Andor’s Finale Flips Revenge of the Sith’s Ending on Its Head

Star Wars loves a good parallel. Some are obvious, such as Rey starting her journey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens on a desert planet, just like Luke Skywalker, while others take effort to see, like Leia Organa wearing the same colors her father dons during the Clone Wars. However, the Lucasfilm project that brings things full circle the most is Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Being the movie that sets the stage for the original trilogy, it’s no surprise that Revenge of the Sith spends so much time putting the pieces in place and teasing events that are yet to come.

All of Revenge of the Sith‘s hard work means there’s not a lot of room for other Star Wars projects to touch it. But Star Wars: Andor Season 2 chooses to honor the movie’s tragic ending by putting one of its characters in the same bind as Anakin Skywalker and having them make a different choice.

Bix Knows What’s at Stake in Andor Season 2

The walls are closing in during Andor Season 2. After the events on Ferrix, Cassian Andor’s allies, including his girlfriend, Bix Caleen, resettle on the planet Mina-Rau. They’re all waiting for Cassian to return, but he’s unable to make it back until the Empire is doing visa checks, cracking down on undocumented individuals. Bix has to fight to survive when an Imperial attempts to assault her, leaving her shaken up. The next couple of years aren’t all that kind to Bix, and even when she’s on Yavin 4 with Cassian, things don’t feel right.

What’s really eating at Bix is that Cassian refuses to dedicate himself to the Rebellion cause. She knows they’re fighting for more than themselves, but he’s unable to see the bigger picture. After a brief interaction with a Force healer, who tells Bix just how important Cassian is, Bix leaves Yavin 4, leaving Cassian a message about reuniting once the mission is complete. While Cassian is hurt, he takes her words to heart and becomes instrumental in the Death Star’s destruction.

Bix and Cassian’s love story ends up being a tragic tale after the destruction of Scarif, and the knife gets twisted even further when Andor‘s final shot reveals that Bix has a baby. However, the Disney+ series’ final moments are actually remarkably hopeful, with Bix and her child looking to the horizon as the galaxy begins to take back its freedom. It makes one wish that Anakin had taken a page out of Bix’s book in Revenge of the Sith.

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Anakin Skywalker Is Nothing but Selfish in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Like Bix, Anakin loses plenty of important people. Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi who promises to guide him, dies at the hands of the Sith, and Shmi Skywalker loses her life before Anakin can reunite with her. By the time Revenge of the Sith rolls around, Anakin is desperate to keep his wife, Padmé Amidala, alive. Things become complicated when Padmé reveals she’s pregnant, but Anakin still feels like he can find a way to keep everyone safe. Unfortunately, the Jedi don’t trust him, so he turns to the one other person in his corner, Chancellor Palpatine. The rest is history, with Anakin turning to the Dark Side and losing his family in the process.

Padmé really tries to give her husband an out, though, offering to leave the conflict behind and start anew someplace safe. And had Anakin taken her up on her offer, things would have played out very differently. After all, without Anakin, there’s no guarantee that Palpatine wipes the Jedi off the map so quickly, and even if he does, two powerful Force users, Luke and Leia, are coming down the pipeline and have their father training them. After all the work he put in, Anakin wanted to see the job done, but Bix had just as much skin in the game and knew the right thing to do was to walk away. The tough choices are never the easy ones, and Andor proves that the people willing to give up everything usually end up on the right side of history.

Star Wars: Andor Season 2 is streaming on Disney+.

Do you think Bix made the right choice in leaving Cassian behind in Andor? Do you think Anakin’s situation in Revenge of the Sith is similar? Let us know in the comments below!