Andor Arc 3 Review (Video Script)

Note: This is the full script that I wrote for my review of the third arc of Andor season 2. The video is posted on YouTube. Thank you for your support, and stay tuned for more scripts for videos here on the Mon Mothma project blog.

It’s Mon Mothma’s HoloNet, and we’re just posting on it. Welcome back to MothmaNet News and our coverage of Andor season 2. I am the opposite of okay, I have not recovered from what I went through on Tuesday, but I’m here to talk about them, and I’m excited to hopefully appear on more friend’s podcasts and YouTube channels to talk about it again and again because I have so much to say. This video will be covering episode 7: “Messenger”, episode 8: “Who Are You?”, and episode 9: “Welcome to the Rebellion” that came out on 6 May. Obviously, spoilers ahead. But also, hey, doing a review of three episodes is a lot more difficult than one. Cause you have to do it differently from a film, but also very differently than how you would do a single episode. Ahhh! Tony Gilroy, I’m in your walls, but I have a load of theories as to why it had to be this way.

First up, Episode 7: “Messenger”. 2BBY.

Okay, I love them (Bix, Cassian, and Wilmon) on Yavin IV all together. Wilmon, I am glad to see that you’re not still with Saw, an adventure but at the same time, you deserve a better story. Bix and Cassian behaving like his older siblings is right on the mark, and I’m glad that the Ferrix gang is coming through. I don’t like Wilmon riding for Luthen, but he is looking for an authority figure to believe in, and Luthen is providing that. Most of the tension this season with Cassian is caused by Luthen. I think Ghorman, if Wilmon finds out that Luthen was part of the problem, might cause a rift between them. “You act like Luthen’s the enemy” “That would be easier”. That hits so freaking hard. Bix taking Cassian to a Force healer, Star Wars fans, you wanted your mysticism, here it is. I love the idea of Cassian being a messenger who has somewhere to be. The Force knows Cassian’s destiny, and it’s a wonderfully tragic destiny. Bix is trying to help him, and in doing so, she is able to uncover things she’s wondered about Cassian. I love Draven’s entrance, and once again him interrupting Cassian leaving Yavin IV. Draven’s just trying to keep the Rebel base safe and secure and Cassian is acting like a free agent, I love the divide between them. Vel being on Yavin, I think she’s gone through a lot in the last year, and she has come out more mature. I love that she’s in this place now, I think that this is the type of leadership that suits her the most. Talking to people, inspiring people, she is really able to do that. Like her cousin, she knows the importance of words, which is why she also knows how to wield them to hurt. Wilmon and Cass saying “Ferrix” and “Stone and Sky” to each other will forever have my heart.

Ghorman, my beloved. The way that these ‘newscasters’ are talking about Ghorman and the Ghor is truly horrendous. The propaganda is really strong here, and I hate that. I don’t even think they intended to ‘resettle’ any of the Ghor, the intention was to kill them either quickly in the immediate massacre, or slowly by making them live on an unstable planet. ‘Resettling’ the Ghor would have been too kind for the Empire. I’m just not okay at all. Last week, they were talking about a 38% increase in crime on Ghorman, and now they’re talking about an escalating terror campaign. Yeah, the Empire is playing the victim. The infighting between the Front is very interesting. Carro’s ways aren’t working anymore, but they’re still good ideas. “I’ve learned how good they are at provoking us.” The young are ready to fight, they were radicalised at a very young age, many of them probably lost parents in the Tarkin massacre. Lezine properly being part of the Front feels like a natural progression of his character. On that, I think that there is a reason that Enza is smaller and seemingly more innocent than the others, and yes, part of it is her privileged upbringing, but it’s also meant to lean into what happens between her and Syril when he grabs her. It’s not the first time he’s grabbed a woman, but it’s the first time he’s done it while having the upper hand and being in control of the situation. He’s part of the occupying force on Ghorman, and her slapping him could have had major repercussions for her. The curfew and the checkpoints really brings me back to Syril saying that his movements in Palmo aren’t restricted in the last arc. I wasn’t 100% sure of Thela’s motivations in the last arc, but I was hoping he would be something of a rebel, he really showed it here, and I love that. Wilmon being with the Front in their Headquarters, they’re all there past curfew, and ughh, I love that. I feel that for many of them, the Front is their family and the Headquarters are like home, and this leans into that.

