Andor season 1 episodes 1, 2 and 3 recaps & review

Andor is a Star Wars series that revolves around Cassian Andor, a scrappy clever thief who gets involved with the rebel movement in the galaxy. The episodes are now streaming on Disney+.

Episode 1 recap

It is 5 BBY and a Cassian Andor arrives on Morlana One in search of someone. He visits a brothel looking for a woman coming from Kenari but one of the other attendants tells him that she’s no longer there. He says that the girl is his sister and he needs to find her.

Cassian runs afoul of a pair of Pre-Mor Authority security guards while he’s at the brothel and when he’s leaving, they follow him and shake him down. Cassian fights back and ends up killing them even though he didn’t set out to do so.

He heads back home to the planet Ferrix and takes refuge in an old ship located in a scrapyard. He is visited by a droid named B2EMO who says that it has what he asked for and gives him updates on his adopted mother, Maarva, and tells him who visited the previous night.

Cassian was dreaming earlier about his past when he was part of a tribe on the deserted forest planet called Kenari. He goes into town and meets his friend Brasso to set up his alibi for the previous night.

At Morlana One, Syril Karn, a deputy inspector brings up the matter of the two dead guards in front of his superior, Chief Hyne. The chief tells him to brush it under the rug since it’s not too significant but Syril is determined to find the culprit.

Cassian visits his friend, Bix, who is a mechanic and works with her boyfriend, Timm Karlo. Bix also deals in black market parts along with Cassian. He asks her to call in a high-value contact of hers promising a rare and valuable item.

Bix is annoyed with his request but agrees to do it because he insists that he needs the credits urgently and that he’ll compensate her appropriately as well. Timm appears jealous of the relationship that Bix and Cassian have even though they’re just friends.

When Cassian was a child, his tribe witnessed a ship crash down on their plant and the young members decide to go out and investigate the wreckage. Cassian joins them even though some of the older boys don’t want him to.

Bix heads to a friend’s shop where she sends out a message to the contact who is also interested in meeting Cassian himself. Timm tries following her but he loses track of her in the crowd.

Syril knows that the man who killed the guards has a connection to Kenari so he tells his subordinates to send out a message asking for information on a man born in Kenari.

Episode 2 recap

Young Cassian heads out with the tribe search party, leaving his little sister behind. He brings up the rear of the pack and comes across a giant abandoned mine.

It’s the beginning of the work day at Ferrix as people head out and Bix notices the message from the Pre-Mor Authority asking about a Kenari-born man. She tries to hide it from Timm but he sees it anyway after she leaves.

Cassian heads home where Maarva knows about the message and questions him. She asks him how many people know that he’s from Kenari and he says that he maintained their cover, that he’s from Fest.

Cassian tries to avoid the subject when B2EMO tells him that Bix tried contacting him. He rushes out to find her and meets her in an old bar. She tells him that her contact responded and will be there the next morning. Timm sees the two of them together and gets drunk and annoyed.

He sends in a tip to Pre-Mor giving them Cassian’s name and the officers look up his imperial record and find an old picture of him. Bix visits Timm’s place and spends the night with him.

Syril calls in Sergeant Lionel Mosk, a dedicated Pre Mor officer to help bring Cassian in. Cassian gets the Imperial item and prepares for his meeting with Bix’s contact the next day.

The search party in Kenari finds the wreckage and the oldest member goes to investigate as Cassian watches on.

Luthen Rael, Bix’s contact arrives at Ferrix and he lands his ship a little away from the nearest port. Bix wakes up and tells Timm that she’s got a couple of errands to run and will meet him after she’s done.

Cassian gathers things from his scrapyard hideout as B2EMO asks him not to leave. Cassian insists that he has to and looks for some comms so that he can keep in touch with the droid. Maarva looks for B2EMO at home but cannot find him.

The oldest tribe member finds two bodies near the wreck. She checks the first one to see if he’s still alive and he doesn’t move. When she goes to check the second one, the first male gets up and shoots her with a blaster as the others begin firing darts at him.

As the others carry their fallen sister’s body back, Young Cassian looks back at the ship and decides to investigate.

Cassian plans his escape route in advance and tells the transport to be ready in an hour. A team of Pre Mor guards are on their way to apprehend Cassian and after Sgt Mosk gives an impassioned speech, Syril gives a not-so-convincing one.

Luthen arrives at the main town as Cassian gets set for the important meet.

Episode 3 recap

Young Cassian enters the ship and finds a few more dead bodies. He’s in awe of the level of technology and is stopped in his tracks when he sees his reflection on one of the clear panels of the ship.

Cassian informs Brasso that he’s going to be gone soon and asks him to take care of Maarva for him. Luthen walks into town and meets up with Bix who tells him where Cassian will be waiting as they discuss the bulletin enquiring about him.

A young Maarva and her husband, Clem, are scavenging parts from the wrecked ship when they run into the young Cassian. He is frightened by them and attempts to keep them at bay but Maarva knocks him out so that they can all escape before the Republic frigate arrives.

The Pre Mor officers split up and Syril and Mosk visit Maarva’s place with their team. They search the place when Cassian tries to contact B2EMO using comms. Mosk tracks where the message is coming from and they head out.

Luthen arrives at the spot and discusses the price with Cassian. He seems more interested in Cassian and how he procured the item than he is in the item itself. Someone warns Bix that Corpo guards are looking for Cassian but when she tries to go help, Timm stops her and tells her that Cassian can take care of himself.

She realizes that Timm is the one that ratted him out. Cassian tells Luthen how he managed to just walk into an imperial base and steal the item. Luthen is impressed and tells him that he should be using his talents for something bigger.

One of the teams surrounds them and Cassian accuses Luthen of being a spy but Luthen says that he actually wants to keep him alive and insists that Cassian follow him. He finds out that Cassain has a comm and destroys it so that they can’t be tracked.

As the guards are walking through the town, the other townspeople begin rhythmically banging on metal as a way to intimidate them. Mosk tells Syril to brush it off as nothing to worry about.

Luthen activates a few explosive charges he set up in advance as they get into a firefight with the officers. They manage to get away from an alternate route so Syril and his team decide to cut them off through the town.

The third team stops Bix while she’s running off and when Timm tries to help her, one of the officers kills him. The leader of the team sends that officer to get their ship for air support as the rest converge with the remaining officers.

Brasso gets to the officers’ ship first and tampers with it in some way. Cassian and Luthen surprise Syril and ask him how many officers are there in total. They tie him up and find a couple of speeders to take to Luthen’s ship.

Mosk and the others take the position to cut them off and when a speeder rushes by they shoot it down. However, the speeder is filled with more explosive charges as a distraction with Cassian and Luthen escaping in another speeder bike.

With their mission a complete failure and multiple officers are wounded, Mosk calls in for an evac as Syril is left rueing the decisions that he’s made. Cassian gets on the ship with Luthen as he remembers the time Maarva carried him onto her ship and took him away from his home all those years ago.

Review

• Andor goes deeper into one of the many interesting characters from arguably one of the best films of the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, which means it has big shoes to fill when it comes to reputation.
• Diego Luna is charming as the primary protagonist, Cassian Andor, as bits and pieces of his history are revealed and his motivations are also shown.
• The costumes and art design of Star Wars are always a brilliant aspect of the franchise. The different planets and the ecosystems that exist within the galaxy are showcased wonderfully.
• With Cassian’s fate already well known, it will be intriguing to see how the series charts his path towards the rebellion and whether he eventually finds his sister.

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