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S02E23: Part Two: Anxiously Analyzing Andor Season 2, Act 3
0 Playsin 2 days
BONUS EPISODE: Maybe this should be Episode 19 1/2, but since when did Star Wars fans care about episode numbers aligning chronologically? Anyway... I didn't have my hands on our discussion of Andor Season 2 episodes 7-9 while on the road last week, so in this bonus episode, we go BACK to that conversation and wrap it up.
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Transcript
Wrapping Up Andor Season 2 Arc 3
00:00:02
Speaker
We are finally finishing our thoughts on Andor season two, arc three, and we're doing it real quick. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?
Introduction of 'Short for a Stormtrooper' Bonus Episode
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello, welcome to a bonus episode of Short for a Stormtrooper.
Return from Trips and Unseen Finale
00:00:21
Speaker
i am back from my journeys to Chicago and Florida. And now I have the comfort of my home computer where I have the file of our discussion of and or season three, no season two, arc three.
00:00:37
Speaker
So let's go back to this. We're going to talk about that. Remember, we haven't seen the finale from at this point. But here's our thoughts. Hope you enjoy it. Let us know what you think.
00:00:48
Speaker
You know, it was interesting.
Luthan's Survival and Fate Speculations
00:00:50
Speaker
I'm just going to loop back to something you said earlier, Ben, about Luthan, because we we had that conversation either this show or the show before, right? Where it's like, do we think Luthan's going to survive?
00:01:01
Speaker
And we yeah I think we were all unanimous, like, no way, he's not going to survive past the end. But there was something about this arc at the end of it where I thought, you know, he may survive. He may just kind of drift off into the shadows a little bit.
00:01:18
Speaker
It's possible. I could see that. I mean, he does have friends everywhere. So maybe he can maybe find kind of a a safe haven somewhere. No, I actually – it's interesting you bring that up, Bob, because I was thinking that as well because I was thinking back to our conversation.
00:01:33
Speaker
Something about him ah kind of drifting off from the loading dock at the end of Episode 9 made me think, oh, maybe he can like kind of slip out. He seems very um he seems very not worried, not concerned about his future. And something about that makes me think that he may just by the sheer luck of it, make it out because he, you know, finesses some way out of there.
00:01:57
Speaker
i'm I'm reading that as fatalism though. You know, that whole speech that he has in the first season. yeah Yeah. About how, you know, he's never going to enjoy the fruits of this whole thing if it goes off. The sunrise he'll never see.
00:02:09
Speaker
That's right. Yeah. I think he's ah prepared that something will happen. And he's also said a couple of things along the way, and I can't remember which episodes that are in, but like he's argued about, Hey, this is kind of too loose. We're not being careful enough. This is getting riskier. Things are closing in.
00:02:26
Speaker
And so I would not be surprised. It would feel very apt to me and and appropriate to the series. If at the end of all of this, there was some little thing,
00:02:36
Speaker
It was some little slip. it was some little detail. Somebody noticed something or something that was really literally out on his control and his luck ran out and then maybe Maybe we draw back from a room where we know he's in it and we just hear a bunch of stormtroopers firing away or something. I don't know.
00:02:52
Speaker
but i My money is on him not making it. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. But you know there's a little bit of hope, maybe. A new hope. Well put, Phil. You know, for somebody who's described himself as a Star Trek newbie, he's really on brand.
00:03:07
Speaker
Yeah, Star Wars too, not just Star Trek. Oh,
00:03:13
Speaker
darn it.
Episode IX Tensions and Mon's Sacrifices
00:03:14
Speaker
I just want to say a little bit about Episode IX in particular. i yeah I really love this episode. I think the tension that they're able to ratchet up throughout it is incredible. um Starting from the senator from Gore getting arrested all the way to the end and really just building up to what is essentially just mon's speech but it feel the weight of it there's so much stakes to her speaking out against the empire and you really feel that you really feel the tension throughout the episode ratcheting up and there's something interesting when they're back in the safe house after they've extracted her after you've gone through this really like action-packed tension-fueled jailbreak-esque sequence
00:03:52
Speaker
There's a real like sobering reality to it, I feel like. Just looking at Andor's face and looking at Mon's face, like the consequences of what they've had to do and what she's had to do. She's thrown away her life. She's going on the run.
