ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - ANDOR Season 2 Episodes 4-6 BREAKDOWN - Star Wars Easter Eggs You Missed!

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

Andor Season 2 ramps up the fight for Ghorman, as plenty of legacy Star Wars characters make an appearance, including Orson Krennic, Bail Organa, with several hints that Emperor Palpatine might make an appearance soon. ScreenCrush breaks down all of the Star Wars Easter Eggs and references you missed!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maybe we can do some good together. Hey, welcome back to Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Erie. And this is all of the Easter eggs references and little things you might have missed in Andor episodes 4 through 6 of season 2. Now, just like last week, if you have not seen all three of these episodes, don't worry. We're going to chapter mark them and we will be spoiler-free as we go along. So watch one part, then come back for the rest. Remember, you can listen to us everywhere you get your podcast and smash our link below to become a member of our merch store to get free stuff. Now, first I want to address a mistake or two in our first video. Like a lot of you told me on

our Discord server, Cassian was piloting a Thai Avenger, a ship that was from the old canon that now is new to the Disney Canon. I also implied, but didn't outright explain that the jungle planet was actually Yavin 4. I was trying to avoid spoilers, but then the temples when Andor flies away gave it away. And later in the season, you'll see why I didn't want to spoil anything for you guys. So this arc takes place one year after episodes 1 through 3 in 3 BBY, three years before Star Wars. a new hope. Now, on our free-to-join Discord server, a lot of you had questions about the timeline and like what else was happening in the galaxy during the show. Specifically, what was happening on Star Wars Rebels, and some of you even asked why Darth Vader wasn't in this show, and I got

answers for you. Rebels is a show that takes place in the exact same time period as Andor, but stays focused on one particular rebel cell as they gradually joined the larger interconnected rebellion. It does feature characters like Mon Mothma, Wedg Antilles, and Lando Calryzian, as well as Clone Wars-era characters like Hondo Anaka and Rex. The cool thing about Rebels in Andor season two, though, is that they complement each other by filling in different gaps. So the first arc of this season of Andor took place in 4 BBY, which is right when Canaan and Ezra doled the Grand Inquisitor, who was also this guy in Obi-1 Kenobi.

And during the events of episodes 1 through 3, Leah became a junior senator and also appeared in the show Rebels. Now, you probably notice that the rebellion seems to be a bit more organized in the first arc of this season. That's because this coincides with when Anakin's old apprentice, Assocatano, appeared on rebels as the agent Fulcrum, and her job was to coordinate all of these different rebel cells. So, while Luthin was coordinating intelligence and sharing information among rebel cells, Asoka was coordinating military operations between these different rebel groups.

And the battle between Darth Vader and Asocatano occurred during the first three episodes of Andor Season 2, which is why Darth Vader is not in this show. He's out hunting down Rogue Jedi and other rebels. Now, there was a one-year time jump between Rebels Season 2 and 3, and that is when these next three episodes take place. So, Tony Gilroy and his team did a great job finding just a little bit of continuity where they could tell this story, and I love how well they blend all of this together. Now, when that date comes on screen, notice we hear these bells. Now, I missed this in episode 1 this season, but those are the bells of pharynx.

Those were rung at the start of every new day on that planet. And this is a clever way to keep this series tied back to pharix and to let us know that we are starting a new chapter in this saga. So we open on Bix and Cassie and staying at a safe house on Corrassan, the capital planet of the Empire. Now, this is a small apartment owned by Luthin, where various rebel operatives can hide out. Bix is still having nightmares about Gorsed, the Imperial who tortured her in season one, by making her listen to the amplified screams of dying children. Now you remember, this guy was completely devoid of human emotion, reminded me a lot of the six-fingered man for the Princess Bride.

Local commanders were granted permission to use any means necessary and, um, well... I'm sure you've discovered my deep and abiding interest in pain. But then they did something really interesting in this scene. Because it's been a year since the last episode, we know that these two would have been on different missions in the interim. And as we find out later in the episode, Cassian is being very overprotective of Bix. When he left her alone on Farrix, she was tortured, and when he left her alone on Mina Rao, she was sexually assault. So we find out that while they were on a mission, Cassian executed an imperial soldier simply because he saw Bix's face. So subconsciously, Bix is afraid that Cassian is becoming like an imperial.

She's afraid that life has become meaningless for him like it was for Gorsd. And this is why Dream Gorsd says, I know you wanted him to live, but Cassian said he'd seen your faces. Now this dream is actually Bix's ultimate expression of empathy. When she sees the soldier's face and the torture device that Gorsd used, Bix is imagining that she was, the person who was tortured and killed. She can see herself in the victim and she's terrified that she and Cassian are becoming monsters like Gorsed. It's also a neat touch that we see his helmet on the ground. Maybe when they killed him he was wearing the helmet, but now she's able to

imagine his actual face. Now what makes this show so great is that it always puts characters first in every situation. So back to Andor, Bix is having night terrors in sleepwalking, which is common for people who have been in traumatic situations. Yeah, like Tony Stark and Iron Man 3. Well, technically, his armor was sleepwalking, but yes. Now, when we saw Bix on Mina Rao, she seemed to be doing a little bit better. She still had night terrors, but at least she was surrounded by friends. But now she's cut off from the rest of the world, and that's actually making her worse and turn inward. Now, this apartment is why I like to call 1980s futurism, because it's probably what people in the 80s would have imagined the future would look like, but it's made from materials that would have actually been available in the 60s, 70s and

80s. Now, the building they're living in is an ugly, brutalist structure, so it's fitting that it's inside of the imperial capital. In our last video, I talked about how buildings on other worlds always seem to blend in with nature. But imperial buildings are always imposing on the landscape. So Bix, whose mind is haunted by the empire, is now forced to actually live inside the empire itself. And then we go to Gorman, the setting for much of this season.

Now, in Rebels, we saw Mon Mothma formally resigned her Senate seat over the Gorman Massacre. And last season, she was fighting for Gorman rights. I named the emperor himself for ordering the brutal attacks on the people of Gorman. And of course, we heard about them in the first arc when Kinnick revealed the Empire's plans for the planet. So, for an old-school Star Wars fan, it is a thrill to finally get to see this planet. Notice it's part of the Rima Trade Route, which was first mentioned in the novel Tarkin.

