Andor Season 2 Never Forgot About Its Most Important Star Wars Character (Even If You Did)

Major spoilers ahead for the "Andor" season 2 finale.

"Andor" is a miracle of television — an immaculately written, acted, designed, and shot series that is unlike anything we've ever seen before in the "Star Wars" universe, yet works precisely because it takes place in the nearly 50-year-old franchise. Showrunner Tony Gilroy and his team have done something special in pulling back the curtain on the fight against the Empire and showing the human cost of freedom, the individuals who made their minds a sunless space and burnt their lives to make a sunrise they knew they'd never see.

Throughout "Andor" season 2, we saw the birth of the Rebel Alliance as we know it from "Rogue One": a brittle union made out of groups with vastly different approaches and ideologies constantly clashing with one another. Every episode of "Andor" added nuance not only to "Rogue One," but to the entire "Star Wars" franchise at large, recontextualizing the original space opera trilogy with moral complexity that makes the fight against the Empire feel more real than ever.

Indeed, despite being very much a show set in a galaxy far, far away, a big part of what makes "Andor" so special is how human it is — and how intimate it is despite its epic scope. The show shines a light on the small, at times nearly invisible ways everyday people can impact you without ever knowing, and how even a hotel clerk saying a throwaway line can one day inspire a group of people to give up their lives to steal the Death Star plans. We all know about Luke, Han, and Leia, but "Andor" reminds us that there were dozens of people who came before them and had just as big a contribution to the cause, even if their names were forgotten by history.

The season 2 finale of "Andor" calls back to one of those forgotten heroes of the Rebellion to show their impact continued long after their death.

In episode 12, having brought Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) to safety on Yavin IV, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) struggles to get through Rebel Command and convince them to heed the last words of Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) about the Empire's secret super weapon. Desperate and hopeless, he is visited by Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) and the two reminisce about being the last surviving members of the original Aldhani rebel group. Then they pay respect to their fallen comrades, who have become too many. The two toast to Gorn, Nemik, Taramyn, Cinta, the Ghormans, Ferrix, Maarva, and even the Dhanis — implying that they were also wiped out following the Aldhani heist, which would tie into SM-33's memories of the planet as inhospitable.

It's already a touching moment, but what makes it a true emotional gut punch is that we immediately cut to Kleya waking up on Yavin as we listen to a familiar speech. "There will be times when the struggle seems impossible..." This, of course, is part of "The Trail of Political Consciousness," written by one Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther). That's right, Nemik's manifesto is back!

In case you need a reminder, Nemik was part of the Aldhani heist crew and was in charge of calculating the group's escape trajectory after the heist. The Aldhani arc was spectacular, and a big part of why that arc worked is that Nemik was one of the first people we met who was ideologically devoted to the Rebellion. His manifesto in the season 1 finale was a milestone moment for Cassian, inspiring his move from skeptic to full-time rebel.

Not only are Nemik's ideas of freedom alive and well years after his death, but his message is stronger than ever. Immediately after Kleya, we cut to Lio Partagaz (Anton Lesser), who is actually listening to the manifesto in his ISB office. Turns out, the manifesto has spread widely since Nemik's death, to the point where it is widely known amongst ISB officials. "Just keeps spreading, doesn't it?" Pardagaz tells one of his subordinates, who confirms it's been hard to contain Nemik's message.

"Andor" has been all about the people whose names are forgotten by history. The people who don't get the glory and blow up Death Stars, but instead do the dirty work, who find critical pieces of information whose importance only becomes clear after the fact. The people whose biggest contribution is to just push the line forward a bit.

People like Maarva (Fiona Shaw), whose speech radicalized the people of Ferrix to stand up. People like Lonni (Robert Emms), who lived in the shadows but was responsible for setting the Rebellion on the path to learn about the Death Star and eventually destroy it. People like Nemik, whose contribution was not in life, but in death, inspiring countless lives to join the cause, even if they never learn of Nemik's name.

When Partagaz listens to "The Trail of Political Consciousness," he is very clearly distraught. Whether that's because he is about to be executed by the Empire for failing to contain the leak of information about the Death Star or because hearing the words "Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear" genuinely got to the old ISB official, we don't know. Still, it is quite significant that the last thing Partagaz does before shooting himself in the head is to listen to the words of a long-dead rebel. Even the most loyal Imperial has some doubts when their time is up.

Here's to Nemik, the deliverer of one of the greatest speeches in "Star Wars," and a man who gave it all for the Rebellion.