Cassian’s backstory in Andor season 2 is set to make the opening part of his appearance in Rogue One way more tragic. The Empire’s cruel acts of genocide have overshadowed Cassian’s life and played a big factor in his character development. His home world of Kenari was destroyed by the Imperials who simply labeled the planet a site of an unspecified “mining disaster.” Andor saw early on what the Empire was capable of, making his mission to destroy the Death Star personal and all the more important.
During his time on Narkina 5, Andor unknowingly contributed to the Death Star’s construction and became nothing but another number to the Empire. He did, however, manage to escape with this arc of his backstory being the birth of his time as a Rebel. Cassian will likely learn to become a leader in Andor season 2 and audiences may see just how difficult it is to join the Rebellion. The events of season 1 provided depth to the story shown in Rogue One, making Andor’s connection to the Death Star darker.
Andor Changes Cassian’s Rogue One Opening
During the first Death Star’s construction, the Empire strongly wanted to keep its massive superweapon a secret from the rest of the galaxy. While on Narkina 5, Cassian played the part of a beaten man who was merely trying to survive. Although he had no idea what the machinery he helped produce was for, Cassian and the other inmates knew it was vital to the Empire. Cassian himself began to learn the concept of oppression and what little freedom he had while in prison. He came out of this horrible experience with a greater understanding of how unfair the galaxy he lived in was.
Andor’s Death Star reveal at the end of season 1 made Cassian’s bittersweet fate all the more brutal. When audiences first saw him in Rogue One, he encountered Tivik, a Rebel Alliance informant who further spread the news of the Empire building a “planet killer“. It was here that Cassian put the pieces together and truly understood that he helped create what eventually ended up killing him. Even before the concept of a planet killer was ever brought up, Cassian likely had a stronger idea of what he was walking into. The events of Andor’s first season helped show this as Cassian knew if he continued going down the path of a Rebel, it would ultimately lead to his death.
Andor’s Death Star Arc Can Only Get Sadder
Andor‘s big Death Star twist meant that the story behind this superweapon could only become worse than it already was. At the beginning of Rogue One, Andor was constantly looking for answers about the Death Star. With Cassian a free man at the end of Andor season 1 and given his experience on Narkina 5, he may end up partnering with Luthen to uncover other hidden details about Project Stardust. The Empire was shown to go to great lengths to get what they wanted, but what’s worse is that they might be hiding something even worse which could be explored in Andor season 2.