Syril and Dedra, it’s so weird, it’s borderline uncomfortable, and yeah, they were never going to have a healthy relationship or anything like that. When she kissed him, I was shocked but it was so weird. Driest kiss in Star Wars, and that’s on Denise and Kyle being such good actors because there is no way that there would be passion behind that at all. After the kisses from last week, this was… interesting. On the Imperial side of Ghorman, bringing in cadets is intentional. Not just as an insult, but they knew that these children would not be able to adequately handle the situation and would react the same way that uneducated enforcement always acts: shoot first, don’t ask questions.

Erskin being a Kloris hater with the, “don’t. They might send someone smart.” He and Mon just being that duo and I love them, especially because of the way that this season has really built him up as a really great character. I loved Erskin in Rebels, but now I just love seeing the love for him and I hope that only good things happen to him in his life. But I want to talk about Dasi Oran right now. He knows there is nothing that he can do for his people: “They don’t even bother to lie badly anymore. I suppose that’s the final humiliation.” Like damn, that’s a good line. The way that it speaks volumes to so many things that are going on around us is vital. I really hope that people take Senator Oran’s words and really let them sink in, not just here but his later words as well. The way that Dasi expresses his gratitude to Mon quite literally feels like a goodbye. He knows he’s on borrowed time, he has to. He’s not stupid. While we don’t see a lot of the Senate in the first episode of the arc, or at all in the second, that is more than made up for in the last episode, which is incredibly Senate centric, and I love to see it, even though it made my heart race. More on that later.

Overall, of the three episodes, this one had me the least stressed, but that stress and anxiety builds every time because I know what’s coming. This show is really good at making every moment count and, in this arc especially, not giving the viewer time to breathe. This arc lacked the levity that certain aspects of the first two arcs had, and that’s more than okay with me. I really see the way that things are shaping up to bring us to the end, and we only have three episodes left. Andor, this season, has really done an excellent job of packing more than just a punch. They know how to emotionally destroy this fandom, and they do it so wonderfully. No matter what comes in the last arc, though, I feel as though this arc is my favourite of the entire series. It’s heartbreaking and I cry just thinking about it, but at the same time, it’s just that good, so poignant to me. I never want to come to a point in my life where this arc doesn’t have an emotional impact on me.

Episode 8: “Who Are You?” is one of the most stressful experiences I’ve ever had while watching Star Wars, and I appreciate it. The gravity of what was happening here was really felt and it didn’t let up. Personally, when I was watching it, each time, I would not pause it. For the people who live realities like this every day, they don’t get a break from it, and I really wanted to capture that in this moment. My tissue supply really hated seeing this arc coming, especially this episode. Nothing could have prepared me for this, but I was not shocked at all about the way that the Empire handled this situation. It’s just like colonial and imperial powers in our own world, snuffing out resistance. At a later time, I want to do a full deep dive on Ghorman, but that will probably not be until the summertime, after this season is finished. More on that later.

Before I get into this episode, I would like to point out that, no, Mon Mothma is not in this episode, and for very good reason. This episode has a very specific focus and she does not have a place here. She has a place in the before and the after, but not the during. Crazy for me to say this, but had she been in this episode, I might have been upset about it. The following episode is incredibly Mon-centric, as it should be, but this episode’s story is about the victims of the Ghorman massacre.

I don’t know how much I’m going to say here, but I think that this episode is going to fully need space of its own later down the line. There is so much to say about this episode.