Now, that mention is appropriate because Tarkin is deeply tied to the history of this planet. In the old legend's continuity, like before Disney bought Lucas film, the Gorman Massacre happened just two years after the empire was formed. Now Tarkin is, of course, the administrator who was in charge of the Death Star in a New Hope, And the expanded material reveals that he was a cruel, calculating bastard. So, I like that this series is keeping this little bit of continuity while setting up a new Gorman massacre that will eventually drive Mon Mothma away from the empire. The Gorman capital city, Palma, looks like it's in Austria or Switzerland,

which is appropriate because the city itself seems to be a mesh of different European styles. In the promo video we saw in episode one, the city looked very cosmopolitan, with everyone adorned at the finest Gorman fabrics. But in the modern day, the populace look a little more beaten down. also noticed that they've added this memorial to the massacre that did not appear in that film from episode one. Now Cyril has taken a promotion that's actually a secret undercover ISB assignment. This is because, just like his mom pointed out last episode, he wants to go off and have adventures like his dad. Cyril's father fancied himself an adventurer.

One day, suddenly he was gone. Now a few things to notice here, like the circular window. Much like on Chandrilla, architecture on Gorman favors curves and circles, not the angular, brutalist lines of imperial structures. He's also decorated his home with Gorman spiders, so it would seem to a stranger that he enjoys these people and their culture. And this trick where he leaves like the floss tied to the door is an old spy trick that we saw in movies like The Sting.

Now, it seems to me that the Gormons and the Gorman Front are inspired by French partisans from World War II. These were the freedom fighters who resisted Nazi occupation during the war. Even the street outside this place seems very French. The street is small and narrow and so are the vehicles. And this little bike is even like a Vespa. There's even this chef crossing the street with the pot. It's practically the opening of Beauty and the Beast. But mostly, the Gorman language seems to be designed to sound exactly like French.

The city center shows us how this really is a city of artisans and the architecture reflects the history and culture of these people. Notice the columns are curved and they look like they were woven, you know, like a spider web. And later in the episode, we see the columns that taper down to become circular benches to show that everything in this world was designed with care and always with the people in mind. Now, compare this to imperial structures, which always look very cold and uncomfortable. The dominant feature in the square is this dome and the spire that the Imperials are building. Now, I keep pointing out all the hidden Death Stars in this season,

and this construction here looks like the second Dead Star, as it gradually overshadows the dome, which could be the first Death Star. Cyril walks by protesters in the square. Now, the crowd is small, but this is exactly what the empire wanted. They wanted the Gorman's to appear unruly and disobedient. And his mother, Edie, shows us how the imperial propaganda is working. The wet weavers or lectapots. Oh, the thought of it. Now, we love the spiders. Oh, it's an image we can build on. Aggressive, unpleasant, keeping to themselves. And then she goes on to say,

I'm not buying Gorman again. I'm sick of it. They were always too good for the rest of us. As Cyril says she's watching too much imperial news. And during this conversation, she's just casually getting her hair done in the salon. But I thought this line was the most telling. This mockery of Emperor Palpatine. Now, from the movies, we only ever see Palpatine as this cruel, withered old Sith Lord. But he was able to rise to power because he was extremely popular. Even as a senator, he was unassuming, he made friends, and he was always there to help other people.

So it makes sense that he would be popular among the elites and the people who are comfortable. And using fear as a tool, tool also makes people feel like they need you, as we heard in season one. The emperor's primary charge is to protect us, is it not? Which reminds me, if you would like to join the Rebel Alliance, we have designed these new shirts for you. The Rebel Scum graffiti painted over an Imperial Roundel, and the stay on target to celebrate the victory against the Death Star.

Or, if you're on the other side, and you would like to celebrate the founding of our glorious Galactic Empire! Get your Happy Empire Day shirt, available at Empire Day Celebration kiosks, or in our merch store where we design all the merch ourselves. Like I said earlier, sign up to get rewards and get free stuff. Now, back to the episode. Now, I also appreciated how Cyril's office is designed like the bridge of an imperial ship, with the commander having a high walkway, but the workers are down in a pit,

so he can see if they're goofing around or playing Bolognes on their computer. How about one more game? My luck has to run out eventually. Now, in the square, Cyril walks by these aliens, and one of them looks like an Akiaki from Planet Pisana that we saw in Rise of Skywalker. And in this episode, I think this dog creature is a new species, although it could be another breed of a Sheffy. the dog that Carrie Fisher's dog Gary played and The Last Jedi.

We think this alien is for DeWinny. Back on Coruscant, we see Bix and Cassian struggling to lead a normal life, as they argue over which grocery store is the safest. And there is a lot of fun stuff to unpack inside of the store. First of all, and I could be wrong about this, I think the music playing inside is a re-orchestration of the acrobats from the Star Wars Holiday Special. course, that special was so bad that George Lucas wanted to destroy every copy that ever existed, but more recent Star Wars canon has actually embraced aspects of it, you know, like the mentions

of Life Day. I was hoping to be free for Life Day. This alien looks like a whipit. Now, the grocer says that they just got melons in from Yukia. Now, that is a planet that is mentioned in the junior novel, Jedi Quest, Changing of the Guard. And these melons are Melons are Melu runs, which we first saw in Star Wars Rebels. The Arbash on this candy reads Pizzo, probably the Star Wars version of Pez. These jars on top read Fung and this one reads Dreyer Medley Instant. And these cartons on the side read OJ. And this creature in the cage is your mom. And you know, I keep talking about the hidden death stars in this season,

so how about this hologram over to the side? Definitely looks like a hidden death star to me. In fact, in continuity, this is the way the Death Star first appeared back in Attack of the Clones. As Cyril walks to work, he has offered a spider and notice how this case has a web designed in the lid, which is just another cool design detail that makes this world feel even more real and lived in. And as he's invited to a meeting with the Gorman front, notice that the protest in the square is getting larger than the previous day. And then we go to Bix cleaning her blaster, and I love that they filmed her through the bottom of a glass table.

