Andor Season 2 Ending Explained - Why the Series Is More than Just a Rogue One Prequel

Warning: this nonfiction contains afloat spoilers for Andor Season 2’s finale. If you haven’t already, beryllium definite to cheque retired IGN's reappraisal for Andor Season 2, Episodes 10-12.

Andor Season 2 conscionable wrapped connected Disney+, capping disconnected what is easy 1 of the champion Star Wars projects to travel retired of the Disney era. In the process, the bid leads straight into the events of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story bringing Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor afloat ellipse astatine last.

We already cognize what happens adjacent for Cassian and the Rebel Alliance. His tragic aboriginal is already acceptable successful stone. But contempt that, there’s a batch to unpack successful the melodramatic finale of Andor, arsenic the bid reveals the fates of galore large characters and drops a large twist with large ramifications for the Star Wars franchise. Let’s interruption down everything that happens and however the bid paves the mode for aboriginal Star Wars adventures.

Andor Season 2’s Ending Explained

Andor Season 2 has been engaged chronicling the last 4 years successful the beingness of Cassian Andor. Or, astatine least, the astir pivotal moments successful those 4 years. First, successful 4 BBY, we saw Cassian’s ngo to bargain a prototype TIE Avenger and his impermanent imprisonment connected Yavin IV, destined to go the caller operating basal of the fledgling Rebel Alliance. Then, successful 3 BBY, we saw the relation Cassian and the Empire each played successful propping up the absorption compartment known arsenic The Ghorman Front. Those actions past bore effect successful 2 BBY, arsenic the Empire responded to its manufactured governmental situation and instigated the Ghorman Massacre, galvanizing Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma and the Rebels.

The bid present takes its last bow successful 1 BBY, conscionable days earlier the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: A New Hope. As expected, Andor ends by showing america the last series of events starring up to the archetypal large struggle betwixt the Rebellion and the Empire connected Scarif. It’s each catalyzed by Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael, who proves to beryllium the Rebel cause who archetypal uncovers grounds of the Death Star.

These last 3 episodes travel what happens next, arsenic Luthen sacrifices himself (with a small assistance from Elizabeth Dulau’s Kleya Marki) and Cassian and friends marque a high-stakes travel to Coruscant to bring Kleya in. It’s a ngo that would surely person ended successful torture and decease for each progressive if not for the assistance of Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO.

Rogue One emphasized the thought that the Rebellion’s triumph astatine the Battle of Yavin was a occurrence that was accomplished done galore idiosyncratic acts of heroism. At immoderate constituent successful the chain, thing could person gone incorrect that doomed the Rebellion to failure. Now we person a amended appreciation for however acold backmost that concatenation extends. If not for Luthen and Kleya’s bravery, the Rebels would person nary thought of the information looming implicit them. Hope persists successful the darkest of times.

The bid ends with the Alliance High Command yet accepting the world of what Cassian and Kleya are telling them. The Empire is gathering a super-weapon. They don’t yet cognize that it’s 1 with the powerfulness to destruct full planets, but they bash cognize it’s connected to the Empire’s expected vigor program, its kyber mining efforts connected Jedha, and its actions connected Ghorman. The pieces are falling into place, leaving Cassian escaped to conscionable his interaction Tivik connected the Ring of Kafrene. That brushwood unfolds successful 1 of the archetypal scenes successful Rogue One, wherever Cassian learns the afloat information astir the Death Star and the defection of Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi Rook.

The bid besides shows america the fates of galore of the different large players successful this prequel series. Kleya seems acceptable to integrate with the Rebels, joining loyal soldiers similar Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha and Muhannad Bhaier’s Wilmon Paak. We besides spot 1 past glimpse of Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera, who watches successful paranoid agitation arsenic an Imperial Star Destroyer looms supra Jedha. On the Imperial broadside of things, Anton Lesser’s Major Partagaz is forced to wage the eventual terms for his nonaccomplishment to incorporate the Death Star leak, committing termination alternatively than submitting to immoderate different punishments the Emperor had successful mind.

Meanwhile, Dedra is seen languishing successful an Imperial situation cell, ironically successful the aforesaid installation connected Narkina 5 wherever Cassian was imprisoned successful Season 1. She’s intelligibly wracked by shame and guilt, contending with everything she sacrificed successful the sanction of the Empire and the realization that nary of it mattered successful the end. The bid has a batch to accidental astir the perils of surviving nether fascism. Dedra is impervious that nary magnitude of loyalty and sacrifice tin alteration the information that everyone serving the Empire is simply a pawn to beryllium discarded erstwhile they outlive their usefulness.

“I ever deliberation of it similar Dedra is successful a gang,” Gough told IGN successful a caller roundtable interview. “These guys are successful a people and Dedra is successful a gang, and the pack conscionable disperse astatine the archetypal motion of trouble. They propulsion each different to the wolves. There's nary loyalties. And truthful it was truly wide to maine that going done it, that erstwhile you perpetrate your full beingness and she's indoctrinated into the gang, truthful she can't spot thing extracurricular it. It's really truly tragic. She can't person intimacy oregon vulnerability oregon anything. And truthful it's a existent benignant of a foil to what the radical successful the Rebellion bash have, which is loyalty, trust, love, intimacy, community, each of those things.”

Episode 12 serves arsenic a neat and tidy mode to extremity the series, albeit somewhat bittersweet. We cognize that Cassian himself has lone a fewer days near to unrecorded earlier helium and the remainder of the Rogue One squad sacrifice their lives connected Scarif. But determination is one, last uncover saved for the precise end.