The music in this episode alone is more than enough to make me cry. I know Brandon Roberts cooked with the Ghor music, but I cannot bring myself to play the volume from these episodes, even though I love it. Maybe I just should have a break from watching this set of episodes every day? But also, I just can’t play this music, it’s too hard hitting. Star Wars has always had amazing music, right from the very beginning of the series with John Williams, but I feel as though Andor, across two seasons, has really stepped it up. Britell and Roberts are both phenomenal.

Denise Gough and Anton Lesser are such phenomenal actors and their performances here are so chilling. Especially Denise Gough. Dedra’s character is great but she is not a good person, and anyone who had any doubts about that should really have had all of that shattered here. Dedra panicking when talking to Partagaz, a friend of mine brought up the fact that Dedra is probably still dealing with what happened on Ferrix (she likely has PTSD from it), but also, her panic shows that she holds no power, remember from the first season, “power doesn’t panic.” I’m not even going to talk about the scene between Dedra and Syril here, because I do want to save that for later. I have a lot to say about it, and I want to make sure I give it the nuance it deserves. With Dedra giving the order, I know it was speculated that she would and I was using some weird triple reverse psychology to say she wouldn’t, but I always knew it was a chance. I did, however, see the Empire firing the first shot against one of their own as an excuse to start killing.

My heart is literally broken for Carro, I love him, he’s amazing. Richard Sammel crushed it with this role, I’m just in awe. He is trying so hard to protect his people, but he fails. I’m glad though, in the end, that he was the one who killed Syril. For a man so opposed to violence, he knows when they need to fight back. In Star Wars, the pacifist characters having to take up arms in moments like this is always impactful. And yeah, I would argue that Carro is a pacifist. He doesn’t like the fact that he’s had to do this, despises it really, but he has no other option here. Later, when he’s sat on the floor and he drops the blaster, I do not think that he made it out alive, and honestly, after this, I don’t think he would want to. His home, his family, everything he has has been taken from him, violently. I typically hate off-screen deaths and live by the rules of “no body, no crime”, but not here. I saw enough people die, I didn’t need proof of death for any of the Ghor.

Thela, the bellhop from the hotel, saying “Rebellions are built on hope” is such a gut punch to me. I think it is really important that the line that we know and love from Rogue One comes from a Ghor, from a people who are gone and erased from the galaxy along with their world and their culture. Their legacy and sacrifice will live on, but will anyone know where those words came from? How would they know? Goodbye, Thela, you were wonderful.

Lezine really comes out and tries to help in the best way he can. For all his seemingly hot-headed approach in the previous arc, he really has become a voice of reason. Being angry, being upset, is playing into the Empire’s hands, but genuinely peaceful behaviour will not give them what they want. Standing together and singing their anthem is, I think, the perfect ground between quiet resistance like Carro preached and the very overt protesting that was happening before he started singing. I think Lezine knew that they were doomed, and yet, he refused to die and play into their hands. His death would not be used as a way to paint the Ghor in an ugly way. Lezine and Carro are, as far as we know, alive at the end of the episode, but I don’t think that lasts. As I said earlier, I’m not living by “no body, no crime” rules for the Ghor, I can’t.

I could talk about Enza and Dilan for hours, literally, but still… I’m only going to talk about two things here with them. First, when they’re singing “let me spend my every day there”, talking about home, and he wraps his arm around Enza and presses his cheek to the top of her head. I’m weak for that. And then the second thing I’m going to mention here is that when Dilan is shot, he barely makes a sound, he doesn’t scream until Enza is thrown by the KX-unit, and then he can’t look away from her lifeless body. Forgive me, or don’t I don’t care, but I ship it so hard, I can’t get over this. I think that these little things are super important because Dilan and Enza do not have enough screen time, and their relationship isn’t even confirmed on screen, but in their Star Wars databank entries. You don’t need to have all that to be literal soulmates, which is amazing. Could be one of the greatest love stories in Star Wars, I think. I do think that perhaps Lezine should have just got Dilan’s body to Enza, because separating them, pulling him from her, feels so unnecessary to me, I don’t know. No hate to Lezine, he probably didn’t want to leave someone still breathing in the square.

