Adria Arjona Unpacks That Painfully Beautiful Finale Scene in <i>Andor</i> Season 2

Spoilers below.

Luke Skywalker could not have destroyed the Death Star without Bix Caleen. It’s doubtful that the famous Jedi warrior ever learns of the Ferrixian woman, but he—and the Rebel Alliance as a whole—owe her a debt. At every turn throughout both excellent seasons of Andor, Adria Arjona’s plucky, resilient, steadfast Bix points her childhood friend and now-lover, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), toward a tragic but essential act of heroism: a sacrifice depicted in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

In the final moments of Rogue One, Cassian and his allies transmit the plans to the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance, ensuring a game-changing victory for their revolution. But Cassian never makes it off the planet Scarif. In one kyber-fueled blast from the massive superweapon, both his crew and Scarif itself are destroyed. It’s a terrible act of violence on behalf of the Galactic Empire. But it also begins a death knell for the Empire itself.

All this reckoning is yet to come during the events of Andor. The prequel series depicts only Bix’s faith in Cassian’s destiny, not her knowledge of it. She can’t be certain what will become of Cass, only that it matters. When, in episode 9, she leaves him alone on the planet Yavin, she makes an active choice. She chooses the rebellion. If she stays on Yavin with Cassian, he’ll abandon his cause in favor of a peaceful family life. He wants to rest. He wants to commit. He wants her. But Bix knows there’s no lasting peace under the genocidal rule of the Empire. She can’t allow Cassian to run from that truth again. In her gut-wrenching farewell message, she promises that the two lovers will find each other again someday, when the fight is finally over.

Cassian never does see Bix again. In fact, the audience doesn’t see Bix again—not until the closing shot of the series finale. The Andor saga ends with one lasting image: Bix, waist-deep in the grain fields of the planet Mina-Rau, her arms wrapped around a swaddled infant. We don’t need dialogue to inform us she’s holding Cassian’s child, nor do we need a voiceover to project her thoughts. As she watches the sunset rise on the planet she once shared with Cass, she hopes she will see him again. But she hopes, above all, that the sacrifices they made won’t be for naught. As Arjona puts it, “What she’s really hopeful about is the change that he’s going to make. She’s going to live in a better galaxy because Cassian is out there.” Even after he has died, Bix’s hope reverberates through all of Star Wars. Cassian himself says it in Rogue One: “Rebellions are built on hope.”

Below, Arjona discusses the brutal, beautiful finale episode of Andor; the reasoning behind Bix’s faith in both Cassian and the rebel cause; and what we’re to make of that closing image.

As you can tell in the show, [Andor creator] Tony Gilroy does things differently. He told me pretty early on; in season 1, I knew where my character was going. And I’ve never had anybody do that for me or give me that gift: to be able to contemplate and think about character’s journey for a year ahead of the time of filming. It’s pretty special.

Oh, man. I did not take it lightly. It’s a big responsibility to set one of your favorite Star Wars characters on the journey that you admire so much. I’ve loved Cassian even before becoming a part of this Andor family. I think he’s such an interesting character. So to set him off into the journey [you see in Rogue One]...There was a lot of pressure that I felt, because I wanted to pay tribute to fans, to Cassian, and to myself as well—because I love his journey so much.

When we were filming the send-off scene in episode 9 [in which Bix tells Cassian she’s leaving], the first four takes were unusable. I could not stop crying. I could not believe that Bix was doing that; I got my own emotions involved in the process. I was really mad at myself because I couldn’t control my emotions. I’m like, “What the fuck, my job is to control my emotions!” And I couldn’t, because it meant so much to me.

But eventually we got there and then for that last, last scene [in episode 12], Tony Gilroy was on set, and it was probably the only scene in the entire show that he’s directed me. The actual director was there, too, but it felt full-circle. It felt really poetic, in a way, to end with one of Tony Gilroy’s notes.

It was pretty challenging. I’m not going to lie to you. A lot of the clues are already in the script. Tony has this beautiful way of summarizing what happens in that year gap [between batches of episodes] with one line; like in between season 1 and season 2, in that first episode, Cassian says, “I need to call home. I need to call home.” And you, the audience, quickly understand that home is where Bix is. [Gilroy] summarizes for you that they’ve created a home and they’re in love. So you have those little clues all around the script.

Bix’s journey is a really interesting one because she wants to be a part of the Rebellion so, so much—and something keeps happening to her. Dr. Gorst limits her from the potential to be more of a part of the rebellion, to be more in conversations with Luthen and Cassian. She can’t quite function. She’s trying to rediscover who she is. She’s trying to rebuild herself after Dr. Gorst, to be able to play a part in something greater than herself.

She first is dealing with the nightmares, and then she gets addicted to these droppers to help her sleep. And that scene with Luthen and her [in episode 5] is so shameful. He comes into the house and sees her, and the room is a mess; she’s a mess. He was going to come and give her exactly what she wanted, which was a job. And he quickly realizes that she’s a liability, and it breaks her heart.

