The following contains spoilers for theAndorseason 1 finale.
Season 1 ofStar Wars: Andoron Disney Plus has finally dropped, and perhaps the only downside to it is that fans now have what is likely a nearly 2-year wait ahead of them before they get to see more. With Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor seemingly reaching the point where he’s finally ready to take the fight to the Empire, many are surely curious as to how things will go from here.
But it also begs the question, was this always the moment in Cassian’s journey where season 1 was supposed to end? Well, according toAndorshowrunner Tony Gilroy, it was almost always the plan. The finale saw Cassian return to Ferrix after hearing about his adoptive mother’s death, but he wasn’t the only one. Imperial forces, Rebel operatives, and some other interested parties all converged on the location with similar goals: to capture or kill him. As tensions rose to a breaking point, culminating in a shootout in the streets between the Empire and the locals, Cassian realized he could no longer just try to live a quiet life in hiding, and that was all part of theStar Warsshow’s road map almost from the beginning.
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In an interview withCollider, Gilroy spoke about where in the process he decided to end the first season ofAndorat this point in Cassian’s story. “Early, early,” he said. “Probably when I was still in the sketching phase. I was trying to fill out the whole jigsaw puzzle. What do you do first in a jigsaw puzzle? I’m not a jigsaw puzzle expert, but I think what you usually do is they usually start with the edges, right? The edge, get a frame. So, probably along the way, while I’m sketching all different things, and here’s a scene for who knows where this goes, and here’s another scene for another episode and landmark scenes all the way through and different things. But at a certain point, I’m looking for that and at a certain point, I’m wasting my time if I don’t know what that is. I have to know where I’m going. Otherwise, you’re wasting time.”
After seeing how well the entire first season ofAndorseemed to flow, it makes perfect sense that Gilroy had a plan right from the start. But it’s not all about the screenwriting, asLuna himself had some more insightto offer on his character at this point in his story. “There’s a lot of learning to come to find the Cassian we see inRogue One, and the commitment, the clarity, the belief that he has there,” he added. “But here, what he’s saying is like, ‘Yeah, take this away from me because it means nothing unless I’m part of what you guys are fighting for.’ And I think it’s that, it’s very deep, and it’s the moment he finds out he can be different [from] what everyone sees in him and what he sees, and what he thought he was. That there is a chance to transform, to evolve, and to become part of a solution.”
The finale ofAndorfeatured tons of big moments, from Cassian helping Bix (Adria Arjona) escape from Imperial imprisonment toSyril Karn’s vicious obsession with Cassianultimately leading to a fateful encounter with his other obsession, Dedra Meero (Denise Gough). Knowing that most of it was planned from the start helps the whole first season feel like a truly cohesive experience. Cassian’s initial trip to the brothel to look for his sister through his imprisonment for something he didn’t do and beyond led up to this moment.
So it will be exciting to see what sorts of throughlines viewers can expect when season 2 begins. Unfortunately, it will be a while. But that just means more time to binge season 1 again, andAndoris the type of show that benefits from repeat viewings. Here’s hopingAndorkeeps up that charmingly retro look.
Star Wars: Andorseason 1 is available to stream on Disney Plus.