The showdown between Syril and Cassian. Only Cassian Andor can pull Syril Karn from his ‘moment of clarity’. Poor Cassian is so confused, he doesn’t know who or why he’s in this hand-to-hand combat moment with this guy, but he’s going to do his best here. And he does. He breaks Syril with the last words he ever hears, “Who are you?” About four years of Syril’s life, he’s been obsessed with finding Cassian and bringing him to justice, and Cassian doesn’t even know who he is. Eedy believing a propagandised story of her son’s death is horrific, and yet, it makes perfect sense. Her love for and reliance on the Imperial propaganda machine has been mentioned this season, she doesn’t really know what’s going on.

Dreena’s broadcast. There is really nothing I could say that is profound. So many have already drawn parallels between this and the end of Rogue One, and not going to lie, it feels like that. The galaxy has been turned against the Ghor for the very purpose of leaving them with no one who would help them in this moment. Allowing a government or a regime to isolate us and divide us serves only their interests. I am happy, beyond happy, that Dreena makes it out of this one. I hope she makes it to the end, I love her. I don’t want her to die, I lost too many of them in the span of 45 minutes.

If this episode doesn’t make you feel something, I don’t even know what to tell you. My tissue boxes and I cannot relate. There is not a moment of this episode that doesn’t make me feel a myriad of emotions, and none of them are happy. This episode deserves all the praise ever, and I hate to sound like a normie, but it might be one of the best episodes ever, of any Star Wars series. No, watching it multiple times does not make it easier, thank you very much. If anything, it makes it more painful because you have to rid yourself of the idea that things will be okay for your favourite characters, unless Dreena or Wil or Cassian are your favourites. And they don’t let up between this episode and the next, which is very important. Things are happening quickly, and that’s very important this season.

Episode 9: “Welcome to the Rebellion” is probably one of my favourite things ever. It is incredibly Mon Mothma centric, and I love when Star Wars acknowledges her importance and let’s Genevieve O’Reilly be the powerhouse of an actress that she is. If she doesn’t get an Emmy, I might riot. I will accept if another Andor actress takes it home, but no one else.

The opening of this episode might just have me in a chokehold. Bail coming out to see Dasi getting arrested for just trying to acknowledge what happened to his people hits me right in the chest. Cutting to Bail when he says “it’s my people today, and your’s tomorrow” is poignant. Bail and Mon’s discussion about her needing to make a speech and him staying behind, it’s so genuine the way that they care for each other. Benjamin Bratt, at first I was not sold on you as Bail because I was sad that Jimmy would not be back this time, but I turned around quickly. He is wonderful as Bail, and the chemistry that he and Genevieve have is astounding. Even in their scene later, these two characters are able to show just how genuinely care about one another and have a need for the other to be safe. We love to see it. I am glad that they didn’t cut Bail out of the show, like some people have been saying they should have because Tony Gilroy is right, Bail is important, this show does need him.

Kleya talking sense into Cassian about the rebellion and what it takes is also brilliant. Cassian is a rebel, but at the same time, Kleya has been more directly involved for much longer than he has. If he’s tired of it all, imagine how tired she and the others are. The way that she’s able to get through to him about what he’s going through, she does understand. Revolution and rebellion is not for the weak, and it is tiring, but that doesn’t mean that it’s time to give up. Nothing that is worth doing is easy, and this is very much one of those things. Ultimately, of course, he doesn’t leave, but that is because of the women around him pushing him to the cause, to where he needs to be. Again, I feel as though Kleya succeeded here in a way that Luthen wouldn’t. Kleya, throughout it, is still very level-headed about the whole thing. Even later, at the Senate, she’s the one talking about the present issue at the beginning, she’s the one who has to tell them what will happen if Mon gets arrested. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t care about other things, but Kleya is much more able to focus on the matter at hand than engage in discussions about things that, while they are urgent, there is nothing that can be done about them in that moment.

