Review: Andor, "Daughter of Ferrix" | Season 1, Episode 11
The chess pieces move one step closer to the endgame in this season’s penultimate installment
“For the greater good.” - Saw Gerrera
“Call it what you will.” - Luthen Rael
“...Let’s call it war.” - Saw Gerrera
As I watched the climactic moments of “Daughter of Ferrix,” I could not help but call to mind Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson, as you are likely aware, played Jedi Master Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels. He’s gone on record about his preference for a purple-hued lightsaber in a big battle sequence in Attack of the Clones even as the traditional colors were red and green. “Yeah, but I want a purple one. I’m the second baddest Jedi in the universe next to Yoda,” was Jackson’s response to this. (And he did get the purple lightsaber in the end.)
The short version of this story, at least to me, is that Samuel L. Jackson was able to both make an informed creative decision that he felt was appropriate to his character, and he was also acknowledging how cool it can be to be part of the Star Wars universe. Now, Andor is not a particularly cool show, nor does it feel like it’s trying to be. This is a sweaty, tense, slow-moving dramatic thriller about how the various pieces of a vast chess game are moving around for the eventual showdown between the Rebellion and the Imperial Empire with which we’re already familiar.