"Andor" may focus on the Rebellion's unsung hero, but this galaxy might not be as far,
far away from the Star Wars mainstream as fans expect.
In the very first episode of "Andor," viewers see flashbacks to Cassian's childhood on Kenari
his home planet.
The clips show him donning combat gear and weapons to investigate a crashed ship with
the other inhabitants of his village, a mission that ultimately proves life-changing, and
not necessarily in the best way.
It's interesting to see such a young version of Cassian running around with a spear in
his hand, but if you've seen "Rogue One," you may have been expecting it.
In the movie, Cassian tells Jyn Erso about his long history as a freedom fighter.
"I've been in this fight since I was six years old."
It emphasizes just how much of his life has been spent either on the run or in direct
conflict with the powers that be.
While the ship he's investigating isn't Imperial, "Andor" does make good on Cassian's claim
of being a part of the good fight from a very young age.
Though the "Star Wars" franchise has featured a ton of different starships over the decades,
some have been iconic enough to stand out anywhere, even in a random shipyard on Ferrix
where Cassian is currently living.
Near the end of "Andor" Season 1's opening episode, Cassian rummages around in an old
junker that he borrowed from one of the yard's employees.
He plays it cool, but he's actually scrubbing incriminating info from the ship's records.
During a couple of exterior shots of the ship, viewers may recognize a few of the other ships
occupying the yard.
One is unmistakably a Y-Wing starfighter, a bomber commonly used by the Rebel Alliance
and first seen during the run on the original Death Star.
The faded yellow cockpit of the ship can be seen clearly, complete with the iconic rotating turret.
Y-Wings were first used by the Republic during the Clone Wars, so it makes sense to see a
stray one junking it up on a planet like Ferrix.
The scene also shows what looks like a variant of the T-47 airspeeder from "The Empire Strikes Back."
Originally manufactured as stunt fighters, T-47s were modified for various purposes by
rebels throughout the Galactic Civil War.
They became known as snowspeeders among the rebels.
The ship seen opposite the Y-Wing in the "Andor" shipyard isn't a snowspeeder, it's much longer
in the back than a normal T-47, but the cockpit and the wing design are quite evocative.
One of the most distinct aspects of the "Star Wars" universe is its retro sci-fi tech aesthetic.
When the first film was released in 1977, computers used vector graphics.
As the franchise continued and real-world technology evolved, "Star Wars" played with
different variants on its original in-universe technology, like how the prequels employed
more holographic screens instead of vectors.
"Andor" makes it clear from the get-go that its inspiration comes fully from the original,
old-school tech of the first "Star Wars" films.
From the numerous computer screens filled with hard lines to the digital readouts on
Luthen Rael's binoculars, the show fully embraces the retro-futuristic look.
It's similar in many ways to the aesthetic of "The Mandalorian," but with an early Imperial era twist.
If you keep your eyes peeled throughout "Andor" Season 1, you'll catch a lot of little gadgets
and gizmos that have appeared in previous "Star Wars" stories.
In Cassian's flashbacks to the ship crash on his home world of Kenari, we see how he
came to be raised by Maarva Andor and taken far away into the galaxy.
It all centers around the shipwreck itself, which Cassian investigates with a party from
his village.
Things go sour when some of the passengers turn out to be both alive and hostile, leading
to a violent confrontation.
Who are these interlopers, and where were they headed?
It's not entirely clear, but the familiar logo on their uniforms gives some indication.
On the sleeves of their spacesuits, you can make out the segmented blue and white hexagon
that was the symbol of the Separatist Alliance during the Clone Wars.
There are no battle droids to be seen aboard the ship, but diehard fans will know that
plenty of non-robotic beings gave their lives to the Separatist cause as well.
This also might explain why the wounded crewman immediately gets violent after waking up.
The ship may have been coming directly from a warzone, though of course, that's no justification
for his actions.
When the corporate security agents come to Ferrix to hunt Cassian in Episode 3, they
come prepared.
Not only do they gear up with some major firepower, but they drop down to the planet's surface
in ships that are strikingly reminiscent of the Republic gunships used in the Clone Wars.
The iconic design was first seen in "Attack of the Clones," and it has remained a staple
of "Star Wars" ever since.
While there are certainly differences between the old gunships and the landing craft seen
in "Andor," their striking similarities are interesting, to say the least.
In the wake of the Clone Wars, the Empire phases out a lot of the gear used by the clone army.
Old starfighters become TIE Fighters, AT-TEs become AT-ATs, and the old clone gunships
are nowhere to be found.
It would make sense for a private military company like the one seen in "Andor" to purchase
some of this surplus tech for its own purposes, perhaps even making some modifications along
the way.
That could explain the ship design in Episode 3, or maybe the same manufacturer simply built
some new models after the war.
During their first meeting in "Andor" Episode 3, Luthen Rael asks how Cassian managed to
steal the "untraceable" Imperial tech he's bartering off.
"You just walk in like you belong.
To steal from the Empire, what do you need?
A uniform, some dirty hands, and an Imperial toolkit."
His explanation can be taken as a nod to the many, many times rebels have successfully
infiltrated Imperial strongholds using basic disguises throughout the franchise.
It's a long and storied trope worthy of the reference.
Whether it's Han and Luke disguising themselves as Stormtroopers on the Death Star or Obi-Wan
Kenobi sneaking around the Imperial Inquisitor's citadel escorted by a double agent, many characters
have walked right past the Empire's defenses with little more than courage and a cool hat.
Cassian himself uses this exact tactic at the end of "Rogue One," when he and Jyn Erso
break into the Imperial base on Scarif to steal the Death Star plans.
As such, his line about "borrowing" uniforms can also be taken as a grim foreshadowing
of his eventual demise.
At the end of "Andor" Episode 3, we're treated to a beautifully shot sequence that parallels
Cassian's departure from Kenari as a young boy with his escape from Ferrix with Luthen Rael.
It's a powerful and haunting moment, showing the character's talent for making it out by
the skin of his teeth.
The scene is tragic, not only because it emphasizes how Cassian must repeatedly leave things behind,
but because it foreshadows the one time he finally doesn't make it out.
Most people who watch "Andor" will already know Cassian's ultimate fate.
It's particularly affecting, then, to see that earlier in his life, Cassian was known
for narrow getaways.
So many different times, he almost meets his end, only to narrowly escape.
His wits take him far in his struggle against totalitarianism, but even Cassian Andor's
luck must eventually run out.