Andor (SPOILERS possible)

[Dave]

In "Rix Road", the moment that struck me was when Cassian was hiding in the attic of that building overlooking the square.  A breeze blew through, and it looked like something resonated with him. 

Regarding where precisely to find Bix?  Maybe.  But watch the scene again.  Specifically at 29:33.  Look at Cassian and Bix.

I think this scene was just Cassian's awakening to his larger potential and change of heart about switching from a self interested mercenary to being an active part of the Rebellion.  Pulling back to about 27 minutes you can see Cassian spotting Luthen and then later spots Dedre (he only recognizes her as an ISB officer).  The wind is a nice movie effect that shows realization of something critical.  He realizes these people are here for him and that he and the rebellion has become a bit of a big deal, and that he can have a much larger impact than he realized. 

Whatever plan he had gets changed in this moment and he leaves the attic.

Maybe there is more about force sensitivity there, but I think its just a regular man realizing he has a much larger role to play in the universe and he needs to get moving.  I think Bix is just a small part that helps show Cassian's compassion for his friends.

In this scene there is a little bit of a parallel with Luthen as well.  I think he thought going to Ferrix would be a straightforward assassination of Cassian and that this was a fairly unimportant backwater world, but multiple cuts to him show his reactions to the upwelling of rebellion on Ferrix, and the people that are assembled to capture/kill Cassian.  He recognizes Syril and his security buddy.  He sees Dedra.  And at each step you can see him doing the mental math about all the people assembled to get Cassian and how Cassian is maybe a bigger deal than he realized.  And when the fighting starts he realizes this is probably exactly what he wants - its messy and out of control and he decides his work of Ferrix is done for now.

Either way, these four minutes of Cassian's awakening is an awesome scene and really the climax of the whole series.

[StBrianOfMinneapolis]

Regarding where precisely to find Bix?  Maybe.  But watch the scene again.  Specifically at 29:33.  Look at Cassian and Bix.

I watched it again for the fourth time. I think there is something to be said for the culture of Ferrix and the impact of the music and Maarva's speech on its people. Bix and Cassian are the two people experiencing all that from a distance, both from being imprisoned away from normal Ferrix life for a while and from the current distance of not being out among their people in the procession.

Maybe Cassian is feeling the force, but tradition and Maarva are drumming up courage inside of all the citizens in that moment. My guess is that was Tony Gilroy’s point.

[Dave]

After letting a little time pass I've begun re-watching the whole series and just finished the first story arc.  Its even better on the second watching after knowing how it all plays out, watching the bit characters playing their roles and seeing small things I missed before now knowing the ultimate result.

One question I have that I've not seen explained anywhere is Cassian's Kenari tribe when he was young.  What is the deal with the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome / Lord of the Flies setup where its only kids in a small community seemingly fending for themselves?  I know there was a "mining accident" and you can see an abandoned quarry in Episodes 2&3, but its not clear if the tribe's situation is related to the mining accident or not.  Has anyone come across an explanation of what was going on there with Cassian's tribe?

[Muftak]

I have seen no official explanation,  but I kind of figured the accident we see the remnants of in the quarry killed everyone inside, leaving just the non working children alive on the planet. And when the Republic /Empire found out (probably right after the Andors left) they purged the planet to keep the story quiet.

I heard that the only reason we flashed back to Kanari was because Tony Gilroy got a bug in his head about really needing to explain why Cassian 's accent was so different from everyone else. It was one little detail he had to lock down before he could move on to the story in general.

[Dave]

I finished rewatching the whole series and I've got to say its so much more enjoyable when you can watch these all in a row rather than wait a week between episodes.  There is really only one part that is a little slow (Aldhani) but when you don't have to wait a week in between episodes its far less annoying.

This show is so well done.  Everything holds together without head scratching plot holes, nonsensical dialog, random character arcs, etc.  I've mentioned it multiple times, but I think the only thing I would do is speed up the Aldhani mission episodes.  Its not super critical to character or plot development other than to show that Cassian is only in it for the money.   

This show is clearly aimed at a more mature audience, and I love it.  Mandalorian is still good for its pulpy fun, but this is so well done on so many levels.  The writing and dialog are absolutely fantastic.

I'm going to post in the 3.75" figure section some thoughts on toys they should do (and will probably never do under the current leadership).  I'd love to have at least 20 figures from this season alone.

[Nicklab]

Diego Luna was talking about ANDOR season 2 on the red carpet at the Emmys last night.  He said that there are only a few days of shooting left for season 2.  It's great to hear that, because this might be the series that I'm the most excited about seeing return to Disney+.

[Dave]

Diego Luna was talking about ANDOR season 2 on the red carpet at the Emmys last night.  He said that there are only a few days of shooting left for season 2.  It's great to hear that, because this might be the series that I'm the most excited about seeing return to Disney+.

Without a doubt, in my opinion, this is by far the best series they've put out for Star Wars.  There have been a few moments in The Mandalorian that were a blast, but overall Andor has been consistently great.