Andor 1×11 Review: “Daughter of Ferrix”

The death of Cassian’s adoptive mother and the maneuvers of the Rebellion in “Daughter of Ferrix” set the stage for a thrilling season finale.

Though Cassian’s (Diego Luna) escape from Imperial prison Narkina 5 in “One Way Out” was triumphant, “Daughter of Ferrix” opens on a somber note with the death of Cassian’s adoptive mother Maarva. With one episode left in Andor’s first season, the Rebellion’s maneuvers, and the ripple effects of Maarva’s death sets up the potential for a thrilling season finale.

The audience doesn’t see Maarva’s death on screen, but the sight of the ‘Daughters of Ferrix’ rolling her covered body out of the house is just as impactful. Maarva’s droid B2EMO (Dave Chapman) is distraught over the death and refuses to leave the house as he wallows in his grief. B2EMO has been one of the sweetest characters in Andor’s universe, and seeing his grief adds to the heart-wrenching opening of the episode.

Unaware of Maarva’s death, Cassian and fellow prisoner Melshi (Duncan Pow) work their way back to their normal lives. They attempt to steal a nearby ship but two aliens capture them. The aliens let them go soon after in an act against the Empire. Though the sequence is amusing, it’s strange that Cassian and Melshi are the only two prisoners that have seemed to have stuck together after making it to land from the prison break. Some casualties in the water were likely, but there must be more surviving escapees somewhere.

Vel (Faye Marsay) has a tense conversation with Luthen’s (Stellan Skarsgard) assistant Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau), who declares her importance to the Rebellion. In addition, Vel meets with her cousin Mon (Genevieve O’Reilly), who tells her about her predicament and that she will likely have to force her daughter into an arranged marriage. Both conversations provide interesting character moments, and it will be interesting to see what will come of them.

Luthen meets with Saw Gerrara (Forest Whitaker), leading to Saw’s men inspecting what is potentially a lightsaber. He warns Saw that the Empire is setting a trap with a captured Rebel pilot and implores him to not compromise their mole in the ISB by avoiding their trap. After a tense argument, Saw reluctantly agrees to Luthen’s suggestion. Though the series is hinting at Luthen possibly being a Jedi, hopefully we will learn more about his backstory in the future.

Upon leaving Saw, Luthen’s ship is pulled over by the Empire. Though Luthen gives them fake identification, the Empire still wants to bring him in for “practice.” Luthen escapes the Empire with a thrilling sequence of destroying the Empire’s tractor beam and a few ships before jumping out of reach through hyperspace. The sequence is reminiscent of ship battles of previous Star Wars iterations and is one of the episode’s most riveting moments.

When she learns of Maarva’s death, Dedra (Denise Gough) orders the ISB to approve the funeral permit in hopes of luring Cassian out of hiding. Syril (Kyle Soller) also leaves for Ferrix upon hearing the news in hopes of finally catching Cassian. The promise of some type of action occurring at the funeral sets the stage for a thrilling end to the season.

Cassian doesn’t learn the truth about Maarva’s death until “Daughter of Ferrix’s” conclusion. He receives the news as he attempts to get a message to her. In a sad parallel to Cassian’s death at the end of Rogue One, he and Melshi stand on a beach and discuss their next moves. They agree that people need to know what the Empire is doing and that they should split up. With Cassian’s return home for Maarva’s funeral likely, the season’s finale will likely be action-packed as he encounters both ally and enemy back on Ferrix.

Sharing some interesting news, fans that don’t have Disney+ will be able to watch the series’ first two episodes on multiple platforms during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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