'Andor' Season 2 Speculation: Spiders, Parties and Cavern Angels

Star Wars

Mar 17

The last few weeks have seen a wealth of new information and footage for Andor Season 2 release, ahead of the show’s return on April 22nd. With that wealth of information has come a lot of concrete details about the show, such as the presence of the Ghorman Massacre theorized since before Season 1 aired three years ago, but also a lot of speculation.

Many pieces of footage appear connected to certain plotlines or events we don’t have details on yet, and they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. So today at CultureSlate, we’ll be giving time to three pieces of speculation about what we might see in Andor Season 2.

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Spiders and Webs

In the teaser trailer for Season 2, we see a brief flash of Cassian diving over a counter and flipping into cover as blaster bolts fly past, and people run in terror. Above the doorways, and seen in the background on walls, are prominent images of spiders. Why spiders, and where is this fight taking place?

There are two solid guesses about where based on the design of the room Cassian finds himself in. One is Ghorman, and the other is Chandrila. In the first shot of Cassian’s dive, pictured above, we can see a pillar outside of the room in the background which closely reflects a style of pillar we’ve seen in the main square of the Ghorman scenes for the show. Chandrila, on the other hand, is less obvious but emerges in the details of the room.

The use of wood trim and details, mixed with a pale beige or white white, matches a room from other footage of Mon Mothma attending a raucous, probably Chandrilan, party. There is also the prominence of circles, which we saw in the Chandrilan Embassy in Season 1. We can see these circles in the diving shots as possible windows or entryways on the left of the footage, and surrounding the prominent image of spiders in both brief clips.

There is a third option, and that is that there is a cultural link between Ghorman and Chandrila. It might be that Ghorman is located near Chandrila, or Chandrila colonized Ghorman centuries ago, but this could explain why there are similar architectural features, and why Mon Mothma cares so much about the plight of this specific planet over all others.

But, why spiders? Spiders have a complicated history in the real world, and are often sources of fear which is commonly reflected in pop culture. They are also a feature of mythology, where there are often more positive depictions. Two of the most notable stories of this kind, the tale of Arachne from Greek mythology, and Anansi from African and Caribbean mythology, depict underdogs and clever figures who stand up to higher or greater authorities than their own (though that doesn’t turn out so well for Arachne as opposed to Anansi). Spiders are also commonly ascribed feminine traits in many pieces of media, from the idea of “black widows” in crime or drama stories, to monstrous brood queens like Shelob whose spawn were the bane of Mirkwood for centuries in Tolkien’s world.

Given these sources of inspiration, we can guess that Ghorman or Chandrila might respect or venerate the spider due to a strong link with femininity, either in their modern social structures or in their own mythos. It would be completely reasonable for Tony Gilroy to continue to feature strong female leaders and characters in Andor Season 2, as even outside characters like Mon, Vel and Cinta, we also had the Daughters of Ferrix in Season 1.

Another reason for the spider imagery might be due to the economy. At one of the parties we see Mon attending, she and many other attendees are dressed in light, airy outfits, silks of various pale and inviting hues with sleeves that are thrown up as the frantic celebrations carry on. Given the role of spiders in weaving, with many fantastical universes using forms of spider silk to make clothing or fabric, it might be that there is a form of ritual or celebration underway to respect the role of the spider in the production of silk. That also might be true even if Cassian’s dive isn’t on Chandrila, as we do not know what Ghorman’s economy is like. We’ll have to see how big a role such significant spider iconography plays in the show this April.

A Pair of Parties

As mentioned in the above section, we see Mon Mothma attending at least two major parties in both the teaser trailer and special look for Season 2. One of these we’ve already investigated, a raucous celebration with sunlight, light colors and energetic dancing. The other appears to be on Coruscant, and is much less joyous for someone like Mon.

Addressing what is likely to be a Chandrilan party, probably on the planet itself, we can see several young women near the center of the crowd in traditional Chandrilan dress akin to what we saw Leida wearing in Season 1. They all appear to be having a grand time, dancing around what amounts to a Star Wars disco ball. We also get other shots of the attendees all involved in the dance, throwing up their hands and for many, their sleeves flying up at the same time.