It's a way to show us all of this gear that she's working with. To show us that she's not fully put together right now, and we can also see the despair on her face. But most importantly, we see the grime on the table obscuring her face, which reflects her mental state, where she is not even sure who she is anymore. Is she a cold-blooded murderer? Has Cassian become worse than the people they're fighting? These are all questions that are conveyed just by lowering that camera beneath the table. Then she finally confronts him about killing the soldier and Cassian says, Bix, you put on the uniform, you take your chances.

And this is the argument used to justify all war. As soon as somebody puts on a uniform, they are no longer a person. They become an extension of the state. But Bix isn't used to this life. And she says, I can't stop seeing his face. And Cassian's response humanizes him in a way that actually helps. helps to relieve her guilt.

It fades. Bix wants to live a real life and go to the big park. And Cassian says, I told you they put cameras in. So I wonder if this big park could be Monument Plaza, which is built around the tallest mountain peak in Corrassan. In fact, we saw it in the special edition of Return of the Jedi, in the Clone Wars, and in Mandalorian season three.

Now Cassian doesn't want to let her out of his sight after what happened on Mina Rao, and she even tries to distance herself from his attachment. I'm not Marva, I'm not your sister. Marva was his mother, and Cassie of course was separated from his sister when he was a child. In fact, he began the series looking for his sister and we still don't know if she is alive or dead. And then we cut to the core of what's bothering her. She feels guilty because Cassian killed for her. She is terrified

of becoming her enemy and she wants to know if it's worth the sacrifice. But if I'm giving up everything, I want to win. Back on Gorman, Imperial trucks go by. And unlike the other vehicles on the street from earlier, these are loud, noisy, and imposing. They feel like they are imposing on the natural order of this world. Once he's safe inside, Cyril reads the message from the gormans, and, like the protest sign earlier, it is written in the native language of the planet, and since I don't speak space French, I don't know what it says. Now, when he returns to the square, notice the waterfall falling through the monument makes the sound of wind chimes. This seems like it's inspired by other tributes like the 9-11 Memorial in New York City.

At the facility, the Imperials are watching a pod race, complete with the same sound effects that we heard in the Phantom Menace. This pod race also looks like it takes place in the canyons of Tadouine, just like we saw in that movie. Now, this Arabesh was too blurry for me to read with screener footage. The only word that I could actually make out completely was the word winners on the lower right-hand corner. But when the high-res version of the episode drops, we will do the translation and let you guys know what it says on our Discord server. Also notice that the guards are always eating. Now, this is a detail that Gilroy used a lot in season one.

Imperials are often showing casually drinking coffee. from to-go cups or eating snacks, while overseeing genocide and cultural displacement. It's a way to show how out of touch they are with human suffering. So when Cyril enters, he passes by this after-hours Roomba and enters a secure room through a door that's shaped like a sabot card. When he calls Deidre, notice again that in her window there are orbs that look like death stars with the dividing line in the middle. Even the plants in her apartment are cold and sterile, cacti in glass cases.

But that's fitting since she is also a person who detaches herself from normally motions and interaction with the outside world. Now, Cyril name drops the Gorman front, the rebel cell that Saul Guerrera mentioned in season one. The Gorman front. And he's disappointed that his news isn't big enough to bring to her commanding officer Leo Partigaz. I thought you want a brief Partigaz? No, you'll want more than that. Now, like Cyril's mom said, he's always trying to prove his worth, to prove his masculinity, and he craves the approval and attention of authority figures, especially male authority figures. Now, Deidre's former assistant here has been promoted to Lieutenant, the same rank as her, judging by their matching rank badges.

He has taken over, tracking down Axis after Deidra was the first person to realize that there was a common person coordinating between different rebel cells. Axis, of course, is Luth and Rayel. But Deidre still wishes the assignment was hers because she wants to prove herself, because she is one of the few women in the ISB. And after she was attacked on pharynx, this has become personal for her. She wants to find Axis, so all of her trauma becomes worth it. Remember, this lieutenant is a rebel spy named Lonnie, and I love how they show him subtly working to gain information from the others. He's brave and stands up to Partagas by telling him the truth. We're arresting too many people.

And this means that the others now feel indebted to him so he can gain information in a social context. How do I repay you? You can buy me lunch. And during the meeting, Leo also name drops Colonel Wolf Eularen, who we saw on the Death Star here, and then the Emperor himself. And I got to say, I love that Palpatine never actually appears in this series. He should feel elusive and out of touch at all times. And then we get a montage of Mon Mothma trying to curry votes to repeal the Pord. Or like those little birds in The Last Jedi?

No, that's Porg. Pord is the public order resentencing directive. In season one, after the Aldani heist, the emperor cracked down on all crimes, redoubling sentences. Any criminal act with even indirect effect on the empire will henceforth be branded our class one offense. And this is why Cassian was sent to prison for six years. As Mon says, this directive has actually created more crime because the Imperials just keep arresting people. What she doesn't know is that the Empire is arresting all of these people because they need slave labor to build the Death Star.

Now, it's ironic that she is also trying to solve the ISB's main problem. Lonnie says that the Empire is arresting too many people, and Mon Mothma agrees, but Part of Gaz's meeting with the emperor is to figure out how to process all of the people they've arrested and not to discuss pumping the brakes on the PORD. Now notice she's outside of the Senate building that, of course, we first saw in the Phantom Menace. First, she speaks to Dacey Oren, the senator from Gorman. Now, in this corridor, she and her aide Erskine are talking to a tarsent and an Ottingen. This alien senator looks like a wealthy singulon. So she tries to cash in a favor from the Gorman senator, reminding him that she helped lift the imperial blockade of his planet. And he responds by telling her that Gorman only has one export, their spider fabric and that everything else to survive has to be brought in.

So again, this reminded me of the French economy in the first part of the 20th century, when their primary exports were luxury items like clothing and perfume. Because of fear, this senator can't go against the emperor, which again is the whole point of the death star. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station. Then we intercut between two different rebel meetings. Lonnie, meeting with Luthen, to let him know that Deidre is no longer hunting him. Instead, she's been moved to Gorman. So this lets Luton know that Gorman is far more important than he ever realized. And the other meeting is Cyril entering the Gorman front.

