Andor (SPOILERS possible)

[P-Siddy]

Sadly, I think nearly everyone is going to die.

I have yet to watch it, but that's my thought as well.  The sacrifices and deaths will be a motivator.

[Nicklab]

I finally got through all 3 episodes.  I do not think the pacing of the episodes lends itself to binge watching each story arc as they get released.

The TIE Avenger was pretty phenomenal.  And was it me, or were those TIE Advanced V1's that were chasing Cassian?  It's kind of cool to see those, as we had only ever seen the Grand Inquisitor fly one in REBELS.

The Chandrila wedding story arc took a surprising turn.  Luthen has an uncanny ability to pump people for information.  And Kleya seems like she's much more valuable to him than we've been led to believe.  All the while Vel is blending in, and the palace intrigue is unfolding with Mon Mothma, Luthen, Perrin, Davo Sculdun and Tay Kolma.  Meanwhile, Luthen has Cinta at his disposal to deal with loose threads.

It was a bit of a shock to see Yavin 4 revealed.  And one of the beasts there was kind of eyebrow raising.

One of the sleeper moments?  Dedra dressing down Eedy Karn and taking control of that situation.  She came prepared to deal with Syrils mother like I had not expected her to do.

Sad to see what happened on Mina-Rau.  And a little shocked to see how dark things got.  The Imperial Lieutenant that attacked Bix was beyond anything we had really seen before.  But considering where ANDOR began in season 1, I guess we shouldn't have ruled something like that out.

[Dave]

I finally got through all 3 episodes.  I do not think the pacing of the episodes lends itself to binge watching each story arc as they get released.

I really like that they’re doing three episode arcs all dropped at once.  I have a feeling each arc is only going to be loosely tied together.  I’m looking forward to binging the next three on Tuesday.

[Nicklab]

I finally got through all 3 episodes.  I do not think the pacing of the episodes lends itself to binge watching each story arc as they get released.

I really like that they’re doing three episode arcs all dropped at once.  I have a feeling each arc is only going to be loosely tied together.  I’m looking forward to binging the next three on Tuesday.

I saw the through-line of all three episodes.  My own feeling was that each episode was dense enough that I felt like I needed some breathing room between viewing each episode. 

[McMetal]

I believe each arc represents a year leading up to R1, so I like watching them all at once. Basically like a movie a week.

[Matt_Fury]

Had a great opportunity to review this arc with A Long and Long Time ago with Mando Number 5 and Super Awesome Geek Show.  You can watch the episode here.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I loved the juxtaposition between Andor rescuing Bix and the sacrifices made along side Mon realizing she can't control it all and letting loose. 

I think Mon losing Vel and Andor losing Bix in the next two weeks will lead to the final propulsion for the for drawing together of most of the rebel factions leading up to R1.

This show is extremely top-notch. 

[Nicklab]

I loved the juxtaposition between Andor rescuing Bix and the sacrifices made along side Mon realizing she can't control it all and letting loose. 

I think Mon losing Vel and Andor losing Bix in the next two weeks will lead to the final propulsion for the for drawing together of most of the rebel factions leading up to R1.

This show is extremely top-notch. 

Mon's demeanor during the wedding would lead you to believe that Perrin's speech landed with her.  I just have to feel for her though - she knows what she's getting her daughter into and offers her an out.  But Leida can't see that for what it is, and shuns her mother once again.  During the party it seems like Mon takes on an attitude of F*** this.

The next big beat seems like it's probably going to be the Ghorman massacre.  It's a major event in canon and the storyline involving Krennic and the ISB seems to be headed that way.  IIRC, it might be the event that leads to Mon Mothma's eventual departure from the Senate.

[Dave]

The next big beat seems like it's probably going to be the Ghorman massacre.  It's a major event in canon and the storyline involving Krennic and the ISB seems to be headed that way.  IIRC, it might be the event that leads to Mon Mothma's eventual departure from the Senate.

What canon media does the Ghorman massacre come from?  I'm not familiar with this story (so don't spoil it for me with details) and have read a lot of the books and comics, but must have missed this one.  Or is it from a video game (haven't played anything since X-Wing in 1995).

[Jeff]

What canon media does the Ghorman massacre come from? 

Started with an RPG sourcebook back in the 90s -  The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, 1990.  In that Legends version, the Ghorman massacre involved Tarkin (and how Tarkin was promoted to a Moff) and was the event that pushed a lot of Senators (like Bail Organa) to join up with Mon Mothma in starting the rebellion.

In the newer Disney canon, it pops up in the Forged in Battle sourcebook for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Age of Rebellion roleplaying game (2016).  Then, it got name dropped in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Secret Cargo", which is totally worth rewatching that Rebels arc as it is heavy in Mon Mothma/early Rebellion stuff probably very closely related to what's going to happen in Andor's later arcs.

It pops up in a lot more detail in the "fake historical non-fiction" book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire (which is an awesome book - it's supposed to be an in-universe history textbook that looks back on the empire like our history books look back on WW2 or something).  Also pops up in various places over the years (Sansweet's Star Wars Encyclopedia from late 90s; Rogue One Visual Dictionary, etc.).

One of things that's been referenced and referred to by lots of things but never dealt with this directly until Andor Season 2.

[Dave]

Then, it got name dropped in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Secret Cargo", which is totally worth rewatching that Rebels arc as it is heavy in Mon Mothma/early Rebellion stuff probably very closely related to what's going to happen in Andor's later arcs.

Thanks for the background.  I never did pick up the RPG stuff.

I'll have to go watch those old Rebel's episodes you mentioned.  I'm sure I've seen them at least once, but the reference doesn't sound familiar.

[Jeff]

I'll have to go watch those old Rebel's episodes you mentioned.  I'm sure I've seen them at least once, but the reference doesn't sound familiar.

After thinking about the Rebels connection the other day, I went back and rewatched a few of those later episodes.  I forgot just how much Bail and Mon showed up in some of those episodes and how much is really kind of relevant to what's going to happen in Andor.

We got Rebels cameos in Rogue One (Chopper, The Ghost, "paging General Syndulla") which started to make me wonder if we'll get any here too?  If this were a Filoni show, I'd say absolutely we could expect to see Hera and Chopper in Andor S2, but not sure Gilroy is open to playing with things that way.

[Matt_Fury]

The Ghorman massacre, and Mon Mothma's speech to the senate blaming Palpatine, is what causes her to flee Coruscant because she is charged with sedition.  JHe fleeing Coruscant is in Rebels and the speech is covered, but there's not much on what happened in Ghorman. 

That will change with Andor.