The Worlds Of 'Andor' Season 2

Star Wars

May 27

With a little under two weeks having passed since Andor Season 2 came to an end, we felt it was a good time to talk about the worlds that appeared on screen for Season 2.

Some of these planets were mentioned in Season 1, and made their on-screen debut in Season 2. But many were realized incredibly well, and have deep roots into the lore of Star Wars!

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Sienar 73

One of perhaps dozens of testing facilities scattered across numerous worlds owned by the monolithic company Sienar Fleet Systems, the snow-covered world designed 73 is home to an installation working on the TIE Avenger project. An advanced model of TIE, guarded by other advanced models, this project is ultimately sabotaged and the landscape somewhat altered when Cassian Andor steals the Avenger prototype and flees from his pursuers. We know little else about this planet, besides it being difficult to access for people like Cassian, and his infiltration and escape is sure to have caused issues for the Imperial forces stationed on this corporation controlled world.

Yavin 4

Yavin 4 is a jungle moon orbiting the gas giant Yavin Prime, and has an ancient history. The Massassi built their civilization on the world before their disappearance, with their grand structures lying relatively undisturbed for millennia. Based on the events of Andor Season 2, Yavin 4 became a transit point for members of the Axis Network before it expanded into the core of the Rebel Alliance’s operations when Massassi Group set themselves up on the moon and opened their doors to other Rebel cells. This rallying point continued to grow in strength and sophistication as a military facility, until it was a thriving base with inhabitants spread into the surrounding jungle, and large airfields for starships. The Massassi temples were retrofitted by the Rebels as sites of meetings, military intelligence, and ship repair. A strong layer of secrecy protected the base from discovery, until Han Solo soared into orbit with Princess Leia Organa aboard a tracked Millennium Falcon.

While the resulting Battle of Yavin was a decisive victory for the Rebel Alliance coming off the mauling their fleet had undergone so recently at Scarif, the Empire was now aware of the base’s location. The Rebels then conducted a desperately quick, but ultimately successful, evacuation. The Empire soon landed a force to comb through the Rebellion’s technology and whatever was left behind, though they were disrupted when Doctor Aphra caused some chaos while on a treasure-hunting adventure. Eventually, Yavin was cleared of any lingering Imperial presence as post-Endor, it became the site of settlement by Rebel veterans of the Galactic Civil War. Most prominent of these was Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, parents to Poe Dameron.

Mina-Rau

Mina-Rau is an agricultural world, covered in dense fields of grain, vast storehouses to contain the harvested crop, and dotted with dozens of decentralized communities away from the planetary capital. During the era of the Empire, its local populace relied on migrant workers, documented and not, to support their harvest efforts with skills from raw manual strength to mechanical expertise valued due to the different tasks involved in. However, when the Empire came for a routine audit, some of those undocumented workers were in a great deal. Bix, Brasso, Wilmon and B2EMO were all refugees from Ferrix but are also without Cassian during this trying time, who appears to have lived on the planet at least part-time while also running missions for Luthen. Ultimately, the group managed to escape, though not without the loss of Brasso, and B2EMO was left behind to stay with the community the Ferrix citizens called friends. Later, Bix returned to the world, and at the time of Rogue One, was raising her and Cassian’s child there.

The Maltheen Divide

We are not currently aware if this location is truly a planet, or a location on a planet existing or newly created for Andor Season 2. But what is certain is that it is the site of a facility Orson Krennic either operated or took over for an essential conference in the history of the Empire regarding the fate of Ghorman and its people.

A world of great soaring snowy mountains and dense clouds, the Divide was the vista Imperial officials from various departments had while they came to decisions about the destruction of Ghorman, and the demonization of its people to help ensure they lacked sympathy from the galaxy for such an annihilation.

Chandrila

The tranquil world of Chandrila holds a status similar to that of Alderaan, with beautiful natural vistas, elegant cities, and is known for its rich culture. Briefly attacked during the Clone Wars, the planet transitioned into part of the Empire, though its senator began to secretly work against the newly formed authoritarian state in secret. Mon Mothma eventually returned to the world in a big way for her daughter’s traditional wedding which lasted three days. Over the years that followed, Chandrila weathered the storm that was their senator’s open defection to the Rebel Alliance, and even appears to have joined with the Alliance in the twilight of the Empire. At the same time as the Battle of Endor occurred lightyears away, Imperial forces moved to strike at Chandrila, though a token Rebel force was able to miraculously beat back this military incursion. It later went on to play a key role in the New Republic, serving as the capital for part of that state’s existence.