00:04:04
Speaker
um And there's something I thought really interesting about that. Just kind of like that sobering look on all their faces, the consequences, and what they're sacrificing for the ultimate rebellion.
00:04:17
Speaker
Did you find yourself thinking about her husband or her daughter when she was flying out? They're not mentioned at all, which I think is really interesting. Yeah, it was kind of... I caught up a hint, right? Because again, there's so much that happens in the margins here that we don't see of the show with the time jumps and everything like that.
00:04:34
Speaker
But the point where she said to Erskine, you know, I've never felt so betrayed in my life and I've been betrayed a lot. the The vibe I picked up from that was like, okay, she and Perrin are split.
00:04:46
Speaker
Like, you know, that was like the big betrayal that I think she was talking about. I could be wrong. That was just the way I read that. ah But... yeah It feels a little bit like, you know, her given the wedding arc that her daughter is, you know, this new life kind of separated from her, right? She's not with her anymore.
00:05:07
Speaker
And that's another sacrifice that she's made in this series, right? For what she, you know, at least initially believes is the greater good. Maybe still does, but there's a lot of, you know, she has to sacrifice in order to reach this goal.
00:05:18
Speaker
So I just feel like, especially the way that their relationship kind of deteriorates near the end of that wedding arc, that They're not on speaking terms. Yeah. Especially with the year jumps and we just don't hear about her.
00:05:31
Speaker
Yeah. And I was kind of anticipating, you know, remember that scene ah in the first three where I think it was in episode three where she goes in on her daughter and her daughter's crying and she's like, oh, he's such a child. He won't hold my hand and all that.
00:05:46
Speaker
I thought maybe that was something that was going to bring them together. And then we're going to find out that the marriage wasn't quite so happy moving forward. And that was going to come in. But it just kind of goes away, which I think, assuming that it doesn't come back,
00:05:59
Speaker
i I think it's artful. I think it's really artful just to kind of leave it alone and let that stay a mystery.
Droid Challenges: B2 EMO and K2SO
00:06:07
Speaker
The only thing going tell you right now, because we're recording this on Monday, so tomorrow night, the last three episodes are going to be played.
00:06:17
Speaker
If we don't get more of a resolution for B2, I'm going to be very upset. The droid V2 EMO. ah Because he was one of my favorite characters in season one.
00:06:28
Speaker
And to think that they just parked him on Mina Rao at the end of episode three, I'm going to be very sad. So anybody who might be listening to this who has already seen 10, 11, and 12, don't tell me. i don't want to know.
00:06:41
Speaker
But that would make me really sad. Speaking of droids, should we talk a little about maybe what is the most fun part of this whole arc. Yes. Which is the reveal that the droid that Cassian brings is K2.
00:06:55
Speaker
Yeah. It was great. It was great. ah I love the little tension of, okay, what's going happen when we turn this guy back on? And yeah and then there's Alan Tudyk going, if I've offended you. Yeah.
00:07:10
Speaker
It was such a K2SO moment, right? Like, oh, ah put that thing down. you know, I loved that. I love that. So I can't wait to see where that goes. That's amazing. Hey, you know, one other thing I wanted to mention at the risk of of jumping around, and then I want to talk a little bit more about our experience of watching these three episodes, is um a character that I really realized on my rewatch I resonated with was Erskine.
00:07:36
Speaker
And, you know, her aid and the emotional intelligence that that guy has. Right. Because you look at what happens with Mon in episode ah nine.
00:07:50
Speaker
Like she finds out that he's been a secret spy all the time. She's mad. She's pissed. She sees him. She's like, you're fired. You're dismissed. I don't need you anymore. And he doesn't react.
00:08:00
Speaker
He just says it's been an honor. He leaves. He knows like. okay, this is what I need to do in this moment. I need to walk away, let her have her space. And then, man, freaking hero, you know, saves the day with his, she's a rebel spy, you know, and everything that he still does, but despite what must be so, it must be so painful for him to get dressed down by by Mon like that. We know from the first three episodes when he was talking to Luthien that Mon was really kind of like a mother to him, a mother figure to him, and it kind of rescued him from the poor. So that must have been so heartbreaking for him. But for him to have the emotional intelligence to stick with her, to keep it going, and then holy cow, you just saw all of that on her face when she saw him back on the in the safe house.