Many fans have guessed that this event might be Leida’s engagement or wedding party, which is completely possible after the tense finale to Mon’s story from Season 1 when she arranged that introduction between her daughter and Davo Sculdun’s son. But, it might be a Chandrilan sisterhood gathering or ceremony, given the number of women in the room seems to heavily outnumber the men in many shots. This could be a step up from events like the subdued ritual seen in Season 1 at the dinner table between Leida and several friends, but this is likely to remain uncertain until the show starts premiering.

The other party we see is likely to be much more fraught with peril and stress for Mon Mothma. In attendance to some function hosted by the Sculduns with her husband Perrin, as a huge camera droid takes a few dozen pictures no doubt, Mon Mothma will apparently meet Director Orson Krennic. The clips of him at the party show him in his standard uniform with a touch more decor, and he is not alone. Behind him several members of the ISB, including one of the supervisors from Season 1, alongside an unidentified man likely associated with Sculdun given the similar color scheme in their clothing.

Just why is Krennic at this party? We know he associates with Chandrilans to some extent due to contact with a colleague of Mon’s who seeks to betray the Rebel Alliance in the novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan. This could be a continuation of that plotline, or maybe Davos Sculdun simply has connections with the Empire on a personal level outside of politics. But, it may also be that Krennic is angling to acquire private resources to support his ongoing feud with Grand Moff Tarkin over the Death Star project. Canon has set up their rivalry, and the idea that Krennic had to repeatedly fight for resources from other Imperial projects, such as the TIE Defender. Sculdun is a banker of some renown, with few scruples if Mon’s assessment of his personality as a thug is correct, and might be willing to loan Krennic private capital for his ongoing projects. Or, there could be another reason, as Season 2 is sure to have plenty of interesting new plotlines for us to explore.

Flight of the Cavern Angels

The Cavern Angels are the airborne division of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans, recognizable from their use of X-wings and dark grey markings at various points on their ships. We see them twice in the teaser trailer, and a few more times in the special look. It seems likely that Saw’s forces will play a major part in the wider season, but what are the Cavern Angels up to?

We have three major scenes which depict the Cavern Angels. The first are shots of them landing, seen in the special look, on a planet with rolling grassy fields and mountains in the distance. Fans have guessed, due to the style of hangers visible in these and other shots, that this might be D’Qar, seen in The Force Awakens and at the very start of The Last Jedi. It might also be Dantooine, which is noted for its vast grassland, and we know had a Rebel base until an evacuation at an unclear time before A New Hope.

The next series of shots might show that evacuation, though with a dead body on the floor as just a few ships take off, it is certainly a grim situation. It may be that whoever was killed was a traitor, and had been prepared to sell out the group, but it may also be that what we are seeing is a heist on a smaller scale. While there are X-wings taking off and entering hyperspace with the Cavern Angel markings, they appear to be escorting a freighter or civilian-style craft of a familiar design to many Star Wars fans. With two large engines on either side of a trapezoidal ship core, the ship looks to be a cousin of the YV-865 Aurore-class freighter which has appeared in numerous media.

But what is this ship? If the scenes shown are an evacuation, then it may be a transport ship, leaving with important cargo. It may belong to the Partisans as a troop carrier of some sort, and this is the start of a mission. But it also may be a stolen vessel being used for some purpose by the Cavern Angels, since Star Wars fans are more than familiar with Rebel forces stealing or seizing Imperial ships for their own uses. This is the possible link to an idea of a heist, but there are more.

The last images we see are the Partisans, and perhaps Cavern Angels pilots, standing in the pouring rain looking out at some kind of an airfield. While the shots are very quick, we seem to see at least one X-wing being refueled, and this might point to an arc in the season contrasting Cassian’s heist of a TIE fighter, with the Partisans stealing more X-wings for the Rebellion. In Legends, the Rebel Alliance acquired many of their early X-wings through theft from the Incom Corporation, who built the starfighter. They had Rebel sympathies and helped the Rebels acquire these ships in several instances. We might see a canon version of one such acquisition in the show, though not the first, as we already saw the Partisans in possession of X-wings in Andor Season 1.

Regardless of who is flying with the Partisans right now, and where they’re flying from and to, we are certain to see the Cavern Angels in some sort of action during the course of Season 2.

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