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S02E06: Hustle Through the Finale of Andor Season 1
20 Plays1 month ago
We are onto the grand climax of Andor Season 1! Join Bob, Ben, and Phil to dive into both the story and the filmmaking sides of this epic conclusion!
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Transcript
Rewatching Andor Season 1 Finale
00:00:01
Speaker
We think we're wrapping up the Andor rewatch and we're doing it quick. Here we go. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome back to Short for a Stormtrooper where I am joined by Ben Dyer and Phil Salmo in our rewatch of Andor season one. All right, boys, here we are. We are at the end of Andor season one, just in time for us to really start thinking hard about Andor season two. And we talked about that last week.
00:00:39
Speaker
Episodes 11 and 12 of Andor, the finale of Andor season one. Give us your thoughts.
Cassian Andor's Rebellion Commitment
00:00:46
Speaker
I'm so glad you started with me because then I can scoop Phil and say, RIP Ferex.
00:00:50
Speaker
ah Yeah, right. We didn't see what happened after all that was done, but I suspect that as is their want, the Imperial response would have been swift and cruel.
00:01:03
Speaker
But yeah what an amazing ah what an amazing sort of wrap up to this first chapter. We finally get Cassian and or is his... finally escape from prison.
00:01:16
Speaker
not a smooth path back to Ferrix, but he figures it out. He's a survivor. Uh, and I think at this point he's realized that like, there's not a version of this thing where you can stay on the sidelines.
00:01:30
Speaker
He's going to operate, um, with this rebellion or whatever this thing is. I don't even think it has a name yet. ah because otherwise he and everybody else is just getting it swallowed up. And so it's neat to see in these different chapters that we've had in this series, you have him sort of trying to survive and make his way by and not get noticed and make a buck for himself. You have him getting pulled into intrigues and trouble. And then you have him finally kind of going, you know, I can't just be out for myself. There's no version of this where if you've got a bunch of money, you can just kind of disappear.
00:02:07
Speaker
it's It's just going to go poorly for you. And the level of cruelty out there is something I can't ah can't sit still for. Yeah. Yeah.
Motivations: Survival or Rebellion?
00:02:16
Speaker
100%, Ben. I think, you know, at the end, he says to Braille, you know, kill me or recruit me.
00:02:25
Speaker
Yeah. Right? And so I think that is really his realization because he tried it earlier on in the first season to just take the money and chill. But then he got, you know, then he got sent to prison.
00:02:38
Speaker
The Empire is not chill. That's right. That's right. And it I think the cruelty of those prison experiences, I think, does really change Cassian.
00:02:49
Speaker
um you know maybe they're at that that you know Maybe previously there was a little part of him that felt like he could just sit on the sidelines, but i really feel that it like that experience awakened something in him.
00:02:59
Speaker
And then we see that in the last two episodes as well. um I will say, I felt like the 11th episode was a little bit of, and this happens sometimes with big explosive finales, it feels a little bit like the setup in my mind, a bit of the quiet before the storm.
00:03:14
Speaker
So maybe not as like intriguing or interesting, but man, is the payoff there for the last episode.
Farrick's Fight Against the Empire
00:03:20
Speaker
I mean, all of the storylines and all of the characters sending on Farrick's at once, every time the camera panned to someone else or showed someone else in a new scene, i was like, oh my God, everybody's here.
00:03:31
Speaker
Literally everybody's here. And that was so exciting to see as well. Obviously, the funeral procession is great. um You know, Bob, I know you you referenced a little like we could talk about, you know, what what is justified versus not with, you know, against the Empire.
00:03:50
Speaker
um and obviously just the the citizens of Farrick's fighting back against the Empire was just was great to watch. So inspiring. So inspiring. um I also loved.
00:04:01
Speaker
um
00:04:05
Speaker
You know, I had mixed feelings like, oh, should I be this excited about this? But like Miro almost like getting her, you know, just getting like torn apart
Cyril and Miro: Evolution and Motivations
00:04:14
Speaker
by the crowd. And obviously, like, I would say very unlikable character.
00:04:17
Speaker
And I'm like, yes. And then but then she gets saved by Cyril, which is so crazy. um And that was, I feel like a real kind of hero redemptive moment for him to be like the the calm, quick thinking guy, because that really hasn't been him.
00:04:35
Speaker
previously, especially his first time on Ferex. So it's a real interesting like continuation of his arc and evolution of his arc. Are you rooting for him at all?
