Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Andor Episode 11.“Here we are, waiting for you” is a popular saying written around cemeteries of Portuguese-speaking countries. It’s an impactful (and a little eerie) reminder of how quickly life can pass us by, and that we are just passing by in our world. Weirdly enough, a very similar idea was incorporated intoAndor’s story in its latest episode, “Daughter of Ferrix.” As Lieutenant Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) gives her team instructions about how to supervise Maarva Andor’s (Fiona Shaw) funeral, one of theImperial Security Bureau(ISB) officials explains what happens when a citizen of Ferrix dies: they are “bricked,” becoming bricks in the walls of the city.
This is a big reveal, and one that explains a lot about Ferrix. When the planet was first introduced inAndor, its architecture immediately stood out when compared to other iconicStar Warslocations. So far, it’s the only one that uses bricks on buildings without covering them with concrete in most places, leaving them with a sort of skeletal aspect. At first, it gave the planet an overall industrial and lived-in feel, noting that those who dwell within those walls are as hardened as the bricks that make them stand. Now, though, all that is revealed to have a whole new layer — literally.
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The Ferrix Funeral Rite, Explained
One of the most interesting aspects ofAndor— andStar Warsin general — is how it explores the customs and habits of the people who live on the planets it mentions and shows. We have learned about howcourtship and marriagework onChandrila, for example, and have seen a whole plot built around such things. They might seem small at first, but when properly developed and written into the narrative, they work wonders in terms of world-building. That’s also the case with Ferrix’s funeral proceedings.
When Dedra Meero asks for a description of the ritual the people of Ferrix conduct to mourn their dead, the ISB officer present explains how it works: after two days of mourning, the person who died is then cremated, their ashes mixed with mortar and local dust, and made into a brick to put in a wall afterward. Remember how the bricks are usually visible all around the city? And how the hotel used by the Empire as headquarters is nearly all made of such bricks? Well…
As eerie and dark as this may sound, though, the symbolism is beautiful. The fact that the bricks that keep the buildings standing are made of the actual remains of Ferrix citizens means that those that came before are as much a part of what makes the present as those who currently living, as the past provides shelter and safety to those that make up the community in the present. This also explains why the brick walls and columns in Ferrix mostly don’t have any coat of cement and are always clean, with no signs of vandalism. Although nothing is said about this, spraying paint or graffiti on these walls, or covering them with art and protest (even if against the Empire), may be seen as an act of disrespect, as you are literally covering the headstone of someone who helped build Ferrix itself.
The whole city, then, may be seen as an actual cemetery and is treated with the respect of one, and each building is turned into a public shrine to those who helped build Ferrix. It’s a constant reminder that the current citizens are only there because of those who came before and that they are also waiting for the living to join them in the walls.
Ferrix’s Burial Customs Reveal a Close-Knit Community
From the very first episode,Andormade it clear that Ferrix was unlike any other place in the galaxy far, far away ofStar Wars. The planet itself was at first under the authority ofPreox-Morlana, a company that explored the natural resources of the Morlana system — of which Ferrix is a part — nearly to the point of exhaustion. The company didn’t show much interest in developing the planet, though, with its economy being stuck in the early stages of industrialization.
The people of Ferrix, though, are hardened by years of exploration by the corporate leviathan that is Pre-Mor, and they lean on themselves for support and solace. The first arc shows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) interacting with all kinds of people in town, all of whom he knew well, from longtime friend Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) to former girlfriend Bix Calleen (Adria Arjona). Maarva herself had the Daughters of Ferrix, a social organization that helps perpetuate the customs of the people who are from and that live on the planet. Everyone knows everything about everybody (except that Cassian is actually fromKenariand not from Fest, of course), making explicit how close they all are to each other. They grow up together, they go to work together, and, even though each person has their own time to die, they all rest together after death, too. The bricking ritual, then, also works as a way of staying close to those who already died, as they remain a visible part of everyone’s lives.
After the Empiretakes overfrom Pre-Mor due to the incident at the end of the first arc of the series, involving Cassian and the Pre-Mor security team led by Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), life gets considerably more difficult in Ferrix. When Cassian got himself into trouble, the whole community rose up to help him, and not a single person so far has taken issue with having to help one of their own against an overwhelming force.
At the moment, stormtroopers patrolling the streets and the presence of ISB agents are a constant reminder of the freedom that is being taken away from Ferrix, and now, more than ever, is the moment for them to draw inspiration not only from the recently deceased Maarva, but also of everyone else who rests in the bricks in the walls — it’s worth noting that Cassian has already lost a parent, his adoptive father Clem Andor (Gary Beadle), who is likely to have been bricked, too. But Imperials and invaders who perish in Ferrix don’t seem to get bricked, though, which speaks volumes about how they are regarded.