So I love the cultural flourishes here, like how the Gormans applaud by pounding their shoulders, and they curse by extending their arms. These gestures do make them seem strange to the rest of the galaxy, but they also indicate a people who value their traditions and preserving their native language. Cyril does a good job of observing and playing it cool. By not seeming too eager, he actually makes the Gormans chase him a little bit. I'm not sure that's allowed.

Is there a law against seeking imperial counsel? Now back on Coruscant, Cassian wakes up with Bix, but instead of dreaming about Gorse, she spotted Luthan Signal, which is calling Cassian into action. He wants to send Cassie into Gorman to assess whether or not the Gorman Front is a group that's actually worth backing. Gorman would be a remarkable place to turn our way. Which of course, all of this is part of Diedra's trap. Remember, she said,

You need a radical insurgency you can count on. You need Gorman rebels you can depend on to do the wrong thing. Luzin also makes a small mention of a rebel pilot that once crashed on Gorman, and that was his only connection to the planet. There was a rebel pilot that went down and we tried to help us. And I loved this tiny bit of world building. So this little subtle detail is the kind of thing that, you know, someone is someday is going to write a story about in Star Wars Insider and make it canon. And it's all going to have started from a throwaway line in this episode.

And then we go to Saul Guerrera's base on Dakar. Now, Saul, as most of you know, is an extremist, a very violent rebel commander who uses harsh tactics against the empire. And years later, he will be at odds with Mon Mothma. Now here, he is headquartered on the same planet as the resistance base in Force Awakens, which it makes sense that Leia would use old undiscovered rebel bases as hideouts. That's why she had the resistance fleet head for the old rebel base on crate and the Last Jedi. Now standing guard outside, we see Saul's lieutenants, two tubes and benthic and their species are called the Tognaz.

And they're carrying these long rifles, which I think are similar to Tuscan raider rifles that shoot projectiles instead of lasers. Now inside, we see that Wilman has made a device to steal rhidonium, which is a very powerful and unstable starship fuel. Now, this scene is weird as hell, but it actually connects a lot of dots for us. Saul talks about how rhidonium is extremely dangerous if it touches you or if you inhale it. If you breathe just a little too deeply burn from the inside. In fact, if you inhale too much rydonium, it can actually dissolve your vocal cords and make you mute.

And then we see saw take a big old whiff of it. So I think people use this as a drug like huffing glue. For Saul, it's symbolic of how he lives his life, someone who is constantly on the edge of death and survival. So, if Saul is inhaling this stuff to get his jollies, then it explains why he can barely talk in Rogue One. And why he needs a breathing mask. Did you come here to kill me? In fact, that breathing mask might be hooked up to more Rydonium, so he's just high all the time. And this would also explain why he becomes so completely bat-shit, paranoid, and insane.

Poor gullic. Poor gullic. And here we see Levin Tenza, a sabat, and Jubilee Spurado, a Mephtian. And on the right, we see Moroff who is a Geigorian. And I also love this tender goodbye between Bix and Cassian as they graze their hands across one another. It seems so ritualistic, I wonder if it was some kind of custom developed on pharix. But then, after he leaves, she starts taking a drop of this drug, which I'm wondering, could this also be rhidonium? Now let's move on to episode five.

Now the intro begins as normal, but then it cuts in and out, like a radio frequency. This is a clever transition to Clea listening to the radio, but it's also because Andor's life is just one of many pieces of information that they're monitoring. So his theme becomes diagetic sound like a radio signal. Yeah, it's like poetry, sort of if they rhyme. She tunes into Skolden, the gangster who is Mon Mothma's new in-law, and hears that he's upset that one of his art pieces was a forgery. And this means that he's going to have to do a thorough sweep of all the art and he's going to find the bug that Clea and Luthin are using to spy on him.

Now, one of the signals she hears is also from Ryloth, the home planet of the Twylex, and the setting for a brilliant four-episode arc of the Clone Wars. And here, just beneath Padme's headdress from Attack of the Clones and Plow Coon's mask, we can see a breastplate of mandolian armor. This is the way. And on the top shelf in the back room, we can see the three stones from Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom, which was of course produced by Star Wars creator George Lucas. Meanwhile, Andor goes to the lower levels of Chorusant, which we first saw in live action and attack of the clones. Now, this is normally the seedy underbelly of the planet, and it takes heavy inspiration from the movie Blade Runner. Notice the gank power droid walking around outside, and the alien homeless person here is a Kedirian, just like one of the aliens who rescued Cassian from the prison planet in season one.

So Cassian enters his travel agency with the Arrubesh sign outside, telling us this place is owned by Noobon. Not to see him, Cassian has to use this code phrase. I have friends everywhere. And remember that code phrase for later in the season. The monitors display various destinations around the galaxy with the Arbethes on this screen reading Doon Sea. That's the wastelands of Tadowing. I'm not sure why anybody would want to go there unless it's to maybe see the Sarlac. Howdy partners, come on down to Tateween to visit the desolate Doon Sea.

We got moisture farmers, Tashi stations, got power converters, and you can feed your young-ins to the Sarlack pit if they get out of line. But watch out, you'll probably die out here. Now, I believe that Bond species is an arcadian, and he sets up Cassium with an earpiece that describes his new identity. So this, of course, takes inspiration from one of the greatest all-time spy franchises, Mission Impossible. Should you or any member of your team be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions? I love the lower-level design here and how, like, 70s and 80s it looks, with this rainbow painted on the side. We even see this with the character's hairstyles.

Everybody is dressing like the actors in the original Star Wars trilogy, since this show is actually a lead-up. to a new hope. Now the Arrubesh here is blurry but I think it reads like galaxy something and store. Cassian's cover story says that he was born in Tahini and this planet was mentioned in the very first episode of the series. We do have a lovely lady here tonight from Tahina who's got those big dark eyes you're looking for. On Gorman we see that serial is more engaged with his mom just like Dedra promised but he's only doing this so the Gorman front can listen in on his conversations and this neatly transitions to Clea also listening to other people's conversations with her old-fashioned switchboard operator. We also find out that Skullden has had the art forger killed and that his

full sweep is going to lead to the discovery of Luthan's microphone in his office. And while we learn about the fake art in Skullden's office, Cassian gets the rundown on his fake identity as an artist, which neatly intercuts with Cyril putting on a show of his own, pretending like he had no idea his office was bugged. How long it's been there or if it's even operational or unknown? And his little temper tantrum, we're bugging our own office. really sold this allusion to the gorman front. But as Cassian says later in the episode, the gormans really just want to believe what they want to believe.

