This one Star Wars: Andoro article contains spoilers.
Cassian Andor’s story has reached the point of no return. We are about half way in Andoro season 1, and if this still makes you aggressive different Star Wars show, you’re definitely not going to stop watching now. The tone of episode 7, ‘Announcement’, seems to reflect this sentiment, as the events in this episode all reinforce the same theme: the status quo of each individual character is in flux and everything has already changed beyond repair.
In a somewhat unsurprising, but refreshing move, Cassian’s first decision after dumping the rebels in “The Eye” is to return home to Ferrix and pay off his debts. Cassian’s homecoming is pretty horrifying, and both Bix and his adoptive mother Maarva tell him to get lost for his own good. The Empire is now on the planet in a big way, and everyone in town is blaming Cassian for it. This is quiet in-depth simply because we’ve never really seen stuff like this in Star Wars before. While Obi-Wan Kenobi toyed with the idea that Owen blamed Ben for attracting trouble on Tatooine, all that was kept secret for canonical reasons. In AndoroEverything can come out in the open, making you wonder if any of Luke’s childhood friends or neighbors resented him for the increased Imperial presence on Tatooine when he became a Rebel hero. We tend to think of the rebels as freedom fighters, but what about this episode? Andoro makes it clear that the consequences of creating an open insurgency are far-reaching and affect far more than those directly involved. The consequences are never so black and white.
On Coruscant, this theme is meticulously unpacked in three separate conversations. Mon Mothma and Luthen debate the ethics of forcing the hand of the empire. Mon thinks Aldhani is a step too far, while Luthen thinks it was inevitable. Later, Luthen’s assistant meets Kleya Vel and tells her that Cassian is a “loose end” and must be killed to keep all their covers. Kleya coolly remarks that “this is what revolution looks like”. If you squint, Kleya looks a bit like Carrie Fisher did in the classic right now Star Wars movies, making Kleya a sort of dark shadow of Leia herself. Both fight for the “good guys,” but Kleya seems to be making some nasty decisions that it seems hard to imagine coming from Leia. In fact, if there’s one missed opportunity for fan service, it might be here: Instead of a 10-year-old Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi, maybe in andor, Kleya should have been Leia. Imagine how differently we would think about the machinations of the insurrection if this was Leia punching Cassian Andor for the good of the revolution?