‘Andor’ Delivers On Expected Action

It’s fairly obvious from anyone who’s been paying attention to Andor that this week’s episode was going to be action-packed, and it did not fail to deliver. The tension began almost immediately and it only ramped up from there. After nearly an episode and a half of preparation and setup, the heist was underway. Of course, because this is a TV show, it was never going to go to plan. There was always going to be some hiccup or problem. And as it turned out, the outcome was fairly darker than anticipated.

This episode focused on the Eye, a celestial event that causes lights in the Aldhani night sky to shine bright. This event was hinted at previously as the Rebels were going to use it as cover for their escape. When they infiltrated the Imperial outpost, the Rebels were able to take control of the commandant’s family and use them as hostages to manipulate him into giving the group access to the vault. Unfortunately, the Rebels were running behind schedule and engaged in a firefight. By the end, several of them were dead and Cassian (Diego Luna) made the decision to eliminate one additional team member intent on betraying the others. He then left the Rebel leader, Vel (Faye Marsay), and took his share of the score now that his job was done.

It’s interesting how this episode ended on both a high and low point at the same time. The Empire was hit — and hit badly! They understood that and so it should be interesting to see what their response will be. Meanwhile, Cassian made off with his money, but the cost was, nonetheless, very high. Many of the characters that viewers had grown fond of over the course of these two episodes are gone. It’s a very mixed bag, which is indicative of the situation. There is no right or wrong in the Empire’s galaxy. There’s merely survival. And if the show’s narrative pacing stays true, there will be some slow going episodes before the action ramps up again.

Andor streams Wednesdays on Disney+.