Hello friends! Today I’m continuing my thoughts on Andor Season Two. I was going to do Arcs 3 and 4 together, but realized my Arc 3 post is pretty long, so I’ll do 4 next time.

(If you missed Part 1, here it is.)

Beware: SPOILERS!!!

Arc 3: Messenger; Who Are You?; Welcome to the Rebellion

Arc 3 focuses on Ghorman specifically, with the leadup to the massacre we know is coming, the massacre itself, and its aftermath. The interesting thing about the “Ghorman Massacre” is that it was originally in the Expanded Universe (Legends) and took place earlier during the reign of the Empire. In this earlier incident, Wilhuff Tarkin landed his cruiser on a group of Ghorman protesters who were blocking landing pads in protest to some sort of unfair taxation. In Andor, this incident is referenced by Thela, the bellhop Cassian talks to in the second arc. A memorial was built to those who died (including Thela’s father), and a promise was made that no Imperial building would cast a shadow over it. Fast forward to the present day, and of course the Imperials are building a tower near the memorial, which infuriates the Ghormans. They believe it’s a weapons depot, but it’s all just smoke and mirrors to get the Ghormans to misbehave so the Empire can crush them, so they can get their precious mineral.

Cassian returns to Ghorman, not to help the Ghorman Front, but to kill Dedra Meero, who is there supervising the leadup to the clash. He goes with Wilmon, who brought Cassian this message and who has been working with the GF for some time now (and has a new girlfriend, that smooth operator, lol). Dedra, of course, was on Ferrix in Season 1 and oversaw Bix’s torture, as well as leading the troops against the people of Ferrix during Maarva’s funeral, hoping to draw Cassian out in her quest for Axis. Their trip to Ghorman is not sanctioned by the Alliance, in which Cassian and Bix are firmly a part of now, and they live on Yavin since distancing themselves from Luthen. So their trip is for personal revenge, rather than as a strategic mission for the Rebellion. Draven is NOT happy, lol.

I have to mention that before Cassian leaves, Bix brings him to a Force healer that is on the base for a blaster burn that has not healed well. Cassian is skeptical, and thinks the healer is a charlatan. And maybe she is at this point, but I think we’re led to believe she’s Force-sensitive and has a true gift. When she sees Cassian, something sparks in her and she makes a beeline for him. Bix convinces him to give the healer a chance, and she puts her hands on him to try to heal the burn. But she sees something else, something about him that marks him as special, that he’s been “gathering” experiences and has a destiny. It frankly scares Cassian, and he rushes away, but the healer tells Bix that he’s a “messenger.” The audience knows that this is probably in reference to Cassian’s role in Rogue One, where he helps Jyn send the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. It’s a great scene that reminds us that the Force is still here, that this is still Star Wars, and that no matter what we do, there’s still a little mystery at work as well.

Anyway, Cassian can’t get a bead on Dedra as the Ghorman protest mounts, a protest that the Empire has encouraged by opening the plaza. Partagaz tells Dedra that their original plan is a go since all other avenues of getting the mineral has failed, with the line, “Bad luck Ghorman.” Bad luck, indeed. They bring in newbie soldiers to keep back the crowds, and these poor souls are actually there to be sacrificed by the Empire to light the spark that will begin the destruction. An Imperial sniper lets a shot go, shooting one of their own, causing chaos, and giving the Empire an excuse to open fire on the Ghor (who had stopped their shouting and began singing, which makes it all the more heartbreaking).

Syril, meanwhile, is increasingly bewildered and alarmed by what is happening and goes to Dedra for answers. Their encounter is shockingly violent, as he chokes her in his fury, learning about the mineral and their plan to sacrifice Ghorman, and the fact that he was deliberately kept out of the know and used for their own purposes. Syril’s world is crumbling: Dedra has lied to him, the Empire has set up the Ghor to fall, and he feels betrayed, to say the least. He wanders out into the increasingly violent crowd in a stupor, watching the horror unfold. Cassian is just trying to get away at this point, but the Imperials have closed off the exits, trapping everyone. Syril is in the middle of realizing he might be on the wrong side when he catches sight of Cassian: his mortal enemy, the one who ruined his life on Ferrix, and the one who must pay for his humiliation.

He attacks Cassian with rage, and their fight is brutal. Syril gets the advantage at last and is about to shoot Cassian when Cassian looks at him in bewilderment and asks him, “Who ARE you?” While Syril has been obsessing for years about Cassian, dreaming of the day he’ll get his revenge, Cassian has no idea who Syril is and is wondering why this random man is trying to kill him. It’s sobering for Syril, who hesitates just long enough for the leader of the Ghorman Front, Carro Rylanz, to shoot him in the head. Poor Syril.

The Imperials unleash the K2 droids, which are terrifying, and all is lost on Ghorman. Cassian and Wilmon manage to escape, but Wilmon wants to stay behind with his girlfriend, and Cassian brings a mangled K2 droid with him as he flies away. Dedra, in the wake of the massacre, has some sort of breakdown or fit, perhaps trying to come to terms with what she’s unleashed, but she ultimately gets control of herself–barely. Brutally suppressing whatever humanity she’s got inside herself, I guess.

This is easily the most harrowing, stunning episode of the whole season. And I haven’t even gotten to the last episode of the arc, in which Mon Mothma makes her amazing speech to the Senate, damning the Ghorman massacre and calling out the lies of the Empire and the evil nature of Palpatine, calling him a “monster” who will “come for us all.” There are so many great speeches in this show: Luthen’s “sunrise” speech, Maarva’s funeral speech, Saw’s rhydo speech, even Vel gets a “you don’t get to cry” speech that is moving. But this one is a hum-dinger that is a turning point for the Rebellion, as Mon flees the Senate and intends to join the Rebellion on Yavin. But the logistics of just how she gets out of the Senate and to Yavin is the problem. Sure, we see in Rebels that Gold Squadron brings her to the Ghost crew, who then will get her to Dantooine on route to Yavin. But how does she actually get out of the building, with the Empire standing by to immediately arrest her after her treasonous speech?

Again, Cassian is there, the main link in a chain that leads right up to the end of Rogue One. Luthen says as much to him, that he’s always where he needs to be just when Luthen needs him to be there. (Hmm, it’s as if an unseen Force is guiding his every move…). Anyway, Bail has arranged a ship and crew to get Mon out, but Luthen tells her it’s been compromised. Who knows how he knows this, but at this point Mon is fed up with Luthen, as she’s just found out her trusted aide Erskine has been working for him without her knowledge. Luthen tells her to look for his agent and his words, I have friends everywhere. Cassian kills a few people, including Mon’s ISB-planted driver, to get her out; her shock and horror transitions her from the relative safety of the Senate to the life-or-death environment of the Rebellion.

The arc ends with Cassian back on Yavin and telling Bix that he’s done with the Rebellion. He wants to go away with her and just live their lives. The next morning he finds a message from her. She’s gone away so he will stay in the fight. She firmly believes that Cassian has a big part to play in the coming war and won’t have him abandon it for her. She wants the Rebels to win. After all they’ve been through, all they’ve sacrificed, he has to see it through. With the leaving of Bix, comes the arrival of K2S0, who has been reprogrammed to serve the Alliance.

Whew! Stay tuned for Arc 4….