Season two of Andor is officially comprised of 12 episodes but, really, it’s more like 14. That’s because after the final episode ends, you are meant to jump right into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which extends Cassian’s tale for another two hours.
Since we’ve had those last few hours with us for almost a decade now, we decided to watch Rogue One again, thinking only about Andor season two. Diego Luna himself has repeatedly said that when you watch Rogue One after Andor, certain lines will mean new and different things. Could we figure out what he’s talking about? Let’s dive in.
Rewatching the film, two lines Cassian delivers really stood out as almost goalposts Andor creator Tony Gilroy has to hit to really make season two land. The first is when Cassian and Jyn have an argument, and he says this to her:
“What do you know? We don’t all have the luxury of deciding when and where we want to care about something. Suddenly the Rebellion is real for you. Some of us live it. I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old. You’re not the only one who lost everything. Some of us just decided to do something about it.”
We’ve already seen how some of that is true. Cassian was adopted by his rebellious parents around the age of six, so that checks out. But here he says he “lost everything.” At the end of Andor season one, he still has a lot. He has a friendship with Luthen Rael. He’s got the love and friendship of B2EMO, Bix Caleen, Brasso, and Wilmon, who all escape Ferrix with him. Surely he can’t lose them all, right? RIGHT, TONY!!?!? Though, it certainly seems that will be the case from Cassian’s thoughts in Rogue One.
The other line comes from right before Jyn and the crew leave Yavin 4 for Scarif. Rebel leaders don’t think they should go but Cassian, as well as several others, tell Jyn they volunteered:
“Some of us—well, most of us—we’ve all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion. Spies, saboteurs, assassins. Everything I did, I did for the Rebellion. And every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause that I believed in. A cause that was worth it. Without that, we’re lost. Everything we’ve done would have been for nothing. I can’t face myself if I gave up now. None of us could.”
Now, even in the movie, we see Cassian do terrible things for the Rebellion. He kills the informant at the beginning of the movie, for one, and comes very close to assassinating Galen too. But the speech here speaks to a much longer, deeper pain. Missions upon missions, deaths upon deaths, all of which weigh on the character. That feels like something that’s going to be spread across the season, making these lines about Cassian’s sacrifice hit much, much harder. Who could he kill that would make him feel like this? Will he really feel it’s worth it?
Then, of course, there’s the obvious stuff. Several characters from Andor season one return in Rogue One, so we can safely assume their stories will be told in the new season. How Mon Mothma leaves the Senate to become the leader of the Rebel Alliance, for example. I also forgot that Ruescott Melshi, the prisoner Cassian escapes Narkina 5 with, appears in Rogue One as a member of the Rebels. His story could be in there. And then, of course, there are the things we’ve already seen from trailers—like the return of Director Krennic and debut of Cassian’s best droid friend, K-2SO.
Those two lines, though, really shook me to the core. There’s a lot to look forward to, but also be scared of, when Andor season two debuts on Disney+ April 22 with the first three episodes of 12. Then, each subsequent Tuesday, three more will debut until May 13, when the final three episodes drop. And that’s the night you want to carve out a few more hours to watch Rogue One right after.
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