'Andor' Episode 9: "Nobody's Listening!" Recap and Review
The horror of the empire makes it perfectly clear that the only option is to resist and rebel
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
Tensions are incredibly high. Suddenly the word Evil in the term Evil Empire is no longer as vague as it once was. The atrocities of the Empire are becoming increasingly real and are hitting extremely close to home. What was once a general oppression has now manifested into horrific interrogation techniques, intimidation tactics, total disregard for life, and a revolving door of imprisonment and interment. What’s even more horrific is the bureaucratic approach to such atrocities that the Empire practices. It’s clear that the only thing they care about is the terrifying grip that they have on the Galaxy and will do anything to keep the terror intact. Now, only two of our characters feel safe from the Empire’s wrath but only because they live long enough to reach Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, everyone else could die at any moment, literally.
We begin our episode with Lt. Deedra Meero (Denise Gough) in the midst of her interrogation of Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona). She makes it very clear that she knows all about Bix’s rebellious exploits and now only needs to know her contact is and his connection to Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and of course, she resists. In the prison, Cassian and his group continue to toil away under the watchful eye of Kino Loy (Andy Serkis). Without Bix’s cooperation, the interrogation unit uses a terrifying technique to torture the information from her. On the assembly line, Cassian uses the intake of a new inmate work on cutting a pipe in the bathroom. Cassian begins to plan with another inmate, a plan of escape. Bix is exhausted by the torture, Lt. Meero begins to ask questions. She gets what she wants from her, then leaves her in ISB custody. In the Senate, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) argues against Imperial overreach against heckling from the rest of the senate. After the difficult day she is informed that her cousin has arrived, much to her surprise, at her home. In holding, the inmates learn of a problem on a different level when suddenly the lights go out then come back and the alarm goes off. Cassian watches as Kino tries to keep everyone calm. Mon arrives home to find her cousin waiting, Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay). Mon questions Vel about the Rebel activity but she refuses to give any details. In the holding cells, Cassian is probing Kino and the others’ thoughts of escape, but Kino resists. On Coruscant, Lt. Meero updates the rest of the ISB on her investigation and Andor, whom she is now connecting with Aldhani. She makes headway into investigating Aldhani and informs them that they are using Cassian’s mother, Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), as bait. Another day at the prison, word spreads that Level 2 are all dead because of one table was making trouble. Kino continues to tell the group to act as nothing has happened. Morning at the Karn household and Syril (Kyle Soller) continues to clash with his mother when he reveals that he was promoted. On the assembly line, Cassian’s table works diligently it’s eldest member is having trouble keeping up. Mon and Vel spend breakfast with the rest of the Mothma family when Vel hears that Mon has been working with another to bring money into the rebellion. At the ISB, Syril confronts Lt. Meero and thanks her for the promotion. Meero, tries to push him away, but Syril pleads for her to accept his help but she continues to refuse. Mon Mothma has a meeting with Tay Kolma (Ben Miles) when Tay bring up that they need to bring someone else in and has already begun to do so. Mon is taken aback by this, believing Tay has overstepped and could have possibly put the rebellion at risk. Meero is deep in an emergency meeting about a rebel pilot that was arrested. The pilot informed them about an attack coming soon and the ISB decides to let the rebel plan unfold. Cassian keeps working but his tables old member is collapsing due to exhaustion. They carry him to the cell as best as he can but he collapses and they have to call in a doctor. Cassian and Kino wait and watch as the doctor treats him but he already passed because of a stroke. Kino and Cassian learn that the released inmates are just being moved to different levels, and no one actually leaves the facility. Kino comes around on the idea of escape.
Lt. Meero is terrifying. All that we know about her is what we have seen unfold in front of us. No information about her backstory was given, her motivation’s are unknown,so all that we know is that she is ruthless, driven, extremely loyal to the Empire, and willing to kill anyone if doing so moves her closer to her goals. Her weapons are her determination and the full force of the Galactic Empire. To really illustrate her ruthlessness, she approves the hanging of Bix’s friend and the murder of a captured rebel pilot with little to any thought put into it. She has quickly ascended the list of threats to the Rebellion and settled on the very top as the primary antagonist in this series. Syril Karn’s newfound obsession with Meero is worth keeping track of, his desperation in regards to being in power could make him an asset to the Empire if used correctly. As for Cassian, the truth of his, and every other prisoner’s, incarceration has been made clear. The so called “released” prisoners just being transferred to different floors and extending their stay indefinitely. This reality hit hard for Andy Serkis’s Kino Loy who bought in to the false belief that hard work will earn your freedom. In reality, the prison was willing to kill an entire floor of one hundred people and just start over with new prisoners rather than address the anger amongst the prisoners. Kino Loy quickly changed his tune about escape after one of his workers literally worked himself to death.
The tension built in this episode was built solely on the performances of the characters. Denise Gough added ruthlessness to a character that was already desperate for power. Genevieve O'Reilly added fear and desperation to an already cautious and tactile Mon Mothma. Andy Serkis had his hope obliterated then reformed into rebellion. Diego Luna continues to inspire those around him to Rebel even though he avoids it as much as possible. He is already a Rebel, all he needs now is the title. The quality of this series is unmatched by any to come before it and all without a single force push or lightsaber. The future of Star Wars needs to take note here, stories are built with character, not specticle. Focus on drama, conflict, and character work first, then add a little space magic for flavor. Andor easily could take place during the Cold War or World War II, that is the mark of a great story.