By their nature, they're gentle artisans and don't really have any experience or stomach for war. So when they go through Cyril's record as a security guard in season one, the Arabesh under his name reads, Pree-Ox Morlana security. Now, when they talk to Cyril, who is now dressing like a gorman complete with his Franco-style beret, they try to appeal to his imperial patriotism.

Many of us believe the emperor has no way. idea what's being done on his behalf. I think this is a brilliant bit of writing. They're trying to make Cyril feel as if the ISB are the real enemy, and he would be doing the emperor of favor by exposing this conspiracy against him. What if we could help the empire by working together? Now, outside of Bix's place, we see this building with multiple landing platforms, just a cool bit of design from the art department that I really like.

Luton checks in on Bix, in part because she's a good soldier and useful. We need you, Bix. We need you healthy. But also, he knows that Bix is Cassian's weak point. He killed an Imperial Guard to protect her, and if she's not happy, he'll take fewer missions to stay with her. I mean, he almost turned down Gorham because he didn't want to leave her behind. Luthan reminisces that he used to live in the safe house, and he implies that he's also used the drug that Bix is taking. He works for a while, but the dreams come back worse when you stop. Now, I do think that Lutthin cares about people, but he also uses people, and he doesn't hesitate to sacrifice others.

For instance, he sent Wilman to help train Guerrera's engineer to hack into the Imperial Fuel Depot. and Luthan probably knew that there was a good chance Saul would kill Wilman. Now, when the engineer asked Wilman who taught him this, he goes quiet. So the answer is probably his dad, who the Empire tortured and killed in season one. And as Cyril is packing up his gear, I love how we see all of this data reflected in his eyes. It's a great way to show his growing inhuman. He's no longer really a person, he's an imperial operative, part of a machine. And this is the opposite of the people of Gorman.

When they greet one another, the gesture looks like they're opening their hearts to each other, whereas Cyril is closed off and concealing his true intentions from them. So he provides the Gorman Front with transport logs that he knows are the perfect bait. I mean, even just the fact that some of them are labeled, military security required, means that they will see what they want to see and attack the shipment. So when Cassian arrives, we first see him reflected in this puddle. It's a great visual way to show us that he is appearing as a double identity, a reflection of his true self.

In the lobby, this alien looks like a nithorn, a species that we first saw in Solo. Now, the hotel itself is like gold and gaudy, like a high-end hotel might have looked in the 1970s, but it's fitting that it looks kind of tacky because Gorman used to be a cosmopolitan planet, but after the imperial suppression, they would have fallen behind the latest trends in styles. Then the bellhop describes the Gorman Massacre, how Grand Moth Tarkin, you know, this guy, killed hundreds of people in the square simply because he didn't want to land somewhere else. And this actually clears up a bit of continuity confusion. In the old legend's continuity, the Gorman Massacre took place two years after the empire was formed.

But in Star Wars Rebels, it happens two years before a new hope. I named the Emperor himself for ordering the brutal attacks on the people of Gorman. By saying that there are actually two Gorman massacres, the one with Tarkin and the one that is referenced in Rebels. If I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right? So I love how, with just a few sentences, they're able to give this hotel worker just some character shading. So this is the site of the worst day of his life, the day he lost his father, and yet he works in a hotel overlooking the memorial. It shows us the resilience of the Gorman people

and how they fight to remember their losses. And this is why the Imperial Armory being so close to this site is such an insult to their people. So, Cyril arrives on Coruscant, barely missing his greatest enemy, Andor. And in the station, he walks by these maps of various hyperspace lanes, showing the interconnected routes to travel across the galaxy, like hopping on different train lines. And honestly, I could watch a whole series,

about him and Dejra's relationship. It's such a weird love language, like she had him followed, she's kissing him like he's a filing cabinet, but then... Turn out the lights. So she can do weird things to him on that little race car bed of the background. Gorman is the complete opposite of High Society Correscent. In Dejra's world, everything is very white and sterile, like the afterlife in the Deathly Hallows. But in Gorman, everything is made of brass and still very shiny. And these two scenes also show us how Andor and Cyril are in similar circumstances, but, because of their experience, as they react very differently. They each arrive at one another's homes on a secret mission.

They're each followed after they arrive, but only Andor notices this. They meet up with a woman, but then they have opposite power dynamics. Then they meet with an older authority figure where, again, Andor is the expert, and Cyril is begging for approval from the Imperial officer. Season one showed us how these two fatherless, listless young men were radicalized into two very different movements. But they diverged because Cassian had a mother who taught him to fight depression while Cyril had a mother who taught him to crave approval. And later on, we see that he's still eating cereal with the blue milk that we first saw in a new hope. And generally, he's just

regressing into his childhood. We also get this snippet of a talk show in the hollow net, which is an important glimpse into how the empire is able to distract ordinary people with bullshit entertainment while their government is committing massacres. I want to talk parties, political parties. No, it's festive week. And she is surrounded by takeout containers high out of her mind. And the metaphor here is clear. These are the ways that people distract themselves when they find themselves living in a fascist state with mind-numbing entertainment, takeout food, and substance abuse. As Andor speaks to Kara Rylans, she notes how the cafe used to be full of designers. And now it's empty because the empire is trying to diminish the planet's importance. If people in the galaxy don't

like Gorman or if they're just apathetic to the people, then they won't care when the empire strip mines their world for clean energy. And by the way, that clean energy cover story for the Death Star is kind of funny because both clean energy and the Death Star are a quest for limited power and as Cassian talks to her I loved the framing here where we see his reflection speaking to her and not Cassian himself it is a cool visual way to show us that he is used to speaking with the double identity and she is not now as Cassian exits his hotel notice the luggage cart here is actually hovering you can hear the repulsors And then he goes to meet the partisan leader Rylance. Now Rylance is exactly the kind of rebel that Dedra was hoping for, someone who is inexperienced at spycraft and warfare. He is a tailor and not a soldier. 19 generations, one of the youngest villaries in Pau.

