As Cassian Andor and a fellow inmate try to make their escape, the rest of the Rebellion is starting to feel the effects of loss and sacrifice in the latest episode of “Star Wars: Andor.” Andor manages to get a message home where he learns that his mother has died. The Empire is constantly setting traps including one to use Andor’s mother’s funeral against him. And another trap leads Luthen Rael to sacrifice one of the Rebels and he gives Saw Guerrera the information necessary to make an informed decision. Meanwhile, Mon Mothma is finding a way to connect with her daughter while trying to push the Rebellion forward through the Senate.

This episode served as the perfect penultimate episode for this season. Cassian Andor is continuing his trek to what he views as freedom. We all know how his life ends, so he really doesn’t experience freedom until then, but he is working for it. We’ve seen him grow from a disillusioned and self-serving criminal with the skills the Rebellion needs for a certain job to a man who knows what it takes to survive. He’s still somewhat self-serving, but he’s focusing on helping others along the way. He may not be on board for the cause yet, but we are seeing how he will be.

After all of his work pulling strings behind the scenes, we finally get to see Luthen Rael in a sticky situation. It’s the first time we’ve seen him have direct conflict with anyone since he recruited Andor in episode three. He gets stopped by the Empire and has to find a way to escape while they have him in a tractor beam to try to search his ship. He’s forced to reveal some of the weapons that are on his ship which comes as a surprise to the Empire. I’m willing to bet this will lead to the Empire taking the Rebellion a lot more seriously helping to set up the events of the original trilogy.

I love how this sets up for the finale and can’t wait to see how they bring this home. This episode, like many wasn’t action heavy, but its moments of action were great. The dialogue carries the story, and it has been fantastic so far. It’s been a perfect blend of great storytelling, action without being too reliant on it and stripped down, back to basics, practical effects. There are some special effects, yes, but they are spaced out properly. This show continues to impress week in and week out.

Rating: 4 stars

What did you think of this episode of “Andor?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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