00:04:45
Speaker
Or what do you think? A little bit at the end. And I remember we talked about this in earlier episodes. I was like, okay, like he really, like he did that and something about that kind of changed things. I still like, still my feelings about him. And obviously he is, he is the antagonist to Andor, but um that, that like real, it is a real redemptive moment for him, I think.
00:05:04
Speaker
So you know what, maybe let's let's keep talking about some story things. And then I want to pivot to talk about some filmmaking aspects of these two episodes. So from the story point of view, do you feel like, does Cyril have the hots for Miro?
00:05:20
Speaker
i mean, is is that his motivator that he's attracted to her romantically? or is he attracted to her as a symbol of the empire and really kind of everything that he believes in?
00:05:33
Speaker
i kind of I kind of feel like it's the latter. i don't know. Something about him feels... There isn't anything that that um says to me directly romance there.
00:05:46
Speaker
It feels like he's more attracted to the idea of power and being someone of power in the empire than maybe being with her specifically yeah what do you think then i think that's probably right uh my first thought was to say why not both um yeah but that said i agree phil that like his whole thing is is trying to you know get a better tailored suit that's what we first see when we first meet him you know he's the guy who's trying to you know make his way up in the world in this in this authoritarian structure that he feels like you know these are all the correct right angles and and that's the world he wants to live in. And she is at the top of that scene. She is the highest person in authority that he's met.
00:06:31
Speaker
And so I think it makes sense for him to to you know be trying to impress her and things like that. It would be interesting if they do try to give him a ah romantic intention toward her. But I...
00:06:45
Speaker
I really have a hard time seeing how that ah fits into his story as we see it now. Yeah. Okay. So here's another question. and We were kind of hinting around this a little bit earlier, but I want to confirm my thoughts with you guys is we see Cassian commit to the rebellion at the end, right?
00:07:04
Speaker
Kill me or let me join. Does he believe yet? but Is he a believer in the cause at that point?
00:07:16
Speaker
That's a good question. I'll say I'm not sure. i think that he knows the Empire is bad and he probably feels like this is the best way to arm himself and protect himself and survive, ironically, is by getting into a situation where he at least has power and intelligence and he can, you know...
00:07:39
Speaker
anticipate the kinds of things are going go wrong. I mean, if you think it's going to go wrong all the time, which he now does, then you start looking for allies who are trying to avoid that or have the ability to help you avoid that. Yeah.
00:07:50
Speaker
What do you think, Phil? I think that there's a real part Cassian, and we, I think, see this from the beginning, that... there's ah There's a part of him I think really wants to be active and not passive, right?
00:08:02
Speaker
In certain ways, he's kind of like the scrounger on Ferex, right? In another way, he he feels, I think, a little bit helpless. I'm hearkening this back all the way to the first scene when he's searching for his sister. So I think and by that, like he just feels helpless. He's not able to locate her. He's actively trying to find her.
00:08:22
Speaker
I don't know if he truly believes in it, but I think he's trying to give himself some kind of purpose here. And again, make himself like not a bystander, not someone who's passive, but someone who's actively involved. Again, whether that's for his own interest or whether he's a true believer in the greater good, I think remains to be seen.
00:08:38
Speaker
Yeah, interesting. my My thoughts, especially as somebody who, ah without getting too deep into my own history, but my political views ah kind of changed 180. Yeah.
00:08:52
Speaker
um At one point in my life, ah there was kind of a key incident that pushed me over the edge to realize, you know what, those things that I thought I believed in, I don't believe in anymore. I believe something different.
00:09:04
Speaker
I kind of think that that's where he is at that between Nemec, I had to look up his name. um had a senior moment. I had to look his name up on the phone. But between Nemec's manifesto and kind of everything that we see him experience, the horror of his treatment by the empire in the prison, and then finally hearing that final word from his mother, i think that's what kind of pushed him over the edge to say, okay, i have i have ignited the spark of my belief
00:09:38
Speaker
here Now, Ben, I'm going back to our old Star Cruiser. hate to Ignite the spark like the fire. ah he has i think he's ignited the spark, but it hasn't fanned into that flame that it's going to by the end of season two.
00:09:55
Speaker
Which is where Rogue One starts. so Let me put this question to you, though. If that's true, how do you explain where he's at in Rogue One? Because your point, I think that he's some kind of like a ah strong rebel.
00:10:10
Speaker
like That's not the guy in Rogue One. The guy in Rogue One is is trying to operate under the radar. He's not trying to make big moves. Oh, but I believe, I think he believes it in his whole heart.
00:10:21
Speaker
Okay. His methods might be a little more dark, but he believes it in his whole heart the same way that Luthien does. So, okay. All right. I'm going to shut down that conversation now for want of time, because there were just a couple of filmmaking things about this that I absolutely love.