The Erskin subplot, oh god, this had me so worried for him, but I hope that the nex arc will see that trust between them rebuilt. Erskin genuinely cares about her, I know that, and I do believe that he felt as though he was acting in her best interests, getting additional resources to protect her when he started working for Luthen. I don’t care about the whole retconning about the speeches because I’ll go into that more later, not here, but retconning Erskin’s Rebels storyline would have been unforgivable. Mon on the brink of tears talking about Tay, okay, now I might believe that he is gone. Mon sending Erskin away made sense, even though I hate it, but I respect that he just took it on the chin and didn’t stop trying to protect her. When he was talking to Kleya over the comms, he did sound very upset, which is reasonable. Mon felt betrayed, I felt betrayed. Erskin finding Cassian and still doing what he can to protect Mon really shows his true motivations. Erskin Semaj loves her, he reveres her, in a way that puts him, in my mind, on a similar level to Padme’s handmaidens. I love him, and I really hope that we see him in the last arc too. Even though he doesn’t work for her anymore, he immediately jumps into action when he has to in order to protect her, from journalists or the ISB. He looked as though he’d never held a blaster but he was holding his own and he was so incredibly brave.

The senators speaking against Ghorman in the senate during the session, I find it incredibly interesting that they are mostly non-human species (and you know I loathe using that descriptor). Given the Imperial disdain for non-human species, I think there is more to it than them really believing the narrative, rather it’s that they have to lean into the propaganda to try and protect their people, even though that will not work in the long run. They don’t have the privileges of the human senators and their worlds, and we’ve just seen what the Empire will do to a rather privileged world, Ghorman. And then we have Bail using the Senate’s own regulations against them to let Mon speak is political mastery. Given what we know from The Mask of Fear, Mon is the one who knows the regulations and statecraft stuff and Bail is the people person of the two of them: the idea that he learned from her is brilliant. And when we last see him and he’s still sat in his pod, just contemplating, hoping that she’s made it out. I love him. I love the relationship between Mon and Bail, and I’m glad that he is one of the people who knows that Yavin needs her leadership in that moment.

Mon’s speech is so profound and it is brilliant in so many ways. Dan Gilroy, hats off for your writing. Genevieve O’Reilly, hats off for your acting. I knew this moment was going to take my breath away and make me cry, it was one of my most anticipated scenes in this entire season, and I was not disappointed at all. I was worried because I’d done so much to hype it up in my mind, but I remained mind blown. The absolute relevance not only to the context of the series but to our real world speaks volumes that are not subtle in the slightest, much like the rest of this show. I love how overt everything is in Andor. Yes, there are things that you can read into and theorise about, but you never need to guess where this show stands. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, my goodness. Andor has had some pretty brilliant monologues and speeches, but nothing could ever top this one. Nothing ever could. Not in my opinion, never. This is one of the greatest speeches in all of Star Wars in nearly 50 years, I think it might actually be the greatest. And right off the back of that, we get our Mon and Cassian meeting for the first time, and I think he does a really good job of gaining her trust through speaking about where he was the day before, mentioning Vel, not just sticking to the code phrase he had been given. This is a moment where Mon has to be incredibly careful with who gets her trust, and she thinks that she just lost one of the people that she trusted, even though he would never leave her side. Cassian also does an excellent job of trying to keep her calm even though this is genuinely terrifying on its own even without the added layer of her knowing what it’s like in Imperial custody, she has been tortured and drugged by the Empire, and she knows that if she ends up arrested, this will be worse for her than any other arrest because this was overt ‘treason’ against the Empire, not a warning, not a questioning, they know she did it. And then we have her fast thinking when he realises they’re trapped, because again she has spent most of her life in that building, she knows her way around it, this point was made earlier, so of course it would come up. The women in this series really are the heroes. Yes, Cassian and Erksin and the men had their roles in getting Mon out of there, but they wouldn’t have made it without her. She isn’t a damsel in distress even when she’s in shock or frightened. Furthermore, it’s natural for Mon to be shocked when two people have been shot right in front of her, in the name of her protection, in the span of, what, minutes? Especially because she is a person who dislikes violence in general. I really intend to do a full breakdown of all of Mon’s speeches at some point in time, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get started on those this summer, but I do have a lot of big content plans in general, so it might be slightly later than that. But it will be coming. In the meantime, I will be talking about this speech in several friends’ podcasts and YouTube channels.