Revealing Cassian Andor’s Child

The last country successful Episode 12 reveals that Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen has returned to Mina-Rau to unrecorded retired her days successful peace. Not lone that, she’s raising a baby. As hinted astatine successful Episode 9, Bix was large erstwhile she near Cassian connected Yavin IV. While she claimed to beryllium leaving Cassian to guarantee helium would proceed serving the Rebellion, it’s wide present that she besides wanted to bring their unborn kid determination helium could turn up harmless from the Empire.

Cassian whitethorn beryllium doomed to dice warring connected Scarif, but his bequest lives connected successful a precise tangible way. That’s astir apt the happiest ending fans could anticipation for from this mostly precise somber Star Wars series.

“[Showrunner Tony Gilroy] truly believes that accusation is power,” Arjona told IGN. “And helium told maine months earlier I work the country wherever I benignant of nonstop Cassian off. He told maine that that was going to happen. And truthful for months I was benignant of lingering connected that effect oregon that feeling earlier I ever work it. And erstwhile I work it, it shook me. I started crying immediately. And I emotion Rogue One, and I respect that movie truthful much. So to benignant of nonstop Cassian connected this travel meant the satellite to me.”

“For anyone who had doubts successful [Episode] 9 astir her motivation, it underlines it astatine the end. Absolutely,” Gilroy adds. “It makes his sacrifice adjacent much powerful. So overmuch stronger. I mean, you privation anticipation astatine the end… It would beryllium cruel and unnatural to enactment each these radical done each this worldly and not person a candle successful the model astatine the end.”

Does Andor Season 2 Have a Post-Credits Scene?

The Star Wars franchise isn’t arsenic large astir post-credits scenes and stingers arsenic Marvel, but we person seen them successful the past with immoderate live-action Star Wars shows. That includes Andor Season 1, which ended with the uncover that the Narkina 5 prisoners were manufacturing instrumentality being utilized connected the Death Star.

Based connected that, fans mightiness beryllium expecting Season 2 to besides extremity with a post-credits country of immoderate sort. But not successful this case. The bid is done erstwhile the last credits commencement rolling. When Andor segues this neatly into the opening of Rogue One, what’s the constituent of a post-credits scene?

Besides, the last country with Bix is each the bid truly needs successful presumption of mounting the signifier for aboriginal stories. There’s different Andor retired determination successful the galaxy, and nary uncertainty they person a expansive destiny up of them, too. On that note…

How Andor Sets Up Future Star Wars Stories

As overmuch arsenic Andor serves arsenic a nonstop prequel to Rogue One, the bid does permission immoderate escaped ends unfastened for aboriginal Star Wars projects to physique upon. As mentioned, cardinal characters similar Will, Kleya, and Vel are inactive live and progressive successful the Rebellion. This leaves country for aboriginal Star Wars comics and novels to research the ongoing relation they play successful the Galactic Civil War. Did they combat successful the Battle of Scarif oregon different large conflicts similar the Battle of Endor? Did they ever hitch elbows with the likes of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker? Andor is truthful acold removed from the Jedi concern that usually dominates the franchise, truthful it mightiness beryllium fascinating to work a communicative that explores however these mean heroes respond to warring alongside a surviving fable similar Luke.

It’s besides worthy pointing retired that, though Season 2 explores the past 4 years of Cassian’s life, it lone focuses connected precise circumstantial periods wrong those 4 years. Now that Andor has wrapped, there’s ample country for Lucasfilm to treble backmost and committee caller books that soma retired different conflicts during this era. How did the enslaved betwixt Cassian and K-2SO form? What different high-stakes missions did Cassian undertake? Lucasfilm is dabbling successful this country with the precocious announced Reign of the Empire trilogy, but there’s country for plentifulness much stories spinning retired of Andor.

Then there’s mediocre Dedra. As overmuch arsenic the bid delivers a poetic ending to her story, we can’t assistance but wonderment if there’s much communicative to beryllium told. What becomes of Dedra? Does she walk the remainder of the Galactic Civil War locked up connected Narkina 5? What happens erstwhile the Empire is overthrown? How does she respond to seeing her precious Empire fall? Is she freed? Is she enactment connected proceedings for her relation successful orchestrating the Ghorman Massacre? We can’t assistance but consciousness there’s much to beryllium explored there.

But supra all, Andor leaves america to question what becomes of Bix and her child. No uncertainty the kid volition turn up proceeding stories of Cassian’s heroism and bravery, inspiring them to travel successful their father’s footsteps. Given the clip play successful which this bid is set, there’s nary mode Cassian’s kid could enactment successful the Rebel Alliance (unless they turn truthful hopeless they commencement relying connected kid soldiers). But they would beryllium the close property to instrumentality portion successful the warfare betwixt the Resistance and the First Order. It would beryllium a comforting thought to cognize that Leia’s forces person different necktie to the classical Rebellion epoch successful the signifier of Cassian Andor’s offspring.

One intriguing anticipation is that Cassian Jr. could upwind up being a quality successful Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter. We don’t cognize overmuch astir that film, different than that it’ll prima Ryan Gosling and it’s acceptable astir 5 years aft the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Cassian and Bix’s kid would beryllium successful their 40s astatine that point, leaving them successful a cleanable presumption to instrumentality up arms successful immoderate struggle exists aft the autumn of Palpatine’s Final Order.

Regardless of wherever and erstwhile it happens, we person to presume it’s lone a substance of clip earlier Cassian and Bix’s kid makes their beingness known successful the Star Wars franchise. Cassian himself whitethorn beryllium gone, but his sacrifice wasn’t successful vain. The Rebellion survives, and truthful does his family. That’s everything Cassian was warring for.

For much connected Andor, find retired however the bid created a large Star Wars crippled spread (and wherefore that doesn't matter), and spot the formed respond to Episode 9’s shocking death.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.