1x12 Rix Road

[7.4/10] This felt like a midseason finale rather than a season finale. There’s nothing wrong with that, but considering we got so much build to Maarva’s funeral, with all the major players converging in one spot after so many disparate storylines and choices, I was expecting a rollicking ending to, at the very least, this chapter of the story, if not the entire show.

Instead, it ends with more of an ellipsis, suggesting that there’s much more to come next season, rather than anything that puts even a minor amount of finality on this one. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but it does feel a little unsatisfying when it seems like we’re being strung along a bit, rather than settling much of the business here and moving on to new adventures next season. That said, if this were, say, episode 13 of a 26 episode season, I don’t think I’d feel the same way, so I don’t want to slate Andor too much over format distinctions.

Even taking the episode on its own terms, it’s a little unsatisfying. Part of the trade-off to Andor is that the time we spend on set-up and throat clearing in many episodes is fine and good, because they make the episodes with a ton of payoff more meaningful. Well, the problem with the finale is that, despite being a fairly long episode, there’s still a lot of throat-clearing. It doesn’t move the ball that much, and then the payoff is pretty good, but not as incredible as the escape from Ferrix, or the raid on Aldhani, or the prison break on Nakina 5.

Everybody's there. Everybody’s scheming or skulking around. Andor’s sneaking back and some folks are helping him, while others are tipping the authorities off. It doesn’t reveal much in the way of character or establish much in the way of what’s to come. All of this comes off like wheel-spinning before it’s time for Maarva’s funeral.

And yet, once we get to Maarva’s funeral, things are pretty good! The local orchestra marching through the streets, gathering mourners as they go, is mellifluous and mournful in perfect balance. The locals starting their processional at the time they chose, with as many attendees as they wanted, is a good show of defiance to kick things off. And Maarva’s closing speech, decrying the Empire as a disease, imploring her fellow citizens to wake up and rise up, shows the revolutionary spirit that her son would take to heart, and that the galaxy would catch fire with sooner than later.

I like the theme of this episode, and by extension the season, about what spurred Andor to go from a good-for-nothing scoundrel to a dependable agent of the Rebellion. Part of it comes from his mom, who has that revolutionary zeal and it inspires it in others. Part of it comes from his dad, whose flashback talks about recognizing the value in things other people ignore, that just need a little fixing up, a metaphor for Andor himself.

We even get to hear a bit of the manifesto, which is a little too cute in how it predicts the way a few choice losses will lead to the downfall of the Empire, on the idea that authoritarian regimes founded on control are too brittle to withstand liberty. It’s a little naive, but inspiring nonetheless, which is the right balance for something like this.

The actual skirmish is reasonably exciting as well. The action is a little more generic than in prior outings. But the scale is impressive, and the scenes of the proud people of Ferrix, growing fed-up with their oppressor, and trying to throw off the shackles of the Imperials, comes with a good amount of oomph to it.

The catch is that so much of what happens here feels like setup to season 2 rather than a close to this one. Cassian can’t save his mom, but he can save Bix, and rely on his contacts here to set those close to him off on their next adventure. Karn saves Meero’s life, seeming to give her a new appreciation for him, possibly clearing his name for losing Andor and giving him a leg-up to get back into the service. A regretful Mon Mothma introduces her daughter to the son of a well-heeled gangster, but in a clever ploy, she also works ISB by suggesting her money irregularities are the result of her husband’s gambling problem.

And last but not least, Cassian confronts Luthen about he and his agents being on Ferrix to kill Cassian as a loose end. Once again, these all gesture to future stories rather than close off what Andor set up so far, but they’re mostly teases. Reasonably good teases though. (The same goes for the reveal that the parts Cassian and company worked on in the prison were being installed on the Death Star.)

The first season of Andor was very good. It has a British spy film tone, which fits the material, and is pitched squarely at adults, which adds variety to a franchise that is churning out project after project at rapid pace. The craft remains impeccable, and the deeper grasp on politics is a welcome one. I will surely be watching Andor season 2 when it comes out, but I still wish what we had here was an end to the current season, rather than a mere prelude to the next one.

I liked it. This felt like a round ending to the series and could perfectly well be the complete prequel to Rogue One when it comes to Andor himself. I am even perfectly fine with the many open endings. They would simply fit the shows mood if they simply stayed as they are.
Speaking of mood the episode took up the same kind of slow atmosphere that was so great in the first arc. Although the procession took a bit too long. But still there was again so much tension. It was great to tie most of the many storylines together so convincingly in the first place. Having them and the characters each with their own motivation meet was so full of suspense because it wasn't clear who was going to come out on top. Especially because there was no plotarmor or any mercy. The escalation was completely ruthless and simply consequent in its delivery. I was really surprised that was actually dragged into the middle of the riot without any obvious escape. I really had thought that the writers would be so bold to ... write her off. Only to be surprised again.
In terms of content this also had some very nice elements, like the Speech.
But however much I love this show for its portrayal of everything when it comes to the empire ( like finally Stormtroopers being treated like the elite they are supposed to be while most of the soldiers present are imperial soldiers!) I am still taken out of it whenever I see humans humans humans.
Yes they do have some... Statutory aliens in closer shots but just way too few and not a single character or supporting character.