Star Wars Andor: season 2

 After the excellent first season of Andor, the prequel series to the fantastic Rogue One movie (a highlight of modern Star Wars), I started with joy on the second season.

 

And it didn't disappoint in the slightest...

 

Starting one year after the uprising on Ferrix, Cassian, now recruited a a rebel agent, impersonates an Imperial testpilot to steal the prototype of the TIE Avenger.  And enjoy the lack of skill in piloting this ship, it makes it all the more "real" in my opinion.  He delivers it to a jungle planet, where the Maya Pei Brigade, a bunch of squabbling guerillas, have taken down his contact and bring him in their custody.  Krennic oversees a secret Imperial meeting, laying out a plan to mass-mine rare minerals from the planet Ghorman.  While Cassian's friends are undercover on the agricultural planet of Mina-Rau, Mon Mothma discusses with Luthen the risks of the Rebellion being uncovered.

 

Cassian makes good his escape as his captors squabble, while Dedra and Syril, now living as a couple, must face the terror of a mother-in-law.  On Mina-Rau, Cassian's friends are about to be discovered when he arrives in the TIE Avenger and brings them to safety, while Luthen arranges for Tay to be silenced during the arranged wedding of Mon Mothma's daughter Leida.  

 

The series jumps a year forward, with Cassian and Bix now active agents in Luthen's network of rebels.  On Ghorman, the Empire has began building an armoury, with Syril appointed to the capital and infiltrates the local resistance.  Cassian learns the Ghorman resistance wants to intercept a weapon shipment, but deems them to be to inexperienced, but Luthen goes over his judgement, sending Vel and Cinta to help the resistance in the heist.  The heist succeeds, but an accident kills Cinta as one of the resistance members had brought a blaster.  Mothma and Krennic discuss the ethics of war.

 

Moving on again for a year, the rebels have build a base on Yavin IV, to better plan their actions.  Cassian agrees to travel to Ghorman in a plan to assassinate Dedra together with Wilmon, as Bix is told by a Force healer that Cassian is vital for the Rebellion.  Dedra and Syril have a fall-out after he realises how he is being used, and Dedra reluctantly orders the start of a staged riot.  The protestors are massacred as Syril comes by Cassian, but the Ghorman rebel leader shoots him through the head before he can take out Cassian.  Cassian escapes with a captured KX enforcer droid while Wilmon stays behind to aid the resistance in broadcasting what really happened to the galaxy.

 

Mothma writes up a senate speech in the aftermath of the massacre, making preparations to flee to Yavin IV herself, while Bail Organa opts to stay behind and work from the inside out to help the rebels.  Luthen learns Organa's security team is compromised, sending Cassian to extract her instead.  After her speech, Cassian extracts her as she publically sides herself with the Rebellion.  The events want Cassian to stop his activities and retreat with Bix to a quiet life, but Bix decides to leave so he can continue his work, vowing to return when all is over.

 

Another jump, and we are a year after the events of Ghorman, Luthen learns the Empire is building a superweapon, and that Dedra has likely uncovered their identities.  Luthen starts covering up his tracks, as dedra confronts him, resulting in Luthen gravely wounded.  He is brought to an imperial hospital,  and in flashbacks we learn he is actually a defected officer, who adopted Kleya after they where forced to massacre her hometown as an example.  Kleya infiltrates the hospital, disconnecting her adoptive father's life support system while Dedra is arrested for overreaching her authority.

 

She is interrogated by Krennic who blames her for allowing the Death Star plans to be leaked and confronting Luthen unsupported, cutting their chance to get to the Rebellion.  Cassian and his team break Kleya out from a Coruscant safe house, and although wounded bring her to Yavin IV.  While Dedra is imprisoned, Cassian and K-2SO set out to meet with an informant about the rumoured Death Star, which the rebels realise is to big to be a simple trap.  On Mina-Rau, Bix cradles a baby and looks to the horizon...

 

And so the series ends, and what a journey it was.  Now I'm going to watch Rogue One again, with the newer, deeper knowledge this series gave about what drives Cassian... 

 

Highly recommended series, and that is coming from a Trekkie ;-)