So, in the big explosion scene, that big revenge scene in episode 6, it clicks in her head. She’s like, “That’s it. I’m done with the droppers. I have to move on.” And then as the show progresses, you see that she has formed more of a part of the Rebellion. She sees something in Cassian; she can see that he’s way more than what he thinks he is, which drives her to make the decision that she does, which ends up making a great impact in the Rebellion.

You don’t necessarily need to be the central hero to make change. I love that about Bix.

I think it’s solidified what she’s been thinking for so long. I think Bix has known this and has felt this about Cassian, but it’s hard to admit to that or tell the person you love. Because you’re a little biased, right? Of course Bix is going to believe that Cassian has some great destiny. But yeah, the Force healer really solidifies this idea for her. It scares the crap out of, I think, both of them. It scares Cassian a lot more.

In the scene before she leaves, Cassian is telling her, “I’m done. I’m tired. I want to build a family. I want to go away. I’ve sacrificed so much for this.” And that’s the moment that Bix gets scared, going like, “Wait, hold on. He’s going to leave everything for me. And he doesn’t even know that I’m pregnant.” It’s not a hundred-percent clear whether she knows or not. I chose to believe that she knows she is pregnant, and Tony has kind of said that to me also.

She’s like, if I tell him that we’re going to have a family, he’s going to leave all of this. And he has a greater purpose. He is meant to change the world. He is meant to do so much more than what he thinks. And I think in her very hopeful mind, she’s like, He’s going to change the world and then find me. Cassian always finds Bix. Season 1, she says it, and season 2, she continues to say it: “Cassian will find me. Cassian will be here.” She has no doubt about that.

So I definitely don’t think she thinks what’s going to happen in Rogue One will happen. But she desperately wants Cassian to meet his highest potential. And that’s real love: When you support someone so much that you sacrifice what you want to elevate that person. It’s quite beautiful.

Chemistry is something that’s so hard to describe. I always return to trust. When you’re with someone like Diego, who is so committed to his craft... He’s such a vulnerable and giving actor. You’re in the best hands you possibly could be.

Also, we’ve been at this for five years. We went through a pandemic together. We did the whole press for season 1 when people didn’t really know who we were. You go through tiny little vulnerable moments in life with a friend, and ultimately, Diego is a friend of mine. And I think, like a true friend, I trust him dearly. So when we had to now be a couple and play this love relationship, it was easy because we trust each other, and I felt very safe with Diego.

So, I personally haven’t seen it. I can’t bring myself to see it. I feel like once I watch, the show has really ended. I’ll watch it while people at home are watching it.

I really relied on the director. And I think having a baby in your arms does something to you. It wasn’t about me. It was this really hopeful moment. She’s where she wants to be, and she’s hoping that Cassian is good and well, and that one day they’ll be reunited.

It was a tough day at work, for sure. It was one of the last scenes I ever shot. It was like, I’m really saying goodbye to this character. And it’s also the last scene of our entire show, which means so much to me. This show has meant so much to me. So to be able to close it off, it meant a lot.

I’m not a hundred-percent sure of that. I had many conversations with Tony about that, but...It reminds her of Ferrix a little bit. She needs community and needs support around her, especially as a new mom. She goes back because of that, and there are elements of Ferrix that she finds in this place.

I think Tony Gilroy really saw something in me before anyone else did. He really believed that I had what it took to play this role without really much reference of my work. He had no doubt in me. When someone has no doubt in you, you stop doubting yourself.

He challenged me with every scene he wrote for Bix, and I didn’t take it lightly. He’s been a mentor for me for so long. I mean, he still is. I still call him and I’m like, “Tony, should I do this? Should I not do this? What do I do?”

After season 1, I got different roles, and I got different opportunities because of Andor. I don’t think I would’ve gotten them without Andor. I think it’s definitely opened so many doors for me, but it’s also been the biggest school I’ve ever been to. I’ve been working with the best of the best: best writers, best costume designers, the best hair designer and makeup [artists], the best actors, best cinematographer. I was just like a sponge learning from every department.

I’ve taken a lot of what I’ve learned. And now the majority of the movies, thank God, that I’m doing, I’m also producing them. I have Andor to thank for that, because I’ve learned so much. Now, I can maybe fix something or have a say in something because I was a part of such a large machine, and I understood how it worked, and everybody in the machine was very open about the process.

Adria Arjona and Diego Luna with Andor castmates Kyle Soller and Genevieve O’Reilly in 2022.

Not really. I think we were really focused on telling this arc. Whatever happens to Bix after is in my imagination. Hopefully in Tony’s, too.

I tried to focus on what was happening to Bix in that moment, similar to how we deal with real life. You have hopes, and you have dreams. And I am sure that she hopes and dreams of one day reuniting with Cassian. I think, in that last scene, what she’s really hopeful about is the change that he’s going to make. She’s going to live in a better galaxy because Cassian is out there.

Maybe, hopefully, a writer one day approaches me, and they’re like, “Hey, I know what happens,” but I don’t want to smudge it with my imagination. But I have so much hope for [Bix and the baby]. They’re going to be fine, I hope.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.