Maarva Carassi Andor

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"There is a wound that won't heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it's here. It's here and its not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness. It is never more alive than when we sleep. It's easy for the dead to tell you to fight, and maybe it's true, maybe fighting is useless. Perhaps it's too late. But I'll tell you this… If I could do it again, I'd wake up early and be fighting these bastards… from the start. Fight the Empire!"

―Maarva Andor —

Listen (file info)^[3]

Maarva Carassi Andor was a human female who lived during the final decades of the Galactic Republic and into the era of the Galactic Empire. On her homeworld, Maarva was a member of the Daughters of Ferrix and was revered by the members of her community. Alongside her husband, Clem, Maarva became the adoptive mother of Cassian Andor, whom they rescued while scavenging on the planet Kenari. After Clem was hanged by the Empire, she became scared and disapproved of Cassian's rebellious streak despite her contempt for the Empire.

Unbeknownst to her, her son became involved with the Axis network and participated in the Aldhani heist. The event and the Imperial occupation of Ferrix rekindled her spirit. Refusing Cassian's invitation to start over somewhere else, Maarva remained in her home with her droid, B2EMO, and pledged the waning months of her life to fighting the fascist government. Before she died of an illness while her son was incarcerated on Narkina 5, she recorded a speech for her funeral that inspired her fellow residents of Ferrix to fight the Empire. Cassian Andor subsequently committed himself to the rebel cause and aided in the theft of the Death Star plans.

Biography[]

Early life[]

"I was six, I think, first time I touched a funerary stone. Heard our music, felt our history. Holding my sister's hand as we walked all the way from Fountain Square."

―Maarva Andor^[3]

Maarva Carassi Andor was a human female who was born^[3] in 82 BBY^[2] and hailed from the planet Ferrix^[1] which was located in the Free Trade sector.^[5] Around 76 BBY, when Maarva was six according to her memories, she attended her first funeral alongside her sister, in which they held hands as they walked Fountain Square. During the service, she also felt the musical customs and history of Ferrix, as well as touching her first funerary stone.^[3] At some point, Maarva married Clem, and the two worked as scavengers, making salvage runs to scattered worlds and bring back unclaimed tech to their homeworld.^[1]

Trip to Kenari[]

"You better think about this."
"Plenty of time for that. I'm not leaving him here to die."

―Clem and Maarva Andor^[6]

MaarvaAndor-ToppsFinest2023 — Maarva during her salvaging trip to Kenari

Prior to the Clone Wars,^[9] and by 24 BBY,^[10] Maarva and Clem, alongside their droid, B2EMO, were salvaging around the Mid Rim planet Kenari when a starship crashed onto the planet's surface. Hoping to get their hands on a console unit, the three landed their ship on Kenari and entered the fallen starship with masks, as toxic air was fuming from outside, which had killed the officers onboard the ship, all of whom carried the emblem of the future Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[6]

As they walked through the ship, BEE informed the couple that the air inside the ship was breathable, so Maarva, satisfied, took off her mask and asserted that she and Clem get the console unit. Clem, however, stated that they should back off, but Maarva rebuked him, saying that the ship was safe, and urged him to take off his mask. As Clem continued to express concern, the two heard a sound from deeper inside the ship. Though Clem was against investigating, Maarva reasoned that they should, as there would be at least six brand-new fuel nodules. Clem insisted that they already had plenty of them, and Maarva asked BEE what the price for the fuel nodules was. As BEE responded, they began to hear crashing from the distance, and Clem asserted again that they needed to leave. Maarva, however, decided to keep exploring. Despite Clem's reluctance, he followed his wife deeper into the ship.^[6]

MaarvaSavesAndor — While smuggling on the planet Kenari, Maarva and Clem adopted a local boy named Kassa, whom they renamed Cassian Jeron Andor.

