Andor Episode 7 Review: A Kettle Set to Boil

Andor is likely the best Star Wars series on Disney+. But is it too late for fans who have already turned away from the beleaguered franchise?

Note: To the nature of this episode, it is impossible to discuss without going into spoilers. If you haven’t watched this episode, turn back now.

After the high of last week, Andor returns to a familiar pace – but it feels different, now. A blow has been struck against the Empire, what comes now is the calm before the storm. After the heist on Aldhani, the ISB has kicked into high gear, putting plans into action to punish all acts of defiance or sedition. The punitive actions are relayed to the rest of the bureau by no less a personage than Colonel Wulf Yularen. Time has hardened the man. At first this was a bit shocking for me, but it’s clear that he believes the Jedi truly did betray the Republic. Any Imperial system found to be harboring rebel sympathizer will have fines levied against it that are five-fold the losses of the Aldhani heist.

Any culturual festival or gathering that is used as cover for rebel activity will cause imperial tolerance of these cultural traditions to be rescinded. Sentencing guidelines for crimes, including petty offenses, are restructured to eliminate minimum sentencing guidelines. Even activity that indirectly harms the empire will be punished. Lt. Deedra Meero recognizes that these actions play into the rebels hands. They will stoke further resistance, and as yet, the Empire can’t be everywhere at once. Syril has another verbal joust with his mother, regarding the suit he intends to wear for the job interview set up by “Uncle Harlo.” (Can’t help but wonder – could “Harlo” be a familiar form of Wilhuf? Hmmmm….) A news broadcast catches his eye showing the events on Aldhani, and the anger and desire to bring the rebels to justice is plainly evident. On Coruscant, Luthen Rael also closely follows encoded rebel transmissions, reporting the events and aftermath of the Aldhani raid. He is interrupted by the arrival of Mon Mothma – ostensibly to return the gift that she purchased for her husband, but secretly to press Luthen on his involvement in the heist. Luthen at first denies involvement, continuing to play his shopkeeper role; but it doesn’t take long for his patience to break. Though Mon is horrified, and knows that this will lead to reprisals, Luthen educates her – this is the intent.

“The Empire has been strangling us so slowly that we hardly notice it.”

His intent is to make people take notice. He reminds Mon that he had warned her about involving additional parties in their conspiracy, and that every credit is needed to fund the nascent rebellion. Mon continues to warn him that people will suffer. Luthen could’ve made a stronger point if he’d reminded her that people are already suffering. It is clear that Mon isn’t comfortable with pushing things forward – up to this point, the rebellion was a concept – now action has been taken, and she must commit or surrender. While she is unhappy with this news, she plans to continue her plan to meet her third-party to discuss a way to obtain additional funding. Luthen and Mon part on less friendly terms than they began, but with a better understanding of what needs to happen going forward. We cut briefly back to Aldhani, where Cinta is concealing what remains of the camp that Vel and her cell used prior to the heist. As she does so, an Imperial Star Destroyer enters orbit overhead. After gaping at the massive starship, she uncovers a speeder bike and heads down the mountain.

While the question of whether she executed the Imperial Commandants family remains open, I believe she has stayed behind as a reporter for the rebellion – to document the occupation and reprisals against Aldhani citizens that this arrival portends.

Finally, we return to Cassian. He has returned to Ferrix, and meets up with Maarva, who catches him up on events. His plan is to take Maarva and B2EMO and escape Ferrix to parts unoccupied, with his share of the score. Maarva is less than enthused, and finds an excuse not to commit. Undeterred, Cassian returns to Bix. (Sidenote: I was very surprised in this scene to learn that “Shave and a Haircut” exists in the Star Wars universe. I’m guessing it must go “Shave and a Haircut – Two Creds?”) He is surprised to find her injured, and less than hospitable. Everyone now blames Cassian for what is taking place – they all know he killed the Morlana Corpos, he scams, steals, takes on debts he doesn’t pay, and runs – leaving others to pick up the pieces. She warns him to leave and not to come back – sadly, he agrees to. Before leaving, he gives Bix enough money to cover his debts to all of his creditors.

