates to jump into the water, suggesting that he cannot swim. Cassian escapes with Melshi, who will later become a rebel ally.

Meanwhile, Mon Mothma faces financial troubles and is forced to consider a deal with a criminal financier. Dedra continues her hunt for the rebels, and Syril Karn, now out of a job, remains obsessed with capturing Cassian.

Arc 4: The Funeral of Ferrix (Episodes 11-12)
Cassian returns to Ferrix for the funeral of his adoptive mother, Maarva Andor. The Empire uses the event as a trap to capture him, but the citizens revolt. During the fight, Cassian rescues Bix Caleen, his friend who was tortured by the Imperials.

Meanwhile, Dedra is nearly killed in the melee but is saved by Syril, who still admires her. Luthen, who has come to Ferrix to eliminate Cassian if necessary, realizes that he is already committed to the Rebel cause.

The season ends with Cassian offering his services to the Rebellion and a post-credits scene revealing that the components built in the prison were being used to build the Death Star.

The Rebellion on Andor: A Fragmented Movement
The rebellion against the Empire on Andor is one of the best-developed aspects of the series, showing how small resistance groups organize themselves and how different factions operate with different methods. The series presents the rebellion in a realistic way, highlighting the sacrifice, distrust and tactics used to weaken the Empire.

Unlike other Star Wars works, where the Rebel Alliance is already established, Andor shows how the rebellion is initially fragmented, with independent cells operating without central coordination. There is no single leader, and many groups act alone, unaware of each other’s existence. The series focuses on three main fronts of the rebellion: Luthen Rael and his contacts; the Aldhani Fireflies and Mon Mothma; and the political struggle in the Senate.

Each of these fronts plays a crucial role in the construction of the future Rebel Alliance.

Luthen Rael: The Shadow Manipulator
Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) is a key figure in the organization of the rebellion. He acts as a mastermind and coordinator but remains in the shadows to avoid drawing attention from the Empire. He funds attacks, recruits soldiers, and orchestrates risky missions to weaken Imperial rule.

Tactics and Philosophy
Luthen believes that the rebellion must be brutal and ruthless. He manipulates people without remorse and is willing to sacrifice lives to accelerate the revolt against the Empire. His pragmatic outlook contrasts with Mon Mothma’s more diplomatic approach.

He recruits Cassian Andor for the assault on Aldhani, knowing that Cassian is not an idealist, but a survivor who can be useful in the war. Later, realizing that Cassian may become a threat, he tries to kill him—only to realize that Andor wants to fight.

The Network
Luthen operates out of his antiques shop on Coruscant, which serves as a front for his rebel activities. He maintains contact with several insurgent cells but never lets them know his true identity. Among his allies are: Vel Sartha – Leader of the group that carried out the assault on Aldhani; Cinta Kaz – A radical rebel and efficient assassin; Kleya Marki – His assistant and right-hand woman, who acts as a messenger and mission coordinator; and Saw Gerrera – An extremist who believes in armed struggle as the only solution.

Luthen’s relationship with Saw Gerrera is tense. Although they share the same enemy, Saw is even more radical and does not trust anyone, making strategic alliances difficult.

The Aldhani Rebels: The Symbolic Coup
The first major attack by the rebellion in the series takes place on the planet Aldhani, where a small group of insurgents plan to steal the Imperial payroll to destabilize the economy and show that the Empire is not invincible.

The group’s objectives include, in addition to the aforementioned psychological impact by making it clear to the galaxy that the Empire can be attacked, as well as financing the rebellion and forcing the Empire to harden its policies and, thus, generate more resistance among the population.

The problem is that the group is made up of insurgents with different motivations. While the leader, Vel Sartha, is idealistic but hesitant about the extreme actions required, Cinta Kaz is extremely committed and kills soldiers without hesitation. There is also Taramyn Barcona, a former stormtrooper trying to redeem himself, and Nemik, the young dreamer who believes in the ideals of the rebellion and writes a manifesto on how to resist the Empire. The problem is that they are betrayed by the opportunist Arvel Skeen.

Although the assault is a success (thanks to Andor), the group loses almost all of its members in the process. Nemik’s sacrifice is especially striking, as he represents the idealism that Cassian does not yet have. His manifesto ends up being crucial to Cassian’s transformation into a true rebel.

Mon Mothma: The Political War
While Luthen and the insurgents fight in the shadows, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) wages a battle in the Imperial Senate. She attempts to weaken the Empire from within by secretly funding rebel operations.

The problem is that not only does the Empire have an eye on her finances, making it difficult to send money to the rebellion, but her husband, Perrin, does not share her ideas, and her daughter, Leida, is becoming increasingly close to the traditionalist culture of Chandrila, making her personal life an obstacle.

To protect her operation, Mon Mothma pretends to be involved in corruption and agrees to marry her daughter to the son of a criminal financier, Davos Sculdun, to secure funds for the rebellion. This personal sacrifice shows the lengths she is willing to go to for the cause.

The Imperial Reaction and the Growth of the Rebellion
The attack on Aldhani forces the Empire to intensify its crackdown. ISB officer Dedra Meero uses this as justification to expand her hunt for the rebels.

The new Imperial decree known as P.O.R.D. (Public Order Resentencing Directive) toughens punishments, taking Cassian to the Narkina 5 prison, where he discovers that the prisoners are building parts for the Death Star.

The Empire’s brutality breeds more resistance, and the uprising on Ferrix at the end of the season is the first major civil uprising shown in the series. Inspired by Maarva Andor’s posthumous speech, the citizens confront the Imperials, proving that the rebellion is growing.

Thus, the first season of Andor shows how effectively the rebellion organized itself to try to stop the Empire.

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