'Andor' Episode 6: "The Eye" Recap and Review
The day of the heist brings tension, tragedy, and betrayal in what will sure to be remembered as a legendary moment in Star Wars History
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
The best moments in television are all earned by the manufacturing and release of tension. This is not lost on Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy. The heist has been treated with enough gravitas that the “day of” would have to be epic and it did not disappoint. What is even more impressive is the fact that this was only built over only two episodes. That is a true testament to the performances of the cast involved in the heist. The Rebel group has demonstrated the tension, mistrust, and betrayal that comes from Guerrilla Warfare that has rarely been touched upon in Hollywood. So rarely do plans work out with everyone remaining “for the cause”, humans are far too selfish for that. Reality when it comes to heists involving large sums of money are closer to The Dark Knight than Ocean’s Eleven this week’s episode has a healthy balance of both with an underscore of tragedy as an exclamation point.
It’s the morning of, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther) make small talk about each other’s philosophies. At the Garrison, the Imperials in charge including Lieutenant Gorn (Sule Rimi) discuss the incoming locals as they trek into the valley. At the camp, Taramyn (Gershwyn Eustache Jnr) contacts Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu) on the other side of the base behind the lake. The two make contact and lock in their communications before Cassian, Nemik, Taramyn, and Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) enter the valley. As Vel and Cinta prepare, a meteor flies in overhead. The group of natives enter the Imperial controlled area and are greeted by soldiers watching their every move. The Rebel group poses as soldiers as the natives walk by, following them towards the Garrison. The head Imperial and his family prepare to greet the natives as Gorn greets the natives at the border before escorting them all to the sacred area. Just as another lone meteor passes overhead, Vel and Cinta jump into the lake and swim all the way to the Garrison wall. Gorn splits up the squads and takes the Rebel group, still posing as soldiers, to the garrison to pick up the Imperial leaders. After waiting for the coast to clear, Vel and Cinta climb the wall. The Imperials greet the natives in a makeshift ceremony. Meanwhile Vel and Cinta place a jammer on the communicator then signal to the group that the mission is a go. Vel and Cinta leap from the top of the wall into the base as the Rebels escort the Imperials back into the Garrison. as soon they enter, they turn their guns on them and take hostages. One of the Imperials pulls their gun and points it at Nemik, but Cinta shoots him dead as she enters the room. The Signal Jammer turns on, knocking out the comms for the entire base, baffling the Comms Officer. They tie up the family of the leader and leave them with Cinta as hostages while the rest take the leader to the vault. They enter the hanger and take all the guards hostage. Cassian and Nemik prep the ship as the rest get the Vault open and begin loading the credits. As they update Cinta, the Comms Officer intercepts the message. He gathers a group of soldiers and they head to the vault. Then the Eye begins, and the sky glows bright green with meteors overhead. Gorn joins the group just as the Comms Officer catches them.
After a brief standoff, they open fire. Gorn is killed by blaster fire almost immediately. Cassian tries to start the ship but is attacked by a soldier, Nemik manages to save him. Taramyn tries to make it to the ship but is taken out by blaster fire. The rest of the rebels load up just as a squad of Tie-Fighters take to the air. Cassian launches the ship but Nemik accidently gets crushed by a runaway cart full of credits. Vel and Skeen free Nemik but he is paralyzed from the waist down. Vel injects meds into his chest so he can instruct Cassian on where to fly. The Tie fighters catch up to them but Nemik’s guidance causes the Tie-Fighters to get destroyed by the meteors. The group gets away but decides to detour to a Doctor. Vel watches as the doctor works on Nemik while Skeen and Cassian wait outside. Skeen tries to convince Cassian to betray Vel and the Rebellion by taking the ship, and the credits, and splitting the money between them. Cassian puts a blaster bolt in his chest. Cassian then enters the hut to find out that Nemik died of his injury. He demands to take a different ship, as well as what he is owed by Luthen and gives the Kyber necklace to Vel to give back to Luthen. Vel forces Cassian to take Nemik’s manifesto before he walks out of the door. Quickly the Empire and the Senate learn of the attack on the base. Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) too hears of the Rebels success and laughs in relief.
Out of the seven that started that began, only three were left alive in the end. Lieutenant Gorn and Taramyn died in the shootout. Taramyn’s end was obvious, coming after trying to reach the freighter, but Gorn’s death was hidden in an action shot that was actually more clever than originally thought. In the chaos of war, things happen that you may not realize until after the action is over. Nemik succumb to his injuries after being crushed during the escape. This death was a double swerve from the writers. Anyone could have guessed that his days were numbered upon first meeting him, his perceived age and dedication to the ideals of the rebellion were an obvious set up for tragedy but a close call early on and the prospect of a doctor after his injury gave hope that he could survive but survival just wasn’t in the cards for the young Rebel. The final death was Skeen who was attempting to betray the cause to which Cassian was not having any of. The last two deaths should have a lasting impact on Cassian as he saw first hand that there are those out there willing to die for the cause and those out there that still only think of themselves, like he claims to do. Remaining are Cassian, of course, Vel and Cinta; Vel of course escaped with Cassian and Cinta walked out of the base during the chaos. In the closing moments we get to see the ripple effect this heist had on the galaxy, the panic in the Empire and the relief from the leaders of the rebellion. The ball is entirely in Cassian’s court as now he has a means of escape and a reminder of the cause and now the question of who he wants to be like going forward is set. Does Cassian want to be more like Skeen or like Nemik, both are now dead but one had meaning and the other meant nothing.
We are not even halfway through the first season and we already have what could be the best told story in all of Star Wars. It seems as the series is setting up the event on Aldhari as being the start of the war between the Rebellion and the Empire. This heist is set up to be the first shot, adding a large significance to the series that is an incredible surprise. On top of that, it felt important. There was never a moment where the characters did not feel in danger and tension was so thick that you could cut it with a lightsaber. What we just experienced was a master class in making events feel epic. It will be hard to top the gravitas in this episode but if they manage to, we could have an all-time classic on our hands.