<em>Andor</em> Season 2, Episode 4 Recap

Looking for a recap of season 2, episode 3? Join the rebellion.

Andor's latest drop of episodes immediately informs audiences about one of season 2's most genius conventions. When episode 4 begins, we're treated to a title card that reads "BBY 3." (BBY refers to "Before the Battle of Yavin," a.k.a. when a certain Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star.) Suddenly, Andor's three-episodes-a-week release schedule makes a whole lot of sense—it appears as if each drop will chronicle a year before the events of Rogue One. Series creator Tony Gilroy is essentially delivering one Andor movie a week—and we're not complaining.

"We already shot season 1 in blocks [of episodes], so Tony said, 'What if we take this to the next level?'"Andor leading man Diego Luna recently told Men's Health about the episode rollout. "That’s how we came up with the idea behind this season. We were able to get to the end in the way we pitched at the beginning, and with respect not just to the story overall, but to all the characters you got to meet in that first season who need closure and need an end to their own stories."

After seeing episodes 4 through 6, the genius of Gilroy's approach to Andor's second and final season is remarkably clear. Now, we're seeing the brick-by-brick swell of the Rebellion—how anger turns to organization, and how oppressors do anything and everything to keep control—and it's cemented Andor as one of the best shows of 2025.

But I won't get too ahead of myself—there's plenty of time for me to send up Gilroy and Luna's staggering work. Let's break down season 2, episode 4.

I need to know what happened to Dedra and Syril's relationship between episodes 3 and 4.

I need to put Cassian and Bix on the bench for now, because we must catch up with my favorite character: Syril. My man enjoyed a little bit of a glow-up since episode 3! He has a new apartment, job, and fancy space tie. Too bad that his deranged Imperial squeeze maybe-probably dumped him and his domineering, Imperial News-pilled mom is once again shitting on his every move. When we catch up with Syril, he's living on Ghorman and working as the manager of a Bureau of Standards field office in Ghorman. In a video call, Mama Syril thinks it's a demotion, but he insists that it's a promotion.

This incredibly toxic chat is also a heavy reminder that Andor is a political show, so much that it feels like Gilroy wrote some of this dialogue two weeks ago. The Empire's propaganda campaign against the people of Ghorman—remember, Emperor Palpatine needs his batteries for his genocidal weapon!—is reaching a fever pitch. Here, we learn that Mama Syril is a loyal viewer of Fox—ahem, Imperial News, and she despises the Ghormans who clown on Palpatine. "This mockery of Emperor Palpatine? You must have seen them. How could you not? It’s scandalous." Someone's ears must be burning!

"All this anti-Ghormanism, it’s not just talk anymore. We’re getting new directives every month and people are getting hurt," says Syril. Then, it seems as id the workers of his field office are working under a DOGE-like regime. "There are people in my office. I’m looking at two of them right now. They’ll be choking down loyalty oaths next week just to keep their jobs."

Turns out, the planet's budding resistance, the Ghorman Front, is listening to all of these cursed calls. And Syril knows that they're listening. So, he's maybe laying on a little bit of extra I-might-be-a-Rebel-sympathizer juice so that the Ghorman Front invites him into their inner circle—and he can tell his boo all about it. And... that's... exactly what happens. Never change, Syril.

I truly don't want to make this entire recap about the current state of the world—I know this is a Star Wars show—but this episode lays it on so thick that it's impossible to ignore. At the latest Empire boardroom meeting, Lonni (remember, he's a mole for Luthen) speaks to exactly what's happening with immigration and wrongful deportation in this country: "We’re arresting too many people," he says. "We can’t take it all in. Many of us… Some of us have more people in custody than we can process."

Amidst Mon Mothma's politicking in episode 4, we're treated to some major subtext of the same ilk. "Sector boundaries, civil liberties, personal freedom, respect for local traditions," she tells a fellow politician. "You’ve been voting with me on these issues for years." He responds, "This is security, Mon. You’re confusing criminality and politics here." Mon's burn: "Really? Are we finding criminals or making them?"

And why won't anyone vote for Mon's policies anymore? No one dares to chafe the Emperor. You can fill in the blanks yourself.

What trouble will Cassian find on Ghorman?

For Cassian and Bix, a year certainly changed a lot in their lives—but with some things still the same. They're at what seems to me a Luthen-owned safehouse, but alas, Bix is still suffering from major PTSD from her time with the doctor, and I assume the Imperial officer's attempted rape in episode 3—as well as more trauma that we were not privy to. We learn that, on a mission, Cassian and Andor encountered a young man who saw Bix's face—Andor believed he was Imperial-leaning—so he killed him. "It’s being home," she says of what causes her pain to rise again, "Here. Whatever this place is. It’s when I relax."

Over the course of episode 4, Cassian and Bix fight about the state of their lives—living in fear of discovery by the Empire—but also continue their love story, grocery shopping (I loved the little creature at the back of the store!) and touching hands when they say goodbye. And why the farewell? Luthen calls Cassian back into action—he wants him to go on an "assessment" mission to Ghorman, to see if the Ghorman Front is really a group that's safe to work with.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, we see the triumphant return of... Forest Whittaker's delightfully zany Saw Gerrera. He visits Wilmon (The Boy), who now seems to have an engineering gig on the planet D'Qar—now that Bix is with Cassian and poor Brasso is dead. He asks, "What’s more dangerous than rhydonium?" Well, I didn't know the answer to this one myself—the Star Wars Wiki tells me it's essentially rocket fuel. I swear I blew some of these containers up in a Star Wars video game at some point. Regardless, Wilmon has to teach one of Saw's men how to work with the massively explosive gas... or else.

Episode 4 ends on an even more foreboding note: Bix at her not-really-a-home, totally alone, and seemingly about to drop some space drugs. I love you, Andor, but you're doing what Mama Syril said the Empire did to her son—you're putting her on the shelf. Free Bix! And Bee too, while we're at it. Cassian needs his droid bestie back in his life.