The beach scene in Rogue One is frequently compared now to the final scene of Andor and that was clearly a conscious choice from the director and director of photography. It’s also echoed in the scene on Niamos at the end of season 1 ep 11. But the dialogue context makes it even more poignant.
In that top image, Cassian has just called home to Ferrix, and said to Xanwan: “Tell Maarva I'm okay. Tell her I'm thinking about her. She’d be proud of me. And I'll get back as soon as I can." Only then does Xanwan break the terrible news that he’s too late.
Moments after the bottom image from Rogue One, Cassian says to Jyn: “Your father would have been proud of you”. So now we think back to that moment on Niamos from five years previously and imagine Cassian comforting Jyn in a way that would have been central to him ever since that time. You can imagine him thinking of Clem too. He knows how important a parent’s pride is.
Bix’s sacrifice was especially painful as it involved betrayal of her own morality in addition to giving up something she holds dear. In the middle image she doesn’t yet know of Cassian’s imminent death but you can certainly imagine her finding out one day and comforting herself amidst the inevitable guilt with knowing that their child can be proud of their father, the man she had so much faith in - faith that ultimately mirrored Maarva’s, that Cassian would be “an unstoppable force for good”.
The cinematography in each shot is exquisite. Whether sunrise or sunset, or Death Star explosion: “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see”. Some children and some parents live but others die. All trying to “make it worth it” and “try” because “rebellions are built on hope”.