Andoris the rare Star Wars dimension where the Jedi and the Force are wholly lacking , literally and metaphysically . Even its chronological predecessor Rogue One was deeply enmeshed in the idea of the Force as a connective , religious entity . And yet , with nary a telekinetic undulation or the snap - hoot of a laser sword , its finis episodeproved to be one of Star Wars ’ most spiritual stories yet .
It ’s not that Star Wars has n’t alluded to this kind of pietism beyond the construct of the Jedi and Sith ’s binaries , or the dogma underlying the Jedi Order’sprofound institutional failures . Admiral Holdo ’s conjuration of the Force in The Last Jedi was rendered by Laura Dern as a nod to the role being in some way power - tender herself , but explicitly not a Jedi . As mentioned before , Rogue One had a deep connexion to the religious nature of the Force largely removed from the Jedi explicitly , pure with a noted Holy City fill with practitioners of multiple Force faiths , the end of which becomes the rallying cry of the Rebel Alliance ’s first major triumph against the Empire .
But Andor asks us to consider what spirituality in the galaxy far , far aside can wait likebeyond the estimation of the Force itself — or if not beyond it , interpreting the Force in a language it is normally not considered in , and through thelens of real connectionsrather than metaphysical ones . This is no clearer than in “ Rix Road , ” the stirring final installment of Andor ’s first time of year . Largely focusing on the funeral ritual entreated to as beloved a figure on the populace as Maarva Carassi Andor in the wake of her loss , the episode is a story of community spirit and unity in the wake of authoritarian diktat , the story of not Empire versus Rebellion at least in the organizational good sense , but what happens when Imperial might attempts to extinguish belief systems the same means it seek to purge the Jedi from the wandflower ’s collective cognisance .
Screenshot: Lucasfilm
In ways big and small , throughout Andor we are given a window into the quasi - religious rituals of guild on Ferrix in the lead up to “ Rix Road . ” There’sthe Time Grappler , the pounding - wielding chronologist who wake and enslumbers the multitude of Ferrix to acclaim the coming and passing of the day , who besides returns to play a key part in Maarva ’s procession . The way Maarva ’s body is treated after her passing come with the sort of reverence spectacle one might lend a spiritual chassis , her connection to the Daughters of Ferrix — deride by the royal interlopers on the planet as a social cabaret , but almost more akin to a religious group give their connection to the funeral traditions of the planet — as they solemnly prepare her body for the coming religious rite . And then there are those rites themselves : the act of cremate a physical torso and mixing its ash into the forging of a funerary Harlan Stone , a brick among many put to utilise to build Ferrix ’s civilisation , its stores and its houses and its very ways of life , a means in which a departed individual yield to the Earth but in a decidedly more materialistic manner . They are of Ferrix in lifetime , and they are of Ferrix in decease .
But in the Master of Architecture itself in “ Rix Road”—heralded by both the Time Grappler ’s methodical hammer - pulse , and the gossamer euphony of a marching band that collectively tantalize lamenter to the nominal route , home of the Empire ’s build alkali on the world in an overtaken hotel — we see what these spiritual practices think and do for the populace of Ferrix the depart leave behind . The band ’s euphony is almost like a siren song for onlooker , pulling them in to follow its path as they snake through Ferrix ’s streets . When its plaintive , slow tone change to a fluttering note onward motion to announce the last of the gathering and the start of the factual procession — culminating in the chanting of “ Stone and Sky ” by the crowds — the almost dissonant nature of the piece ’s beginning slice to give a good sense of peaceful clarity , voices and tool unified not just in vocal , but spirit .
It ’s this disembodied spirit that is vital to the religious heartbeat of Ferrix , not in the mode the biologic nature of the Force is often presented as in Star Wars — it ’s akin to it in a way , and Andor paint percipient parallels , but it ’s also transfer entirely from the Force theologically . The hoi polloi of Ferrix are not tied together either metaphysically or through literal invocation of the Force ; their spiritualism is rooted in the physical macrocosm , in tradition and rite , things that bind them in ways the Empire can neither understand ( look at their bewilderment when the funeral music begin , and one of the commanders ’ cross sighs that he “ can listen it , but I ca n’t see it ” ) nor successfully destroy by force or oppression .
Screenshot: Lucasfilm
Physical bodies are not authoritative to their end rites in the way that Force user ’ spirits leave theirs behind , but something strong-arm remains in the funerary stone made from their ashes . Spirit is enmeshed with song , a melodic line so imprinted upon the hearts of Ferrixians that assay to hum along with it is the only matter that Bix can do to rootle herself in the moment after being so perfectly break by the ISB ’s straining . And yes , the idle speak : not as literal ghost , but through holograms , through a common sense of collective remembering ( as we see when Cassian ’s thought shoot back to his adoptive father Clem when he brushes his funerary I. F. Stone earlier in the sequence ) , and they fulfill a very similar variety of importance in Ferrixian theology . If the real power of the Force is that it is a spirit that stick to all things — not just the natural existence and the sentient existence that inhabit it , but in connections that extend across generations upon generations of Force substance abuser — in purchase order to go along on lesson and beliefs , then a standardized power is at the heart of Ferrix ’s rituals .
“ I was six , I think , first time I extend to a funerary stone — heard our music , feel our history , holding my sister hand as we walked all the way from Fountain Square . Where you put up now , I ’ve been more prison term than I can remember , ” Maarva ’s recording say the gathered gang , after she makes a remark that it almost feels like she can already see them around her , despite her voice communication being play posthumously . As she continues , she prepare it clear that these rite are fundamental to life on Ferrix , that they are important acts to unite and uplift its peoples , to allow them to endure and hold on : “ I always wanted to be lifted . I was always eager , always waiting to be cheer . I think every time it bump , every fourth dimension the deadened rear me with their truth . And now I ’m bushed , and I long to purloin you — not because I want to shine , or even be remembered . It ’s because I desire you to go on . ”
There is a common sense of a higher power at play throughout Andor , and most keenly in this finale episode , but by layer it in the circumstance of human connection and emotion , by placing its religious genus Lens into a materialistic conformation of spirituality , the show gives something Star Wars urgently needs if it is ever to grow beyond the distich of the Jedi and Sith ’s eternal fight , while still recall its spectre of Light and Dark : a sense of trust in people and community , not because of some share magical energy , but in custom and lessons . It ’s a spirituality that is just as hefty as the Force can be even if it ’s not going to get masses rear rock’n’roll and throwing lightsabers around . But it is a powerful ally indeed , nonetheless .
Screenshot: Lucasfilm
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