Andor (SPOILERS possible)

[Dave]

Story arc three was awesome, and glad to see Ruescott Melshi show up at the very end, although I didn't catch the significance of the blaster that he had that Vel seemed to find interesting.  Can anybody fill me in on that?

I couldn't wait for you smart people to answer so Reddit filled me in.  Apparently this is the blaster (with a Pre-Mor security emblem on it) that Cassian had on Aldhani and gave to Melshi on Niamos when they parted ways.

[Nicklab]

One thing I was thinking was, I'm surprised they didn't unpack an E-Web on those poor citizens... of course, that would have been gruesome.

And the KX droids tossing the Ghor around like ragdolls wasn't? 

At first I thought that perhaps the Imperials were going to use the KX droids in a similar fashion to what we saw in that flashback to the Night of a Thousand Tears.  But the droids had no blasters - just overwhelming brute force.  Seeing Enza tossed like that was just crushing.

Story arc three was awesome, and glad to see Ruescott Melshi show up at the very end, although I didn't catch the significance of the blaster that he had that Vel seemed to find interesting.  Can anybody fill me in on that?

I couldn't wait for you smart people to answer so Reddit filled me in.  Apparently this is the blaster (with a Pre-Mor security emblem on it) that Cassian had on Aldhani and gave to Melshi on Niamos when they parted ways.

I thought it was one of the weapons that Cassian had on him when he got to Aldhani.  The scene where he found that Skeen had gone through his things was really tense, and they examined his blasters pretty closely.  Vel was right there when that happened, and the corporate security markings were something I remember Skeen talking about.  Nice to see a detail like that resurface as Vel was taking in the new recruits and Melshi still had that blaster in his possession.

[Matt_Fury]

Story arc three was awesome, and glad to see Ruescott Melshi show up at the very end, although I didn't catch the significance of the blaster that he had that Vel seemed to find interesting.  Can anybody fill me in on that?

I believe it was one of the blasters used in the Aldahni heist and Cassian had given it to Melchi when they parted ways.

Hats off to Tnoy Gilroy for creating such tension in scenes.  I knew Mon Mothma and Cassian would get away from the senate, but I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time!

[McMetal]

Started rewatching Rogue One again last night to try and figure out where they might go with the final arc. One thing that is apparent is that Cassian has spent some amount of time already on Jedha before R1. He knows who Baze and Chirrut are and what conditions are like in the city, etc. So that seems like something they might explore.

It also seems like there has been some kind of break with Saw and the rest of the Alliance that is more profound than anything hinted at to this point. So that could be a focus as well. I’m still mad we never got to see his dudes in any kind of real action. Hopefully that is coming.

As far as the supporting cast, I assume we won’t see Bix again. Not sure about Wilmon, or Vel. They don’t necessarily have to revisit either of them I feel like. Luthen and Kleya and Dedra are really the only characters who seem to need some kind of resolution.

[Dave]

Started rewatching Rogue One again last night to try and figure out where they might go with the final arc. One thing that is apparent is that Cassian has spent some amount of time already on Jedha before R1. He knows who Baze and Chirrut are and what conditions are like in the city, etc. So that seems like something they might explore.

It also seems like there has been some kind of break with Saw and the rest of the Alliance that is more profound than anything hinted at to this point. So that could be a focus as well. I’m still mad we never got to see his dudes in any kind of real action. Hopefully that is coming.

As far as the supporting cast, I assume we won’t see Bix again. Not sure about Wilmon, or Vel. They don’t necessarily have to revisit either of them I feel like. Luthen and Kleya and Dedra are really the only characters who seem to need some kind of resolution.

There are so many interesting loose threads that I'm sure will be left unanswered.  What happened to "x"?  Why didn't we see "x"?  There are so many characters that they could be interacting with on Yavin, Coruscant, etc.

I'm kind of glad they've not done a ton of background easter egg stuff - e.g. "paging General Syndulla", that might detract from the serious tone of the show.  And I'm also glad they didn't shoehorn in a bunch of random stuff like we saw in The Book of Boba Fett - e.g. how did Boba Fett escape the Sarlacc Pit? 

I personally was kind of hoping for a Senator Leia Organa sighting in the senate chambers sitting next to Bail, and I guess we still might, but if its not critical to the plot then it might be more distracting than anything.

Some of these tangents they could probably make a whole mini-series around (animated or live action).  A series about Saw's rebels would be sweet, but its probably not central to Andor's plot.  Maybe they'll get involved at Gohrman.