What they saw, however, was a local Kenari boy named Kassa destroying parts of the ship. Clem began to joke with the boy, who raised a staff in defense. Maarva pointed out that Kassa did not understand her husband, and BEE appeared and informed the couple that a Republic ship was approaching. As Clem worried about the Republic ship, he suggested that they leave young Kassa behind, something that Maarva admonished him for. As Maarva tried to talk with the boy, Maarva asserted to her husband that the Republic authorities would kill Kassa, though Clem refuted that they would kill them. Maarva then called for BEE to get her the Drowzer, to Clem's shock. Clem reasoned that Kassa had family in the area, but Maarva retorted that they were people who had just killed a Republic officer. Kassa then attacked Maarva, who grabbed the young boy and administered a sedative to him. Clem asked Maarva to think about her decision, but she asserted that she would not leave the young boy to die.^[6]

With Kassa unconscious, Maarva, Clem, and BEE returned to their ship. After laying the boy down on a mattress, Maarva hopped into the pilot's seat and flew the ship as it left Kenari. Before long, the young boy awoke and starred off into the sun, during which Maarva turned and smiled at him.^[4] The Andor family would soon return to Ferrix,^[1] rename Kassa Cassian Jeron Andor, and forged a lie that Cassian was born on Fest.^[4]

Early Imperial rule[]

"For years, every time I walk down Rix Road, I turn off before I get to the square. I take the long way around so I don't have to think about Clem hanging there!"

―Maarva Andor to her son Cassian^[11]

A former president of the Daughters of Ferrix, Maarva was revered by the community,^[6] even after she retired from hard labor.^[1] However, in the early years of the Galactic Empire, Clem was hanged by the fascist order, which left Maarva scared for the following thirteen years.^[11]

Mother and son rebel[]

"You wanna live under that?"
"It's happening everywhere."
"Well, we'll find a place they haven't ruined yet."
"I'm already there. That place is in my head. They can build as many barracks as they like, they'll never find me."
"What's left to keep you here?"
"The Rebellion. Ferrix has been hiding long enough."

―Maarva Andor and Cassian Andor^[11]

MaarvaAndor-Andor103 — Maarva's continued to act in defiance of the Empire after her health started failing.

By 5 BBY,^[5] her health had started to fail, and Maarva began to disapprove of Cassian's rebellious streak.^[5] Her concerns were proven right when Maarva discovered that Cassian was being hunted by Preox-Morlana after he killed two Corpos on Morlana One. Horrified, she scolded her son for also having revealed that his homeworld was Kenari, something the Andor family had lied about for years.^[4] In the ensuing hunt for Cassian led by Deputy Inspector Syril Karn, he and his team searched Maarva's house and confronted her, hoping that she would reveal the location of her adoptive son. However, Cassian, accompanied by Luthen Rael, evaded capture and left Ferrix, while Maarva and B2 were left behind.^[6]

Maarva was unaware of her son's participation in the heist on Aldhani, but upon his return, Cassian informed his mother that they would be leaving. She refused to leave her homeworld, as she had decided to rebel against the tyrannical regime that had killed her husband. Cassian persisted that Maarva accompany him elsewhere, but she persisted in her desire to join the nascent Rebellion.^[11] With this new mindset, Maarva injured herself while trying to pry open the old Rix flood gate underneath the Hotel Rix, hoping the secret passage would be employed by the rebels to sneak in on the Imperial garrison employing the hotel as the headquarters of the occupation. Bix Caleen and Brasso, neighbors and friends of Maarva and Cassian, became concerned for her wellbeing and made visits to her home.^[12]

Death and legacy[]

"Tell him, none of this is his fault. It was already burning. He's just the first spark of the fire. He knows everything he needs to know and feels everything he needs to feel. And when the day comes when those two pull together, he will be an unstoppable force for good. Tell him, I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong."

―Brasso relays her words to Cassian Andor^[3]

Maarva Andor's health continued to decline during the months that Cassian was incarcerated on Narkina 5, and she stopped taking her medicine.^[13] Sometime before her impending death, she recorded a speech to be broadcast during her funeral.^[3] She passed away from her illness afterward, and the Daughters of Ferrix tended to her body and her home with Brasso's assistance.^[14]

ImperialArmyBarricade-Andor112 — Maarva's speech incited a riot against the Imperial forces on Ferrix.