Coruscant

As ever, the capital of the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire has been a staple across much of Star Wars media to date. In Andor Season 2, some of the locations from Season 1 remain a key focus, such as Luthen’s shop and ISB Headquarters, but we are also introduced to a number of new locales. The Axis network safehouse is one such space, inhabited by Bix and Cassian for some time following their flight from Mina-Rau. We are also introduced to a great deal of the new Imperial Senate, previously only seen in glimpses, as well as the extensive grounds remodeling the area has undergone underneath Imperial rule.

Mon Mothma’s senatorial office, as well as the remodeled hallways and chambers of the Senate, are shown off in great detail during the pivotal Episode 9 focus on Mon Mothma and her speech denouncing Emperor Palpatine. We also get to see the expansive, wealthy home maintained by Davos Sculdun, alongside the room for his private art collection, alongside a scattering of lower-class spaces visited by Cassian and Bix during their stay on the capital. Lastly, there is Lina Soh Hospital, a large facility for the treatment of various beings whose top level is commandeered by Dedra to keep a lethally-wounded Luthen alive following his attempted suicide after their confrontation.

D’Qar

While there were fans who determined trailer footage for Season 2 featured D’Qar, its overt confirmation in the show still came as a surprise. First created for The Force Awakens, Andor Season 2 changes the narrative around D’Qar to be the Resistance making use of old facilities once occupied and maintained by the Partisans. While it is not clear how long they operated on the planet for, D’Qar’s natural landscapes and the rudimentary structures of the airfield created during the Partisan era suggest it was not for long. The Partisans were also constantly on the move, partly a result of Saw’s paranoia but also because their aggressive activities against the Empire repeatedly got them noticed. Their final days on D’Qar saw them planning to steal fuel, with the help of Wilmon Pak as supplied by Luthen Rael. After an apparent traitor was revealed within their ranks, the Partisans and Wilmon all took off to siphon rhydonium, and fight another day. It wasn’t until around 30 years later that the Resistance would arrive and reoccupy the site, history having forgotten or barely aware of the world’s significance to the nascent Rebellion.

Ghorman

Ghorman was virtually created from scratch for Andor Season 2, and had a great deal of focus across the season. Possessing lush natural terrain, where a native species of arachnid produced silk for weaving into fabric, the world’s various provinces were headed by the capital of Palmo. A vast city, its central point was Palmo Plaza, where a monument to a great tragedy instigated by the Empire was installed. Years later, when a key mineral required for the completion of the Death Star was located within Ghorman’s crust, the sheer amount required demanded the destruction of the Ghorman way of life alongside threatening the stability of their planet. The Empire’s coordinated plan against the Ghormans took over 2 years as the flame of rebellion was kindled and covertly aided by the ISB.

When the time came, the Empire then began a purge of the central square where perhaps hundreds had gathered in solidarity against Imperial aggression. Dozens were killed, including Syril Karn, an agent of the Empire unaware of the massacre he’d help create until it was too late. Imperial slaughter spread out away from the central plaza, and the Ghorman Front, the heart of resistance to Imperial aggression, was gutted. We do not fully know the planet’s fate after this point, but it is likely Ghorman was completely ruined by the Empire, destabilizing and breaking apart as their mining operations finished.

Steergard and The Worlds of Luthen and Kleya’s Past

We only get a brief look at Steergard in Season 2, and the same is true of the other locations shown in flashes of memory from Kleya in the final arc of Season 2. Steergard is a location we knew from Season 1, and was home to an Imperial naval yard which Cassian stole an Imperial Starpath Unit from. This simple box helped set Cassian and Dedra Meera’s stories into action, and Steergard itself is an appropriately industrial-looking world, perhaps somewhat similar to Corellia.

As for Kleya and the worlds she shares with Luthen as part of their past, we get very little information. There’s her homeworld, where the Empire conducted a terrible massacre and was such a blood experience it drove Luthen out of the army with Kleya under his protection. Based on his wearing of mudtrooper gear, this planet might very well have been muddy or swampy. Next, we cut to a forested world, before we go to another location, possibly on the same planet, which features a settlement on a mountainous ridge. Lastly, Kleya and Luthen’s journey took them to Naboo, where they committed their first act of resistance against the Empire by destroying Imperial transports located on a nearby bridge. Naboo’s return to live action is a notable appearance by a Prequel-era planet, and fits well into this year serving as a major milestone anniversary for Revenge of the Sith.

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