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For the future!
(Zoom in for better quality!)
Reblogged
The Andor finale connects Kerri (Cassian’s long lost sister), Bix and Maarva
I’ve only just noticed the visual parallels in episodes 1 and 12 between young Kassa with his sister Kerri and adult Cassian rescuing Bix.
Cassian and Bix head for Zorby’s ship yard where Brasso and the others are waiting to escape the Ferrix riot
Adria Arjona apparently asked Gilroy if her character could be made like a child as a result of her trauma (not just the torture but the huge impact of Timm’s betrayal). “I really wanted to turn her into this child… you meet her as this woman that is so empowered and has everything under control, who takes care of Cassian. And then towards the end she cannot even look after herself.” (https://www.starwars.com/news/adria-arjona-andor-interview)
Young Kassa hugs his little sister to comfort her from the noise of the exploding ship as it goes down. She leans against him and looks up for reassurance to the big brother who is really her entire remaining world.
Later he will run off to have an adventure with the big kids and never comes back, despite his promise to her at the end of the episode. (It’s in Kenari, but it’s hard to imagine it being anything other than his trademark “I’m coming back!”)
“No ! They’ll get angry!” Poor Bix. Cassian is horrified to see her reduced to a helpless child. He owes her so much.
In the finale, Bix is so infantilised by her experience that she has to be gently coaxed into being rescued at all as she’s so afraid of the Imperials. But she eventually puts her trust in Cassian and the roles of the sibling-like aspect of their long and close relationship are reversed at last - where previously she was a big sister to him he now protects and supports her as they make their way through the explosions and chaos - much in the way he did with Kerri all those years ago.
What a heartbreaking smile… “Maarva was here” 🥹
Kerri, Bix… and in between, Maarva. Just before he gets the hug and comforting words from Brasso, Cassian lets all his pent-up agony out:
“I wanted her to leave with me… I came to get her… I couldn’t get back… but the last time I saw her, we argued… I told her I was coming back!”
This ‘fear of being someone who leaves people behind’ as Tony Gilroy puts it is the single most profound character trait of Cassian Andor and it carries right through into Rogue One (or more accurately, Gilroy takes the quality from the film and makes it part of the origin story). Guilt and regret about Kerri lies behind so much of Season 1 Cassian’s arc and undoubtedly has a hand in his radicalisation. “Everyone has their own rebellion” - and this particular part of it is personal. We saw it in the Aldhani and Narkina 5 arcs too, as Cassian’s circle of people he cares about expands. The coming together of this theme in the finale is another part of why it’s so emotionally hard-hitting. “We can’t just leave her there,” he says of Bix - and Brasso incredulously says “Are you going to take on a full garrison?”
He doesn’t answer but the look says it all. For Cassian, not “trying” is no longer an option.
It’s a hugely admirable heroic quality. But I do fear it might come back to bite him in some way. Yet as Gilroy understands so well: bravery and vulnerability often go hand in hand.
The more I’m seeing of S2 the more I think Cassian will have to face “not coming back” / “leaving people behind” so that his Rogue One arc, where he comes back for Jyn literally and metaphorically by rededicating himself to the cause through trusting to her, has even more profound impact. His ultimate selfless sacrifice is also for Kerri and everyone else he had to leave behind.
Reblogged necr0mancersreblogs
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of it's own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
