Review
Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for Andor season 2, episode 7.
Andor may have just proven why two key relationships from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story worked so well, nine years after the movie was released. As many familiar with both Star Wars projects will be aware, Andor season 2’s story ties directly into Rogue One. The first season did too, with both combining to tell the origin story of not only Cassian Andor but also Star Wars’ Rebel Alliance, revealing how the freedom-fighting organization became what it needed to be to defeat the Empire.
Andor season 2’s timeline has caused the second season of the show to be even more important to Rogue One than the first, however. For example, the show explains how the Empire used a planet called Ghorman to begin testing the Death Star, as well as exploring the origins of Rogue One‘s fan-favorite droid, K-2SO. Thanks to an interesting new member of Andor season 2’s cast, two key relationships from Rogue One have been given even more depth, potentially explaining why they were so important to Cassian.
Andor Season 2's Force Healer Clearly Affected Cassian
Cassian Began To Skeptically Believe In The Force
The interesting character from Andor season 2 appears in episode 7: a Force Healer. The episode begins with Cassian feeling the strain of a blaster injury on his shoulder, leading Bix to trick him into visiting Yavin IV’s Force Healer. Cassian does not believe much in the practice, instead thinking that the woman is a scammer praying on people’s misfortunes to better her own standing. However, the woman senses Cassian from afar and walks over to him, asking if she can heal the blaster burn on his shoulder, without ever being shown where it was.
This moment, and the Force Healer insisting Cassian has reignited her faith, spooks him, forcing him to flee back to his home. There, he begrudgingly acknowledges that his burn is feeling better, yet lashes out somewhat angrily at Bix. Bix states that the reason Cassian is so angry with the situation is because he did feel something, he is just unsure of what. The rest of Andor season 2, episodes 7-9 continue with Cassian going about his missions for the Rebellion, and while he probably does not know what he believes about the Force Healer, he knows something about her is genuine.
Andor Season 2's Force Healer Plot Better Explains Why Cassian Trusts Chirrut Imwe & Jyn Erso In Rogue One
Two Characters Who Have A Belief In The Force
Concerning how this all ties to Rogue One, it could explain why Cassian begins to trust Chirrut îmwe and Jyn Erso so quickly. While circumstance naturally played a big part in Cassian trusting Jyn and Chirrut, this result is still different from the largely untrusting, paranoid Cassian that is portrayed throughout Andor and the opening moments of Rogue One. The reason for this trust could be rooted in the Force, with both Jyn and Chirrut believing in the mystical energy field in their own ways.
Cassian may have remembered the feeling he had on Yavin IV upon meeting these two characters, explaining why they helped each other…
Chirrut, for example, is a member of the Guardian of the Whills, a sect of warrior-monks who guard the Temple of the Kyber on Jedha. As such, Chirrut has a strong connection to the Force and makes this immediately clear as soon as he is introduced to Cassian in Rogue One. Jyn is also shown to be somewhat of a believer in the Force, as evidenced by the kyber crystal she wears around her neck. Cassian may have remembered the feeling he had on Yavin IV upon meeting these two characters, explaining why they helped each other outside of circumstance.
Andor Explains Why Cassian Eventually Comes To Believe In The Force
The Force Healer Opened His Eyes
Thanks to this experience with the Force Healer, Andor could have explained not only the two aforementioned relationships but also why Cassian himself came to believe in the Force. By the time Rogue One comes to a close, Cassian relays the iconic Star Wars mantra of «May the Force be with you» himself. Although it is still said somewhat skeptically, Cassian’s experience with the Force Healer may have been what opened him up to the possibility of the Force being real. In these ways, Andor is adding extra context to Rogue One, almost a decade later.
