Two Rogue One Characters Appear in This Week’s Andor

Andorexcellent from disney plus rogue one prequel series, brought back two more characters from the 2016 Gareth Edwards film in episode 8, “Narkina 5”. Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor has been here all along, of course (as has Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma), but this week he’s joined by an old friend and another special guest.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for Andor and Rogue One.]

“Narkina 5” is named after the planet on which Andor is imprisoned, currently going by the fantastic alias Keef Girgo. It’s a tough place with a terrifying floor boss played by Andy Serkis, and Cassian is assigned to a work table with six other inmates.

One of those inmates will look familiar. rogue one fans: Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow), who was one of the key members of the team that stole the Death Star plans in the climactic final act of rogue one (He’s the one wearing the floppy hat and glasses.) Melshi and Andor are close friends in rogue oneand whom Andor we got to see their first meeting.

This version of Melshi is struck by the harsh conditions of Narkina 5, warning Cassian that freedom is a dream with the harsh new Imperial mandates, and that even if they promise liberation at a certain time, it would be foolish to believe them.

The other rogue one The guest was a slightly higher profile: Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera. The extremist rebel leader makes his first Andor appearance when Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen meets him. Luthen wants to sell him stolen Imperial pieces in exchange for Gerrera meeting someone named Anto Kreegyr, a proposal Gerrera is very reluctant to accept, both because of his opinion of Kreegyr and his desire to work alone.

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Image: Lucasfilm/Disney

Gerrera first appeared as a minor character in the clone wars TV show, before appearances on rogue one, rebels, the bad batchand the Jedi: Fallen Order videogame. Trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano, he is a divisive figure among rebel forces in the Star Wars universe for the extreme resistance and violent tactics of his group (known as the Partisans). In rogue oneHe is also the adoptive father of the protagonist Jyn Erso.

Andor it’s more than Easter eggs and references, which is what makes it such an exciting watch and a refreshing change of pace for the Star Wars universe. And even now he feels more certain than opportunistic; Both Melshi and Gerrera play important roles in our main characters’ arcs in Andorand seeing how those relationships develop throughout the season and the show is going to be a real treat.