The Melshi reveal was great. No notes. What I do need is for him to start going around Base One asking if anyone knows where he can find Keef Girgo. It’s really sad to me that we’re not seeing the Cassian (I mean Keef) and Melshi reunion play out, and I keep finding myself wishing we had more time with these characters, and with this show, but isn’t that the point? We never have enough time with the people we love. So thanks for that Andor, another important lesson to impart upon us before you go.

The safe house bits: Erskin immediately asking Mon if she’s alright and she just gives the tiniest little nod. Tell me he wasn’t panicking about her and Kleya wasn’t on the verge of knocking him out. I need for them to hug in the last arc, I need it more than oxygen. Of course there is work to be done, but I feel as though they are going to make strides in Mon trusting Erskin again. The way that these safe house scenes blend almost seamlessly with “Secret Cargo” in my mind. I do wish we had got to see the part where Mon goes to Chandrila, but it’s fine, it’s canon in my mind because it’s an Andor scene, and it’s referenced in Rebels as well. Mon asking Kleya about Luthen, talking to Cassian casually, she really is one of them now. With the Luthen part, she may have had her trust in him broken, but she still cares about him. He was something of a friend, even if he wasn’t the friend that she really deserved and he could have been better to her. He’s also incredibly important to what they’re doing, and most everyone in that safe house has a connection to him. Mon was always meant to be with these people in this moment. “I’m not sure how to thank you.” “Make it worth it.” I’m sure those words stuck with Mon forever, and I really hope we get more Mon and Cassian stuff in the future. She was never going to let Cassian’s sacrifices, the sacrifices of the rebels around her, all of those who died, be forgotten or have happened in vain. She truly cares about all of these people, and it’s why she does what she does.

Bix making that choice to put the Rebellion over her happiness, she literally saved the galaxy by doing that. I cannot stress it enough, the women are the heroes of this series. Like with B2-EMO, I would rather never see Bix again than have to deal with her death. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. Her goodbye to Cassian will probably come up again, and it brings tears to my eyes every time. Bix says that she’s not brave because she can’t stay and say goodbye in person and yet, she is one of the bravest characters in this series. The shot of Diego as Cassian, in that shirt, with the sun in the background, and the wind … all of it speaks to his end while the voice over with Bix is her telling him she’ll find him when it’s over, please Mr Gilroy, I cannot take any more of this pain. But also, what was it with women this episode leaving a man they were close to and making a choice for the betterment of the Rebellion? Please. Mon and Bix? I can’t handle it here in this Star War right now.

K2SO’s birth scene is a beauty, and I love it so much. I cannot wait to see them in action together. What a meet cute. They really did deliver on that in a way that matters. I do like that they ended this emotionally devastating arc with this moment, it was, for me, the moment of levity that I felt in that whole arc. I still can’t help but wonder if K2SO, whom I love, is the KX unit on my hit list for what happened to Enza. I want to know, but I’m scared to know. My sweet Enza did not deserve that.

That’s it for this week. Housekeeping time: my review of The Mask of Fear with Gold Squadron Gays has dropped, so you can find that where pods are cast. 12 May, which is unfortunately the day that I’m posting this (I was hoping to get to it earlier, but I fear I am on the verge of a non-happy-time episode, thanks Andor), I’m on Eye on Canon to talk about the third arc of Andor. Also, check out Droids Are Welcome Here, I’ve done three episodes thus far talking about Andor season 2, and I’ll be back again soon, talking about episode 11, I think! I’m not sure how many are out yet, but nevertheless, go check them out! I’m planning some really cool stuff coming for the summer, which I’m working on now and will be announced in time, after Andor. As always, you can find me on social media @bejeweledmothma and @mothmaupdates. Thank you, and remember, the Galaxy is watching.