Now, I love this line because it tells us just how old this weaving culture is, and it subtly lets us know that these people are not fit for this kind of violent life. Now, Cassian has brought Rylens a new code crystal. Code crystal for the radio. Now this is an ingenious way to decode messages because the exact structure and shape of a crystal cannot be reproduced and they are all one of a kind. I also wonder if the crystals could be khyber crystals, and that's why Luthin gave one to Andor for safekeeping last season. When Rylance proudly shares the intel they've gathered, Cassian sees through it immediately. Feeding false information is what they do.

They have the gall to ask him. Ever done anything like this before? He just kind of smiles like, yeah, bitches, I was the pilot in the Aldani heist. Now again, there is a parallel here with Cyril when Partagaz calls him inexperienced and eager. But Cyril's actually kind of good at this kind of thing, and he gets his long-awaited out of boy from a male authority figure. Excellent work, Cyril. If I say this is the greatest day of my life, does it spoil everything? I also liked these little small details, like how some of these signs are written Arabeche,

and some of them are written in the native Gorman language that we saw on the protest signs in the square. And some of the signs are written in both languages, and this just shows us how the Gorman Mormons are kind of separate from the rest of the galaxy and why it was so easy for the empire to other them in the eyes of most of the core worlds. Now back on Coruscant, Luthin is waving advice to a client and a sweet-ass flying sports car. And then he and Clea have it out about the listening devices they planted in Skullden's. They run through some of the intel they gathered, like the Holo News buyouts. Now the Holo News is a galactic news network, and apparently Scalden was buying off their reporters. They also mentioned discovering that

Colonel Wolf Eulerin was lying about something. Again, that's this guy. who we first saw in The Death Star in A New Hope and who appeared in season one of Andor. And we also hear that Skullden was courting the Grand Vizier. That's this blue guy with headtails who has been with Palpatine ever since the Clone Wars. Remember, he's the one who oh so subtly helped

persuade Jar Jar Jar to give Palpatine ultimate power. If only Senator Amidala we're here. And then Luton says they're drowning in Intel. I can't keep track anymore. All this lines we've laid, all this is there for information, the radios, the frequencies, the messages flying around.

Just like how the ISB are drowning and arrests. Both sides have more intel and information than they can actually process. And then we go to another spy, Broody, the bearded engineer, as he presses saw for more info about where they are robbing the fuel from. If I could focus on one single variation, one, I'd have the confidence you're looking for. Maybe this guy was an imperial spy, or maybe he was just an idiot who couldn't learn this thing. But either way, it meant that Saul had no use for him. And after he kills him, I love that we can see his soldier's fanatical devotion to Saul Guerrera.

Drinking our Rido in peace. Now, by the time we met Saul in Rogue One, he was already a figure like Colonel Kurtz and Apocalypse Now. Now, do I say Rod Now? Well, Kurtz was an American colonel who went insane in the jungles of Vietnam. And then he inspired soldiers and locals to follow him in a kind of cult. and we can see that cult of Saul Guerrera starting here. Now, when Wilman is cracking the imperial fuel cells, Saul tells him his life story,

how he was imprisoned in the jungles of his home planet. I was a prisoner. He made a work camp in the jungle. No droids, no beastest men. Now, we actually saw part of Saul's backstory in the Clone Wars. He was a resistance fighter in the jungles of Onderon during the Clone Wars. And in an early mission, we saw his sister die. And this experience radicalized.

him. He talks about the Rydonium leaks on his planet and how they caused everyone's skin to break out and poison them. If it weren't for the Rydonium, he would be dead and still in prison. So Rydonium represents this fine line between life and death. His life was saved by this deadly substance. So Saul then considers himself both alive and dead at the same time, just like Colonel Kurtz did in Apocalypse Now. And the Rydonium is what made him realize this connection. And so he has grown to love this poisonous ether. And in a heartbreaking line, he even calls it. He's my sister, Rydow, and she loves me. So not only is he not afraid of death, but he kind of welcomes it. And this takes his final moments in Rogue 1 and gives them better context. He has

spent decades waiting to die, slowly poisoning himself with Rydonium. So of course, he welcomes the Death Star killing him. It's the only way that his story could ever end. Now, on to episode 6. We start on Port Stilgard on the Rima trade route, the same trade route as Palmo, the city capital. Now, just like we saw in season one, Luthen always parks the Fondor far away from populated areas. So Cassian was sent to give an appraisal of the Gorman front, and Luthon doesn't like what he hears. They started too late.

Now they're rushing. That's awfully definitive. They're not ready, Luton. I think they know that. And Cassian says, correctly, that the Gormans know nothing about fighting. This is a grim prophecy that foreshadows the sad ending of this episode.

But Luthon sees the value of a weak Gorman rebellion. He wants the empire to crack down on the planet because this is a well-known core world. Now that could sway a lot of public opinion in the highest power circles of Corrassant toward the rebellion and maybe inside other planets to rise up. Remember, this was a major reason that he planned the Aldani heist

to force the empire to overreact and cause more people to rebel. And when Cassian talks about all the lives lost, Luton says, It will burn very brightly. So ironically, Luton has the same goal for Gorman as the empire. The empire also wants the planet to rebel to justify strip mining its resources.

And this is exactly what Luton said about himself last season. I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. The alien in the art gallery looks somewhat similar to an Aaloxian in both collar and head shape. But if you recognize it, let me know down in the comments below. Meanwhile, Vell arrives on Gorman for her first appearance in this season's arc. Now remember, last season she was the operative in charge of the Aldani Heist, and she's also Mon Mothma's cousin. Now, she was in love with another rebel, Sinta,

who was always more cold and distant and who pushed her away. So for Sinta, it was the cause above all else. So this episode features different relationships that parallel each other in interesting ways. As Vell arrives on Gorman and Orr comes home to a clean apartment. Now, Bix claims her visit from Luthan made her realize how dirty the place was.

