The final episode of Andor Season 1 depicts the explosive protest on Ferrix, but the post-credits scene reveals something more sinister. The construction of the Death Star, the superweapon that will cause terror. But what planet was the Death Star above in the Andor finale?
The first season of Andor has ended with the citizens of Ferrix attempting to rise up against the Empire, after being inspired by Maarva’s call to action. This jaw-dropping final episode is a fitting release of the tension that’s been built up across the whole season. But the post-credits scene reveals a sinister terror lurking in the darkness of space, quietly being constructed. The Death Star is shown, but the planet that it’s above is unknown.
Despite the Death Star being synonymous with Star Wars, the tale of its construction in the Disney era is still being told. Rogue One didn’t show audiences all that much related to the building phase, only the installation of the superlaser dish and very little else.
The Rogue One prequel novel Catalyst goes into its construction much more, revealing that, for a time, the station was built over the planet Geonosis.
But this wouldn’t be the case for the whole of its construction. At a still unknown point and for an as-of-yet unknown reason, the construction of the Death Star was moved to a new system, the system audiences saw in Andor. This system is shown to have a planet with tropical blue oceans, likely indicating that the base is being constructed above Scarif.
Scarif is referenced in episode 4 of Andor Season 1. ISB Supervisor Lonni Jung requests that there be an increase in construction shipments going to the planet, but doesn’t say why. Scarif is in the Abrion sector in the Outer Rim and is a key junction point with access to multiple different hyperspace lanes.
The implication here is that the construction materials are being sent to Scarif for a massive project, and the tropical blue oceans seen in the post-credits scene would line up as the planet has a tropical climate.
With the final episode ending on this ominous shot, it’s probable that the second season of Andor will include the Death Star in a larger role. Cassian might investigate what he was building in prison, putting the Rebellion on the path to discovering that something is being built. Rogue One confirms that the Rebels do know the Imperials are doing something, they just don’t know what. This would make an excellent premise for a spy story.
It might also feature in the Imperial plotline. They might be plugging information leaks and trying to cover up what’s happening. It might also feature characters like Director Krennic trying to get the superlaser to work. The Empire notoriously struggled to do this, which audiences found out in Rogue One.
Andor and the Death Star are, of course, linked. His final act of rebellion was to steal the plans for the station, and his death came at the hands of the superlaser. This link can be seen further with the similarities between the title sequence and the final shot of the post-credits. In the title sequence, the symbol of the Rebel Alliance is revealed above Andor, coming out of the darkness like a moon.
The final shot shows the Death Star in shadow, in a similar position to the Alliance symbol.
The post-credits sequence also confirms what the prisoners were building on Narkina 5. As the camera pans out, the droids on the panels can be seen carrying the joints from the prison and putting them to grip the panels. The audience gets a taste of how many of these joints are needed, as the camera keeps zooming out, revealing the megastructure.
The Empire used slave and prison labor to build other parts of the Death Star. In Catalyst, the Republic and then the Empire enslaved the Geonosians to build the structure itself. The Empire also used Wookiee slaves.
There was previous speculation that the prisoners were building Death Star parts, but the final episode of Andor confirms it. The revolt on Narkina 5 hasn’t slowed production on the space station, despite the Empire losing around 5,000 workers.
