Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Episodes 1-11 of Andor.
You don't need to be intimately familiar with Star Wars to enjoy Andor — the show does an excellent job establishing its own world-building. Star Wars is entrenched enough in our cultural mythology that most people know enough of the basics to follow what's going on, but Andor does assume you've watched Rogue One.
The show is filled with callbacks (or foreshadowing, depending on how you look at it) to the movie in which its titular character (Diego Luna) first appeared. While Andor hasn't been shy about these references, its most obvious and effecting allusion came in the final scene of Episode 11, "Daughter of Ferrix."
"All this space. Fresh air. Like a dream, right?"
The scene has already called back Cassian's final moments in Rogue One before we have any idea where he is. We don't see him during his conversation with Xanwan (Zubin Varla); we only hear his voice through the communicator as he asks that Xan tell his mother, Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), that "she'd be proud of [him]." This echoes his final words to Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) in Rogue One, "Your father would be proud, Jyn." Then we see Cassian's face in a close-up, lingering on the first moments after he's been told that Maarva is dead, and the only thing we hear are the waves of Niamos in the background as the news settles in. As he steps outside the communication center (a sort of space telephone booth), we see the surf rolling over the sand and the horizon glowing bright with yellow light. Cassian Andor is standing on a beach. In another five years, he'll die on one.
Waiting for Cassian outside is fellow prison escapee Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow), another character who first appeared in Rogue One and who, like Cassian, will die on Scarif. "All this space," Melshi remarks to Cassian. "Fresh Air. Like a dream, right?" For those in the audience who’ve seen Rogue One, there is a dreamlike quality and a sense of déjà vu to the scene. While the light here is the early morning sun, it looks eerily reminiscent of the light of the Death Star as it destroys the Imperial Center of Military Research on Scarif. This visual allusion pulls double duty, serving not just as a reminder of where Cassian is going but highlighting the nature of the evil he needs to fight against. Niamos was Cassian's dream of freedom before he was imprisoned on Narkina 5, but the destruction and oppression of the Empire looms large. The only way for him, or anyone else, to achieve that dream of freedom is to rebel.
"I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I’ll never see."
For all their similarities, there is an important difference in how these two scenes resolve. In Andor, Cassian and Melshi split their weapons and resources and go their separate ways for a better chance at spreading the word about their experiences in Imperial Prison. They're hopeful that the knowledge of those injustices is enough to anger the people of the Empire that it'll cause people to take action and keep it from happening again. So Melshi leaves, and Andor is left alone on the beach. But when he and Jyn stagger out onto the beach in Rogue One, their message has already been sent: the Rebel Alliance has the Death Star plans. There's nothing else for them to do and nowhere for them to go, so Cassian and Jyn sit in the sands and embrace each other as the light burns them away into nothing. Andor has made Scarif a cruel reminder of what Cassian was denied and will never live to see. In the end, Cassian will become much like Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), working in the darkness of the Empire for a future that he will never see for himself. As a show focused on the cost of revolution, it's crucial that it reminds us what that cost will be for its title character as he makes the decision to rebel.
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
All the rebels in Andor have their own agendas and philosophies — Luthen wants to burn the Empire to the ground at any cost, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) tries to make change through legitimate means, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) is so deeply paranoid he can't trust anyone, and Cassian just wants to live his life in peace. Andor asks how one could bring together such a disparate group of people, seemingly united only by their mutual hatred of the Empire. But showing Cassian's moment of decision against the backdrop of his end in Rogue One also provides the answer. "Rebellions are built on hope," Jyn tells the rebel council on Yavin 4 before she, Cassian, and their companions embark on their final mission. While hatred can be a strong motivator, it's not sustainable. The Rebellion can only come into focus when differences are put aside in favor of a shared hope for a better future. Jyn's words compel the disparate factions of the Rebel Alliance to action then, just as hope compels Cassian to rebellion now.
On the beach on Niamos, all Cassian has is hope. Each of his major storylines throughout the season has converged on this moment, to give him what he needs to rebel. His only apparent inheritance from his mother is Maarva's drive for rebellion that made her stand against the Empire even as she was dying. He retrieved Nemik's (Alex Lawther) manifesto from his old hotel room, literally carrying the dead rebel's optimism and passion with him. And Melshi leaves him with direction. "People have to know what’s going on," he says before they part ways, referring to their inhumane treatment on Narkina 5. He watches Melshi go, then turns to look at the sunrise. When he looks back, his expression is one of nervous resolve.
As Cassian looks out across the waves, it's like he's looking forward to the end of the path he's been set upon. We know that path won't be a pleasant one. As he says in Rogue One, "We've all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion." The Pre-Mor Security Officers on Morlana won't be the last people he shoots in a dark alley, the Aldhani crew won't be the last of his allies to die, and Narkina 5 won't be the last time he'll be trapped in a fight for his life. We know that he will die in five years, on a beach much like the one he’s standing on now. But after everything that's happened to him and those around him, he can't stand by and watch any longer. All Cassian has now is Nemik's manifesto, Melshi's determination, and Maarva's hope for a brighter galaxy. It's time for him to rebel.