After Cassian Andor escaped from the Narkina 5 Imperial Prison Complex and learned of Maarva's death, he returned home. He received condolences from Pegla and Brasso relayed a final message of love from mother to son. Cassian freed Caleen from her imprisonment during Maarva's funeral, which became the site of a massive riot when her anti-Imperial post-mortem speech inspired the attendees to respond when Captain Vanis Tigo overturned B2EMO for broadcasting said speech.^[3] Inspired by her words,^[8] Ferrix's citizens fought back against the stormtrooper and Imperial Army trooper security detail standing by^[3] as a resistance movement.^[8] Brasso wielded Maarva's funerary stone as a weapon to knock down an Imperial trooper, before it was carried away from the scene by Rashi.^[3]

Maarva's son subsequently made a commitment to the rebel cause.^[3] As part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, he aided in the theft of the Death Star plans.^[15]

Behind the scenes[]

"I think Maarva is a pilgrim. I think her husband is also a pilgrim. These are souls wandering through the universe trying to make a living and trying to not look at the thing that we all try not to look at, but maybe we've been forced to look at, which is governmental power and Imperial power. It's a wonderful tale of morality, in that all individuals should keep an eye on who's got the power, because before you know where you are, you're serving that power rather than living a free life."

―Fiona Shaw^[16]

Maarva Andor was portrayed by Fiona Shaw.^[4] Her name was revealed in the subtitles for the first Andor trailer, which was released on May 26, 2022.^[17] She first appeared in "That Would Be Me,"^[4] which aired on September 21, 2022.^[18]

AndorhouseholdConceptArt — Concept art of Maarva Andor, Cassian Andor, and B2EMO in the Andor household by Luke Hull

Production designer Luke Hull created a sketch of Maarva, Cassian, and B2EMO in the Andor household.^[19] When working on scenes with younger Maarva, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and his team wanted to evoke how capable she is, and they gave her a big swinging linen duster jacket to give her "pirate swagger." Shaw loved the idea of the linen jumpsuit Wilkinson's team developed a for her. He thought that the actress looked great in the clothes and carried off so much. The team liked the idea of Maarva only having small variations of her outfits, which they thought gave a soft and slightly defeated quality to her character.^[20] Hull said that Maarva's house was carefully crafted to help explain her character.^[19] Her costume's red jumpsuit was meant to be a nod to the reds worn by the Daughters of Ferrix.^[20]

Executive producer^[4] and writer Tony Gilroy asked Shaw if she would be part of Andor, and she was delighted by his enthusiasm. Shaw was happy to join Star Wars.^[21] According to Gilroy, CCH Pounder had been cast to play the character originally, but she ultimately declined, and Gilroy thought of Shaw after seeing her work in the television series Killing Eve.^[22] The complexity of family life drew Shaw into the show's story.^[23] Shaw viewed her character as a pilgrim wandering through the universe and trying not to look at Imperial power.^[16] She found playing an older character interesting because Maarva has limited her values to what she think matters. She also liked how Maarva had a completely different earlier life, and she was completely needed for Andor's life, which made her an ignition key to the Rebellion. Shaw was very impressed by how detailed the Ferrix set^[21] in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire^[16] was, making her feel like she needs to bring what she can.^[21]

Andor Maarva Andor poster — Fiona Shaw as Maarva Andor in her character poster

According to Tony Gilroy, everything on Ferrix was filmed first.^[24] One of the first scenes shot with Shaw and Diego Luna, Cassian Andor's actor, was a disagreement between the characters in the family house. Shaw; Antonio Viña, young Kassa's actor; and Luna collaborated on shaping Maarva's journey as an adoptive mother.^[23] Maarva's monologue in^[25] the episode "Rix Road"^[3] originally ended with her saying "Fuck the Empire." This was changed to "Fight the Empire" in the episode.^[25] Shaw recorded her speech before the funeral was filmed.^[24] After Christmas, the Ferrix set was so cold that Shaw's breath was visible. According to director Toby Haynes, Maarva not turning her heater on was probably written in to justify this, which he thought suited the character.^[26] During her funeral procession in the finale episode^[20] "Rix Road,"^[3] the red was amped up to become a strong symbol of the spirit of Ferrix.^[20]