Syril goes through his job interview, and I had to laugh at the Star Wars equivalent of a cubicle farm. It truly looks like a prison, or an accountants version of hell. Nevertheless, the influence of “Uncle Harlo” has landed Syril the job, and his skill at reconciling records will no doubt be used to discover thefts of Imperial Equipment, no doubt bringing him into Lt. Deedras orbit.

Back on Ferrix, Cassian returns to Maarva, who informs him that she will not leave. Ferrix is her home, and where Clem died – and she will fight for it as a rebel, because she must. Cassian doesn’t understand – not yet. His leaving causes Maarva grief, but as he’s leaving she urges him not to look for his sister. She tells him that all of the residents of Kenari died, and what happened wasn’t his fault. As Andor is leaving, he comes across some stormtroopers and has to evade them…we flash back to what may have been one of the worst days of his life – Clonetroopers marching in Ferrix, with an agitated crowd around them, screaming and yelling debris. Clem rushes out to the crowd to try to calm them, but as he does, the Imperial commander orders the clonetroopers to turn and aim. There’s a brief jump forward as Andor remembers Clem hanging in a cold winter, and we see him rushing towards clonetroopers with club in hand – no doubt landing him in detention. This will be a plot point going forward.

The episode ends with Cassian on a pleasure planet, under an assumed name, with a passed out companion in his bed. He’s pretending to shower while obtaining credits from his kit, and plans to go out to buy more food and drinks. As he does so, a number of men rush past him, pursued by Shoretroopers. Probe droids fill the sky, and Cassian is nervous at the Imperial presence. While trying to move quickly, he catches the attention of another shoretrooper, who mistakes him for being involved with the others. He stops and questions Cassian, aggressively – eventually calling for a K2 droid to keep him restrained while the trooper goes elsewhere. The droid misunderstands and hoists him up, choking him.

We cut to a scene of an Imperial Courtroom, where a bored magistrate sentences people en masse – Cassian is sentenced to prison for 6 years, on what used to be a 6 month sentence. I enjoyed this episode, because it begins to ratchet up the tension again – it’s slow, but this is the type of stakes-raising that will pay off later.

I said when this series began that Andor had a lot on its mind. I don’t think that is displayed any more prominently than in this episode. I tend to bristle when writers attempt to inject real-world politics into their fiction. In this episode, issues such as: The Patriot Act/Mass Surveillance Suspension of Civil Liberties Tough Sentencing/Mass Incarceration Stop and Frisk Police Brutality Working within the System/Working Against the System …are all explored. I worried that these questions would be handled in a ham-fisted way, and in some cases I feel like they danced up to the line. But you know why this works for me? Because this show isn’t telling me how to feel about it. It isn’t explicitly calling me out as a viewer and saying if I believe one way I’m virtuous, and if I believe another way I’m a villain.

What it IS doing, is presenting 3-dimensional characters who all have reasons for feeling the way THEY do, and with the information that they have at their disposal it is understandable why they feel that way. It asks me to observe, and it asks me to THINK about it, and examine the way I feel. Nothing more, nothing less.

THIS is what good quality writing should do. It IS slow. It is definitely not to everyone’s taste. But for right now at least, I can say that the show has made me a believer. I reserve the right to change my opinion, but behind the Mandalorian and Rogue One, this is the best Disney Star Wars content we’ve gotten.

I worry about the trendline for interest in this show, because I think it would be a shame for Disney to conclude that a more mature Star Wars just doesn’t interesst people. I still have some gripes about the show – notably, the general lack of aliens and droids. (We do see some in this episode, but they’re few and far between – more would be nice, to keep this grounded in Star Wars.) Likewise, there were a couple of dodgy effects shots in this episode – the first that I’ve noticed. Not a major gripe, but it was a bit of a surprise to me after how gorgeous everything else has been.

What are your thoughts?

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