[Matt_Fury]

The one hanging plotline I don't think we'll get an answer to is Cassian's sister.  Marva said not to try to find her and that she's probably dead, so I think that was supposed to be the end of it.

[P-Siddy]

The one thing I learned today is that the Niamos song has been present a few times already in both seasons of Andor, just with different arrangements. 

Here's what Wookieepedia says about it:

A version of the song played in a brothel in the Leisure Zone on the planet Morlana One in 5 BBY when the human Cassian Andor visited the establishment in search of his sister.[S1E1] Later that year a more slowed down version was played during a party in the Chandrilan Embassy on Coruscant as senator Mon Mothma talked with her old friend Tay Kolma.[S1E7] In 4 BBY, a faster remix of "Niamos!" was played by a speaker droid at the Wedding of Stekan Sculdun and Leida Mothma at the Mothma Estate on the planet Chandrila.... [S1E3]

[Dave]

Just finished it up and I have to say the last three (really five) episodes were just about perfect.  I absolutely loved nearly all parts. 

I still think they could have sped up some of the first six or so episodes, but overall the second season was fantastic.

I so want some random Imperial dudes in partial Stormtrooper kits like the squad was wearing while raiding on Coruscant.

And seeing Dedra on Narkina 5 was totally unexpected, and awesome.  I did not expect her to go out that way.  The Empire she loved, that she gave everything for, totally screwed her.  Its perfect.

[Jeff]

What continued to amaze me about this show was amplified last night.  I was sitting on the edge of my couch, so worried about K2SO, Andor, and Melshi even though I knew that nothing was going to happen to them on Coruscant.  Crazy how much this show made me care.

I was not asking for a Kleya back-story, but getting that and seeing her relationship with Luthen just made her actions all the more tragic. 

Everything about these last 6 episodes was just amazing.  A+   

[Dave]

I also loved how they were able to get some of the original actors from Rogue One to appear in the last few episodes at the Yavin 4 base - General Draven, black woman on Yavin 4 rebel council, and the communications operator.

[P-Siddy]

There was the other senator (Jebel) that was also in Rogue One, too, though he didn't have as many speaking parts as Palmo.  Yeah, it's nice to see some of those "cameos" from Rogue One make it in.

The closing montage was a nice touch, too.  It left Cassian with a happy ending.  Seeing Perrin end up with Runai Sculdun was interesting.  I was wondering what would happen to Mon's family, if the Empire would "kidnap" Perrin and Leida (who was married into an Imperial sympathetic family) and how that would influence Mon's life.  Perhaps something for a book.

I also wondered what happened to the Yavinian doodars that seemed to prey on the Rebels in the first couple episodes of the show...  It seemed like once more Rebels settled, there was no mention of them... just could have had a warning "don't venture out after dark" kind of thing.  Small things, but I agree with Jeff, A+

[Jedi Idej]

Short interview with Tony Gilroy on Hollywood Reporter.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/andor-finale-twists-tony-gilroy-interview-1236212162/

On Kino Loy's absence, Gilroy said anything he wrote bringing back the character would have minimized Serkis' performance and what they accomplished in S1.

Gilroy sees the sister being more valuable as a "deficit" in Cassian's life. Voids in Andor's life drives him and Gilroy didn't want to fill that hole.

Gilroy assumed Andor was merely repeating the phrase "rebellions are built on hope" from previous movies. His son, a Star Wars fan, said it was never uttered that way, so Gilroy wrote it in as something he picked up from the hotel clerk.

[Dave]

One other element I loved at the end of episode 12 was when Major Partagaz was listening to the rebel manifesto, discussing its spread with the other ISB officer, and then he ended it all.

[Jeff]

Gilroy sees the sister being more valuable as a "deficit" in Cassian's life. Voids in Andor's life drives him and Gilroy didn't want to fill that hole.

I kinda like that.  Cassian couldn't save his sister, but he could save others - Bix.  Mothma.  Kleya.  Jyn.  His drive to keep those close to him safe.

Also agree that Kino showing up on Yavin or something after the whole "I can't swim" thing would have been very lame.

[P-Siddy]

Also agree that Kino showing up on Yavin or something after the whole "I can't swim" thing would have been very lame.

Agreed on that.  Once Kino saw that he'd have to swim for it in order to survive, you can see the resignation in his eyes.  Pretty sure that the Empire went in and exterminated the prisoners who attempted to escaped to teach a lesson to the others.  Especially Kino since he gave the whole inspirational speech that led to the uprising. As we have learned from Rogue One and now Andor, not all heroes survive.