00:08:55
Speaker
You know, yeah no words needed to be said. She just looked at, you know, she looked at him and you could just see the communication happening. And then he goes over and he just kind of squeezes her arm.
00:09:06
Speaker
Like, oh, that was such an amazing moment. It was so great. And it was so cool to see. I feel like it was when she walked in the safe house, that's when it finally clicked with Mon that, okay, I'm no longer playing this senatorial rebellion from above game. Now I'm part of it. yeah Welcome to the rebellion.
00:09:27
Speaker
Now I part of the underground and now I've got to shift to the way I think about this. And, you know, all of her reactions on the the safe house were indicating that she's making that shift, which I loved.
00:09:38
Speaker
I loved. Yeah, I really wanted to see more of her conversation with Andor. Now that you've got your two, arguably your two principals together to really, you know, yeah have that conversation. um So, wait you know, you could always want more, but I think yeah we got as much as they're going to probably give us, you know, their relationship is functional.
00:10:00
Speaker
Well, we'll see what happens. You know, like it's so hard to predict now because it would be easy for me to say like, oh, OK, we'll get a lot of Mon and Cass talking in the next three episodes. But you know what? They might not even share screen time together. It's true.
00:10:11
Speaker
i um I'm really interested to see where we go. And I was really excited for that brief moment of both of them on screen. ah And um I'm hoping we get at at least a little bit in the last three.
Bix's Decisions and Speculations on Reuniting
00:10:22
Speaker
I will say, speaking of emotional intelligence, I think we need to talk about the final heart-wrenching moment in what is a three-episode arc of heart-wrenching moments, which is Bix's message to Cass. Oh, yes. Thank you for bringing that up what did What did we think of her decision here?
00:10:39
Speaker
do we think Do we think that she's running out? Do you think she has the greater good ah in mind here? um i i lean towards the latter, but I was you know i was really feeling for Cass here and him, the kind of intercutting of her speech and him running towards the airfield to hope that like he can catch her And it was just yeah was heart wrenching. You could just see it on his face by the end. And then and a really interesting moment, and obviously this ties in with the K2 part, but you know, he's just kind of destroyed.
00:11:08
Speaker
And then someone comes in and says, you have to come look at the joy that you brought in. And he's kind of just resigned to the fact. And he's like, on his face, he's tired. You can see he's tired. And he's like, okay.
00:11:20
Speaker
and then he walks over and it was just absolutely heart-wrenching. But I'm curious to your both reaction to Vicks' decision here. I feel like her heart was definitely in the right place.
00:11:31
Speaker
Right. Like she was thinking, okay, if I don't get out of, I am the barrier to, to Cass making a difference.
00:11:43
Speaker
Right. I mean, that was the point of Val coming to visit her and say, Hey, like help him get his act together because he's he's got to do that. Um, And her realizing that she was an obstacle to that.
00:11:56
Speaker
it It's also interesting, this whole notion they're starting to bring in of religion and faith, all of a sudden, just now starting here, right? Like this whole show.
00:12:09
Speaker
It's all been about this is Star Wars. There's no force. There's no Jedi. There's no space magic. There's no laser swords. It's very grounded. But now all of a sudden, surprise, you've got this force healer.
00:12:21
Speaker
You know, you see Bix all of a sudden getting a glimpse of faith. And so her belief that Cassian, you know, has a greater destiny,
00:12:33
Speaker
I feel is largely coming from her finding religion and deciding she's going to ride that one out, whether or not that was the right call or not. I don't know, but I do imagine that ah it probably is in the long run that she needed to get out of there for him to fulfill his destiny as the the messenger and the harbinger of of Luke ultimately destroying the Death Star.
00:13:00
Speaker
Do we think that ah they're getting reunited in the last arc? No. I do not. I think we've seen the end of Bix. For now. I think, yeah, i was going to I think that we're...
00:13:13
Speaker
in these last three episodes going to see whatever it is that we need to see to set us up for Rogue One. So I think we're going to see the relationship with K2SO get better and deeper and more interesting and have some fun with that.
