This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com.
We're now three-quarters of the way through Andor season 2, and as things on Ghorman go from bad to worse, Cassian Andor finds himself facing some tough decisions.
Over the course of these next few chapters, Cassian tracks down an old foe and discovers a key new ally. The Empire's plans also continue to unfurl, and Mon Mothma makes a decision that will change everything.
We also catch up with some familiar faces from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and with only one year left until the events of that movie, the stakes are only getting higher.
There's a lot to get into this week, and you'll find our full recaps of the latest three chapters of Andor season 2 below.
Episode 7 - "Messenger"
The action shifts to "BBY 2," and the episode opens in the Rebel Base on Yavin 4. Cassian Andor and Bix Caleen have made a home for themselves and seem happy to have taken a step back from Luthen Rael's never-ending fight with the Empire.
Their peace is interrupted by the arrival of Wilmon Paak; he wishes to travel to Ghorman to assassinate Dedra Meero. Cassian is reluctant to get involved, but when Bix introduces him to a Force-sensitive healer, she tells him that he's a "messenger" who has "some place he needs to be."
On Ghorman, things have intensified, and the Empire has decided to take what it needs from the planet, even if that guarantees its destruction. Dedra warns Syril Karn to be ready for evacuation, but he's having doubts about the Empire's intentions there.
Cassian and Wilmon arrive while Vel Sartha, Mon Mothma's cousin, speaks with Bix. Cassian checks into the hotel where he stayed a year earlier and watches as Imperial forces gather nearby.
Episode 8 - "Who Are You?"
Cassian concludes that it will be near-impossible to take out Dedra with the Imperials building a fortress around their base. Tensions are rising on Ghorman, though, and Syril, who unknowingly walks past Cassian without seeing him, is starting to realise all is not as it seems.
One of the soldiers deliberately sends inexperienced troopers to deal with the crowd, and when Syril learns the truth from Dedra, he begins to strangle her before rushing away. As this is happening, an Imp sniper shoots one of his own men, inciting a riot and allowing the Imperials to slaughter countless innocents caught in the crossfire. It's a massacre.
Imperial droids lay waste to the locals, and Syril finally catches sight of Cassian moments before he's about to shoot Dedra. A fight ensues, and when Cassian is finally face-to-face with the man who has spent years hating him...he asks who he is. This causes Syril to pause, though he's shot in the head and killed by Carro.
Cassian is saved from a KX-series security droid, and bids an emotional farewell to Wilmon (who stays to search for his girlfriend). Cassian takes the droid's remains and leaves the planet as a tear runs down his cheek while he listens to the pleas of the remaining Ghormans on the radio. Dedra and Syril's mother also break down as the episode concludes, unaware of what's become of Syril.
Episode 9 - "Welcome to the Rebellion"
Mon Mothma and Bail are concerned to see the Ghorman Senator placed under arrest, but the Empire has fed the Galaxy a very specific narrative about what happened on the planet.
Cassian wishes to wipe his hands of Luthen's Rebellion, but is tasked with protecting Mon by Kleya Marki. The Senator intends to make a speech accusing the Empire of orchestrating the massacre, but she'll be immediately arrested after doing so. The ISB realises something isn't right after she destroys a listening device in her office, and one of Bail's people is revealed to be an Imperial spy.
It's now imperative that Cassian reach Mon before her fellow Senator's people do, and she delivers her chill-inducing speech, branding Emperor Palpatine a "monster," in the process. Cassian kills the ISB spy as they flee and welcomes Mon to the Rebellion before shooting her longtime driver (and another Imperial spy) dead.
Ruescott Melshi shows up on Yavin, Wilmon is revealed to be alive, and Cassian tells Bix he wishes to leave the Rebellion. However, when he wakes up, she's gone. In a message, Bix tells him that she can't be the reason he leaves the Rebellion; he has a purpose there and must fulfil it, but all this is over; she'll find him.
Cassian is distraught, but busies himself with reactivating the KX unit, which awakens with a new personality. Meet, K-2SO!
Nine episodes of Andor season 2 are now streaming on Disney+.