‘Andor’ Season 1, Episode 11, Recap & Review: “Daughter of Ferrix”

We are left with one episode, and my initial rating for Andor episode 11, “Daughter of Ferrix,” was short a few stars. While Andor episode 10, “One Way Out,” felt frustrating for viewers, it was much more of a clear understanding that the characters shared the frustration. It’s almost as if episode 10 director Toby Haynes and episode 10 writer Beau Willimon understand how to convey emotion through the lens beyond the actors’ capabilities.

Creator of the series and writer of the latest episode, Tony Gilroy, and director Benjamin Caron used adjacent talents to convey loss in episode 11. “Daughter of Ferrix” is often confusing and muddled, the way you might find yourself while in mourning. The clinical five stages of grief are brushed aside for a more natural representation of what loss can feel like when the world continues to spin. Prepare yourself for a rewatch if you first find yourself disoriented by this choppy penultimate episode.

You’ll understand the editing decisions much more easily when you accept the tactical use of having so much happen off-screen. It’s designed to leave the audience uneasy as something terrible has happened unexpectedly. We are left wondering what happened to the five thousand some odd prisoners who escaped, including Kino Loy (Andy Serkis). No doubt, this leaves room for story exploration in comics and novels, but on screen, we are left with only Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Ruescott Melshi clinging to the side of a cliff as they wait for their pursuers to leave. We don’t get to see any of that pursuit, possibly because the action isn’t the main ingredient in Andor, but more likely because “Daughter of Ferrix” has so much on its plate that there isn’t room for a chase scene.

We already know Duncan Pow portrays Sergeant Melshi in Rogue One (2016), so these cliff danglers have plot armor. The tension is in their eventual separation. Later, Melshi suggests they separate in order to double their chances of getting the word out about Narkina 5 and the Empire’s Public Order Resentencing Decree (PORD). As an audience, we can guess it’s been put in place to have the manpower to build the Death Star, but the uncertainty of that speculation leaves us as unsure as Melshi and Andor. They are fueled with resolve, but they are running from ghosts. They find their way off-world as hitchers on a Narkinan Quad Jumper. They head to Niamos, the vacation planet Keef Girgo (Andor’s alias) stashed Clem’s (Andor’s other alias) share of the Aldhani heist. The two-part ways at that point.

We come to Ferrix and see the world through B2EMO’s grieving optic lens. We are immediately uncomfortable, finding out that Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw) has died off-screen and that B2EMO is distressed beyond what any programming could possibly summon. Our concern for the peaceful cadaver is supplanted by empathy for what should be a non-feeling entity. Star Wars droids set a precedent long ago that this artificial intelligence has feelings, but we don’t often see them do more than sulk or express melodramatic despair. Fiona Shaw is denied a chance to “die” in her sleep, a scene that could never convey the immense loss of her character. Tony Gilroy and Benjamin Caron brought emotion into the scene in a way that deserves commendation. Our view of Maarva is through the eye of a droid as we say goodbye. Further credit goes to Dave Chapman for B2EMO’s voice. The stutter we attributed to old technology now convincingly portrays sorrow.

Maarva’s funeral is of central importance as Ferrix will become the location of the series’ climax. In true Star Wars fashion, Rix Road is thought of locally as an Alamo-type landmark that pays tribute to the Imperial slaughter of locals as the Empire seized control. We can surmise that Rix Road will adopt new historical importance as the location where Cassian Andor and Ferrix will stand up to the Empire as part of the Rebellion.

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Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) orders the parade of mourners to be allowed to walk Rix Road specifically to watch it closely. She’s keen enough to know Cassian Andor will show up but also luckier than smart in that Keef Girgo’s escape from Narkina 5 has made that possible.

Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay), now also known as Mon Mothma’s cousin, pays a tense visit to Luthen’s artifact emporium to alert him of Maarva’s death and funeral. We still don’t know if Cassian Andor is considered a loose end to all parties involved. Still, Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau), who’d initially ordered the hit on Andor, seems a bit cagey upon learning that he’ll be located soon. The most clandestine rebel we know, who performs a spinning plate routine of responsibilities, promises to let Luthen know. This will likely put Luthen on Farrix to either sweep Cassian away or become his “Old Ben” martyr.

The side plot of Anto Kreegyr and his rebel crew’s doomed mission being a sacrifice to the greater good of the rebellion, is getting more air time as plots converge. Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), still in ISB custody, gives up Andor’s connection to him after unspeakable torture that, thankfully, also happened mostly off-screen. The slaughter of Kreegyr’s crew will likely be an off-screen event between episodes to add to the unsettling feeling we are going through as an audience. It mirrors the characters’ unease and rests squarely in the center of their collective emotions.

Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) finds herself torn between her own scruples and the immorality of scandal that could end her political career, let alone her life. With the Empire in control, she stands to face treason if it’s found out she’s been funneling credits to the Rebellion. She considers Davo Sculdun’s (Richard Dillane) offer to arrange a marriage, in Chandrilan tradition, between his son and her daughter. Leida (Bronte Carmichael) is an angsty teen who feels more connected to her father. But she’s into the old ways, enjoying the sisterhood of her contemporaries who recite Chandrilan chants together. Mon is using this to reconcile her dilemma and justify a deal with someone she considers a thug if only to save her own neck.

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These characters are some of the most complex portrayals Star Wars has ever seen. Even the mysterious Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) displays a vulnerability we’ve rarely had a chance to see. When he learns of the sacrifice the disconnected Rebellion will have to make in allowing Anto Kreegyr and his crew to be executed by the Empire, we finally see he has empathy we knew had to be there but never got to witness before. He comes around to agreeing with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), bringing the Rebellion one step closer to being a mostly consolidated effort.

And finally, Luthen Rael brings the action. In “Daughter of Ferrix,” he still throws titillating hints at us that tease at his origins. The first comes in the form of a peculiar weapon that resembles a leather-bound lightsaber. It’s temporarily confiscated during his visit to Saw’s hideout. The second comes in the form of a kyber weapon on his ship. The blades are red, and he skillfully uses his piloting skills to wield the weapons in an escape from an Imperial patrol that’s pulled him over in orbit.

We should question this weapon and not rationalize its existence. How can a lightsaber blade be lengthened enough to be effective in a space battle? How has a weapon like this never been used before or since Luthen? Will the secret die with him? It’s really the only explanation. Otherwise, Luke should have green-sabered Star Destroyers from his X-Wing. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” That weapon should not exist.

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