00:13:28
Speaker
think we're going to see whatever it is that the final state of Andor needs to be in order that when we start into Rogue One, Jyn Erso can kind of pick them up a little bit and be like, no, we have to you know, we have to go after this and it's not useless. It's, um it's the most important thing we can do. And, you know, he's in Rogue One, I think it's been a little while to watch this, but he's, he's a little bit of the more kind of wet blanket conservative, don't stick your neck out too far. Kind of like, he's got a little bit of that Han Solo role, but he's in the rebellion and she's going to shake him up a little bit. So we need to see the evolution of him into somebody who needs that shaking up.
00:14:06
Speaker
yeah and I think the departure of Bix is probably setting the stage for that. Yeah. Okay. so two Like he's ah kind of a, and this is sort of a theme throughout the series and the season in particularly, you know, the consequences of their sacrifices and where do we ultimately leave and, or at the end of this series and then how does that transition directly and into Rogue One? I'm really interested to see that evolution over this last three episode arc.
Prioritizing the Series and Gorman Anthem Obsession
00:14:34
Speaker
Okay, so two quick things I wanted to talk about. and We're already going long, so I'm just going to blast these out. um It was funny last Tuesday with watching these, the experience of watching these, because Ben and I were supposed to be playing D&D, and it got canceled, and I didn't have pinball league. So I'm like, I can sit and watch all three episodes.
00:14:51
Speaker
So I'm watching, you know, I watch seven, I watch eight. I watch all of eight with my hand clamped over my mouth, like, Right. Just as it's ending, Sherry comes home and she's, she come out comes home. I forget where she was, but she came home early and she's like, oh, Hey, I didn't have to stay as long as I want. Like, ah do you want to watch a movie or something like that? And I'm like, no, I've got to watch episode nine.
00:15:15
Speaker
She's like, you have to watch it right now. I'm like, yes, I have to watch it right now. Not I usually I don't write like usually I'd be like, oh yeah. Okay. I can wait for this. Like, let's do something together. I'm like, nope.
00:15:28
Speaker
Watch a nine. Glad I did. it was amazing. The other thing I was going to touch on really quick is over the weekend, I got a little bit obsessed with the Gorman planetary anthem, the We Are the Gore, which now is available for free on Spotify and Apple Music as part of the soundtrack for this arc.
00:15:51
Speaker
There's actually two versions of it. And ah dang it if I'm not memorizing those words. I was going to say, you've learned it, haven't you, Bob? I'm getting there. you know, I know it's Gumball Dungor, you know, and it's Valen Meshka. Yeah.
00:16:07
Speaker
Do you? Anyway, um yes, it's like running through my head nonstop, but I could totally, totally see at Celebration in a couple of years, like a whole bunch of people dressed up as Gore and singing that song and just chills up and down.
00:16:22
Speaker
Same way that right now we're getting the getting that with the One Way Out. um I think that's going to be the newest version of that. So, all right, any last thoughts? Any last thoughts? I'm still back on Niamh-os. I mean, you know.
00:16:37
Speaker
I know. I know. So I can't wait for this last arc. Yeah. I did just see, we're doing I did just see a quick snippet of an interview with um Diego Luna.
00:16:49
Speaker
And they said, what's your favorite episode from the season? And he thinks for a second, he's like, can I say three? he said, it's number one, number eight, and the last one are his favorites. So no pressure.
00:17:04
Speaker
but pressure. hope they deliver. One is an interesting choice, Diego. It is an interesting choice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll have to go back and watch. Well, you think he got to he got to steal a TIE Avenger and and do some pretty crazy flying. It starts off great, but I digress. I digress. Fair enough.
Reflections on Speculations After the Finale
00:17:20
Speaker
All right, we're already running a little bit late, but I just had to come back and say that was so interesting for me to listen to with the hindsight of seeing those last three episodes. When we were speculating about Luthen's potential death or non-death, I got a little emotional. I'm still still kind of broken up about episode 10 and how that all went down.
00:17:41
Speaker
And then, of course, our speculation on VIX, Who knew that she was expecting another child? Amazing. At least we got to see B2. All right. See you soon. i Hope you enjoyed that. Hope that was worth waiting for. Hit like, hit subscribe, do all the things.
00:17:57
Speaker
May the first be with you. Bye.
00:18:14
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for a slug?