But his visit might have also made her realize how strung out and useless she had become. So the two of them share this incredibly tender moment where they flirt over his alias on Gorman. And I just love scenes like this in Star Wars. We never get to see this. Just two people who love each other being intimate. Yes, the battle scenes and the rebellion, they're important.

All that stuff is great. But moments like this show us what the rebellion is actually fighting for. And that is the main theme of this episode. But this sweet moment unravels when Andor hears that Luton visited Bix. So he is immediately suspicious, thinking that Lutthin wanted to assess his soldier so we could find out why Cassian didn't want to go on a mission without her. And then we go to a different couple who are having another kind of working relationship,

Mon Mothma and Perrin. Now, Parent is a worthless jackass, but he is very good at organizing the busy social calendar of a senator. He laments that at the start of this new Senate session, more and more people are throwing more lavish parties. And this, I think, is a really important detail because it shows us that those in power really are only there to solidify their own comfort and not to serve the people of their worlds. I mean, even Perrin is tired of entertaining and partying is literally his only job. And these spike gloves could be Vondun Scarekirik, aka Vondun crab armor. So these armors usually belong to the Yuzhen Vang as a symbol of status. And guys, it would be wild if they started to introduce Yuzin Vong into actual Disney Star Wars Canon.

So Andor visits the shop to confront him about Bix, and then he throws his words back at him that ended season one. Kill me. Or take me in. Kill me or take me in. You're in. Andor tells him that they are not droids. In other words, they are not machines that Luthon can program. They are people who have emotional and physical needs.

And then he responds with, We are not who you were when you started. Now Luton has already sold his soul to the devil to achieve his ends. I burned my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. But Cassian thinks that Luton wants to split up him and Bix to make him easier to control. But Luth encounters, I wonder as strong as you do. And then Cassian disappears from his own show while this main theme plays out through the stories of other characters. At ISBHQ,

Partagaz stops Hirt and Lonnie in the hallway to tell them that Dr. Gorsd is getting a sort of promotion. Now, Gorsd is the evil piece of shit that tortured Bix last season. Apparently, the emperor was so smitten with his work that now he's going to train an entire group in his methods. And Partigaz wants Lonnie and Hearst to watch over him. But this new assignment helps land them an invite to the party later on. And I love the small detail that here is just a little too eager to please. An honor, sir. It's an assignment. Calibrate your enthusiasm. Now back on Gorman, Vell is at the same cafe, but in the light of day, we can see the spider murals on the walls. Also notice how the canopies outside taper, almost like flower petals or spider webs. Just I love

the production design in this show so much. Even the goddy gold collaring in the cafe or in Andor's hotel room seems like it would have been in style, say, during the Phantom Menace, pre-clone Wars era, you know, when everything had this nice sheen and polish. So when Sinta shows up, the two of them admit that they accepted the assignment just so they could be with each other. Now, Senta had an accident that I'm sure we're going to read about in a comic book or a novel at some point, and her recovery time made her realize that her fight against the empire made her lose sight of what she is actually fighting for, not fighting for vengeance, but love. And right at the end of the scene, we hear...

...which I think is a direct callback to this. Somehow Palpatine returned. Sorry, I meant this. I'll have what she's having. Back at ISBHQ, we learned that Cyril has no idea what the empire actually wants from Gorman. So here we have our fourth couple in the episode with the working relationship. Perrin has no idea that Mon Mothma is a rebel leader. Val, Sinta, Cassi, and Bix are all soldiers in a cause that is trying to keep them apart.

And this all parallels with Cyril and Dedra, and the secret that she is keeping from him. Cyril must never know what this is all really about. Again, we're seeing a parallel hill between Partagaz and Luthan. They're both covert spy leaders who see relationship as entanglements that can complicate the mission they're trying to accomplish. Later in the episode, Synthis says, We're worth more to him separately than together.

And I think this episode is ultimately about Luthan showing why he is better than the empire, because he finally recognizes that people, like Cassian and Bix, work better when they put their heart into the fight and they're not just soldiers who follow every order just because it's an order. Good soldiers follow orders. Now, as they plan the Gorman heist, they use a model that's not built to scale, similar to how they plan the Aldani heist. And during the brief, Sam, with two M's, gets a little too mouthy. We need all the weapons we can get. Then Tim leads a morgueve. I remember, this is the same guy that was selling Cyril the spiders, and he is the perfect kind of idiot, a dumb-ass dude who somehow thinks he's smart.

Yeah, that guy's an idiot. Was an idiot. So Scenta and Vell aren't just there to help them with the robbery. They're also trying to teach them how to be soldiers, how to follow orders, how to obey the chain of command. But the gormans are in ancient people who are used to having wealth and influence so they don't like being ordered around. Again, Dedra read these people like a book, and she is setting them up perfectly to be screw-ups. Now, back on Coruscant, when Bix gets high, they film her from above with a shallow focus. and with this like slight blur at the edge of the frame.

And this is how they filmed Tay during the wedding when he got drunk in the first arc of this season. The binoculars use a viewfinder display similar to the one that Luke used in A New Hope, and Cassian sees the assignment signal go up that actually is setting up their revenge against Gorse later on. But we're meant to think that this is another assignment that will pull Cassian and Bix away from each other.

Now, in the Imperial Senate, the same building as the Senate chambers we saw in the prequels, the new session is about to start, as the senators have to take an imperial oath. of all beings. Peace and fountain. Now, in the novel Bloodline, we learned that in the New Republic era, Senators took a similar oath to preserve and protect their people.

But here, the oath is only about maintaining the glory of the empire. A galaxy assembled an empire. The master of ceremonies look similar to a Mustafarian, although I know that's not right. And if you guys recognize his species, let me know in the comments. It's actually driving me crazy. I can't place him. How heartbreaking is it to see Mon Mothma when she stops repeating the oath and she can only grip the dais, like she's barely holding on to what the Senate once was 20 years ago. So now, instead of creating meaningful legislation, her life is all parties and mixers,

while Imperials like Krennick have all the real power. Now when they arrive at Skullden's party, they meet Bail Organa outside, and he is of course the adopted father of Leah. Now, he was played by Jimmy Smith's in the prequel's, Rogue One, and in the show Obi-1 Canobi, but here he's played by Benjamin Brat. because of some kind of scheduling conflict with Smiths. You see Lucasfilm, you can recast people. Not everybody has to be a creepy CGI clone of a legacy character.