Filmmaking Choices and Impact
00:10:38
Speaker
I love that Marva died off screen. That they didn't make a big deal about it and that 11 starts and you're like, oh, I guess she died.
00:10:49
Speaker
Right. That's huge. um Also, oh my gosh, poor B2's reaction and the way that Brasso was taking care of B2 like chokes me up every time. Amazing.
00:11:01
Speaker
um The tension build. In 12, I mean, it for me, it really starts at the very beginning with the music, with the theme music. And we talked earlier about how the theme music is different every time. And you notice with 12, what's this weird version of the theme music? Now you know it was the it was the funeral band.
00:11:22
Speaker
And oh my gosh, just the rising of the tension in that. It was amazing to watch. I i feel like I could just keep watching it over and over again. the The last thing is this, Phil, this might be news to you.
00:11:35
Speaker
And I'm curious as to whether you think this would have worked or not. In the original script, Marva gets to the end of her whole speech.
00:11:46
Speaker
And she doesn't say fight the Empire She says another word that starts with F that is not family friendly, which you now know what it is.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. They just, they filmed it both ways. They decided to go with the tamer version of fight the empire. What would you have thought if that's what you had heard?
00:12:10
Speaker
um It's that's a very interesting question. I, you know, cause yeah, that That would be the only instance of of her of that type of language in the series otherwise, right? To that like level of explicitness.
00:12:24
Speaker
i I actually kind of love when established franchises break the rules like that. There's an example, and not to not to bring in another multimedia franchise, but in Skyfall, in the Bond series, the only utterance of that word is by M towards the very end of Skyfall before the big battle sequence.
00:12:43
Speaker
And it's very intentional. And it's the only time they ever say it. And it has real resonance, I think, in the emotional context of that scene. yeah Now, coming back here, that now that you said that,
00:12:57
Speaker
I actually feel like I like Fight the Empire better. I feel like it fits more. I feel like it would feel a little bit out of context, maybe if she said that.
00:13:08
Speaker
Not in terms of like, I believe that she says that, like how she that maybe, you know, how she could talk. But it feels a little bit out of place for whatever reason in the broader context of the scene and the series, I think.
00:13:20
Speaker
yeahp And Ben, I see you nodding your head. You agree with that?
Andor's Shadows and Bix's Role
00:13:23
Speaker
Yeah, I just want to add that I think that I think the fight the Empire is a little more of a directive. That's also true. It's not a complaint. it's it's the It's the capstone to this entire speech that was, hey, you guys, we've slept. We need to wake up. You need to fight right now.
00:13:40
Speaker
Yeah. Unless it is a directive, in which case, well, it's another story. I'm not sure how one does that exactly to the Empire. Yeah. but The Empire is you know, it's.
00:13:52
Speaker
Yeah. um like ah one One filmmaking thing that I really loved, and this is really interesting sometimes where where stories ultimately place their characters in the context of the broader action, Andor is not really like in the midst of the fighting. He's using the fighting as a distraction to get Bix out.
00:14:10
Speaker
And him sort of like weaving his way, you know, in the back alleys, in the sewers, and ultimately... to get her to not directly fight the Empire, be in the crowds, but to really save his friend and then get her to safety, I think is a really interesting moment for him as well. And I love I love that kind of storytelling element as well, kind of And again, it harkens back to, you know, is he kind of like lurking in the shadows a little bit?
00:14:34
Speaker
he's not maybe He's not maybe in the directive. He's a little bit on the sidelines, but still doing the good work. Do you think that Bix represents a kind of the sister he could save? Well, no, because I feel like they've had a romantic past.
00:14:47
Speaker
They have. we We know that they have. But, you know, Ben, I've never thought of that before. And that is an interesting thought. Yeah, it is. Because both those things could be true at the same time. that Yeah. Yeah.
Bonus Episode Announcement
00:14:56
Speaker
All right, friends, let me tell you a fun story. We wrapped up there and then in the green room, we kept talking and we realized, let's just hit the record button and do another episode. So stay tuned later this week. You're going to get a bonus episode with more thoughts about the finale of Andor.
00:15:11
Speaker
We'll see you then. Meanwhile, do all the subscribey things. May the force be with you. We'll see you real soon. Who's got mindless toys to do? Podcasts, hope you see them through. Star Wars is your favorite unit.
00:15:23
Speaker
Let's chat for 15 minutes. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for sporn trooper? Aren't you a little short for a sporn trooper?