Now, when we first met Sculden in season one, he said that he rarely came to Corrassad. But the reason he wanted his son to marry into Monmothma's family was so that he was closer to power and influence. And it worked. He now has a lavish apartment on Corrassan, and he's curing favor with high-level imperials like Wolf Yalarin and Orsynchranic. They're greeted by a cam droid, similar to P9,

the droid used by Rio Dario in the High Republic era. So, while the rich and powerful eat cake, Hirt and Lonnie are having the time of their lives. And I just love how enthusiastic Hirt is about the cocktails. So Clea and Luthin are at the party to recover a listening device planted in Skolden's collection. And this is all intercut with Cyril who is spying on the Gorman Heist. Now these are both elaborate tense set pieces

that show opposite sides of the war using undercover work to obtain their own goals. The Empire, wants the Gormans to overreach, And Clea wants to grab the bug while everybody is distracted. Now, in an aside, Mon asks about her cousin, Vell. And Luthon thinks that she wants to use Vell for some assignment. So Mon's very human answer here, I care about her, is a stark contrast to Luthin who only sees these people as tools.

And then we get the welcome return of Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennick, the Imperial Administrator in charge of building the Death Star. Now notice, his dress uniform includes this silly sash, and he says, Well, yes, I've been a guest at her committee, several occasions. Now, building the Death Star meant that Crinnick had to commission and have access to huge amounts of credits and material. So, of course, his unlimited power project would have caught the attention of Monmothma and her various committees. Meanwhile, Cleod takes advantage of Lonnie, the ISB agent that's secretly working for Luthon and uses him for cover while she removes the bug. Now, she explains that this piece was created by a culture who revered blindness, which is an interesting metaphor in a show that's all about people being kept in the dark and withholding secrets from one another.

It's also an especially appropriate place to conceal a listening device. And I love this small detail. When she first grabs Lonnie's attention, she mentions his wife. So last season, Lonnie told Luthin he wanted to quit and make a new life for his wife and new baby. And then Luton implicitly threatened them if he didn't stay in the ISB and feed him information. So when Clea mentions Lonnie's wife here, she's actually threatening the lives of his family. So all of this is intercut with the heist, where Senta and Vell are using ion chargers to disable the electronics of the shipments, which are probably being operated by droids.

And the sound here... ...is the same failing engine sound as the Millennium Falcon. And that was also the sound of a biplane failing, like we heard in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And then we get intercutting between two different heists. One is large in scale, stealing crates of imperial weapons to prove the empire is building an armory. And the other seems small scale,

just stealing a listening device, but this tiny bug could expose Luton as the rebel agent Axis. And when she says, Tinians believe all language could be reduced to touch. I thought of Cassian and Bix greeting one another simply by touching one another's hands. Skolden is telling them about this piece, which was salvaged from the Battle of Carmine,

and Krennick brags that he studied the battle at his academy, which Mon counters with, We were taught. It was a systematic execution. And as they argue over whether or not the battle was a violent insurgency or a slaughter, we cut back to various snags during these heist. The listening device is stuck. But luckily, Mon and Orson are making this

the most awkward dinner party of the season. My rebel is your terrorist? Something like that. Claya forces Lonnie to grip the piece and notice there is a similarity here to Maad Mothma gripping the Senate dais. This episode is all about characters who are desperately trying to hang on to their integrity

while they are actually surrounded by evil. And then Dreia, the gorman they were worried about, goes missing when she distracts an old woman away from the And this tiny gap means the Vell now has to take her spot, leaving Sinta alone and vulnerable. And so, on the other side of the alley, Sam, the young man who's just itching to prove himself, thinks he's finally got his chance. So, this same Gorman, who is tired of inaction at the meeting, walks up to him, and Sam is just desperate to prove his worthiness. So instead of de-escalating the situation, like a mature person, it becomes violent. And then we find out that he violated their top rule.

Sinta and I will have blasters. Nobody else. else. And I mean nobody. And after these shots are fired, Dedrick can barely contain her glee. I mean, just look at the expression on her face. This is exactly what she wanted to have happen. So, this is the exact kind of screw-up that the Empire planned, to show that the Gormans were violent and reckless and to turn the galaxy against them. But the tragedy here is Senta. She finally realized what was important in her life just as her life was taken away from her. And as they speed away, the speeder sound is the same one we hear here in a new hope. And then Vell gives this guy the most brutal takedown imaginable.

To die like this because of you. Some whining, simpering, foolish child. But the sad part is Luthin set him up for this. He knew these people were unprofessional, and he knew they would screw up, and it costs Vell her heart. And then back on Coruscant, Gorse is bringing some fun little takeout cake to his new office. So he right here is on top of the world, about to display his torture methods to the emperor, and to become head of his own little divvillard.

little division and did anyone else just shout yes when we see bix hiding in the shadows she hooks him up to his own machine and repeats his own words to him it will only feel like forever doesn't take long it won't feel that way to you inside the fear in his eyes is phenomenal and so satisfying and i love the small detail that his torture chamber has a little viewing room and as the camera pulls back we realize that we are in the viewing room and we get to watch him get tortured But the really cool spin here is that Luthin would have set all of this up for Cassian and Bix. But how did he know about Gorset? Because Lonnie would have told him that Gorsed was on Corrassan.

But I don't think this was to do Cassian a favor or to strengthen his relationship with Bix. Luton did this because he wanted Bix to be a soldier again and he didn't want Gors to go train other people on his torture methods. It's a phenomenal end of an arc that is all about the cost of war. The first arc of this season was about sacrifice, showing how people had to give up what they love in order to win the war. and these three episodes were about the reason we fight. For freedom, but also for the freedom to love one another how we choose. It's a beautiful expression of how this show puts characters first, and I cannot wait to break down episode 7 through 9 for you guys next week.

Well, guys, that's all the Easter eggs we found, but if you found any, let me know in the comments below or at me on Twitter or on our free-to-join Discord server links are below. And if it's your first time here, please subscribe and smash that bell for alerts. For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Erie. I'm going to be. Thank you.