It’s heist time, as Cassian and company bust into an Imperial vault under the cover of a cosmic light show in Andor Episode 6, “The Eye”!
Austin Gorton: Adam, welcome back for the culmination of the series’ heist plot! This was a suitably tense chunk of television as we watched Cassian and his erstwhile allies execute the plan they spent last episode preparing for (when they weren’t testing each other suspiciously), and like all good heist plots, there were a few hitches along the way. Any high level thoughts before we dive in?
Adam Reck: When I jumped in to cover the first three eps, I was pretty hard on Andor for what I considered its sluggish pacing. This arc, especially this sixth episode, was simply outstanding. “The Eye” is the best Star Wars anything I’ve seen since The Last Jedi. It had action, it had subtlety, it had character depth, and it looked like a million bucks. I believe that showrunner Tony Gilroy has promised further heights, and if this is where we are now? I can’t wait for more. But for now? Let’s get ready to thieve!
Pre-Heist Jitters
Austin: Before diving into the heist, we get a morning chat between Nemik and Cassian. Nemik couldn’t sleep and so he wrote about Cassian instead, and the “role of mercenaries in the galactic struggle for freedom”. It’s a fascinating exchange that captures the arc of Cassian’s journey — from someone fighting the Empire for personal gain, be it monetary or vengeance, and someone willing to die for a cause — and also speaks to the truly fearsome aspect of the Empire: they’re big enough to not really care about anything Nemik can do.
Adam: Nemik’s manifesto seems like an ongoing concern by the end of our episode, and the symbolism of his rapid-fire philosophies add some depth to the ideology behind the budding rebellion’s work. We’ve been introduced to this band of rebels as die-hard true believers of the cause, but as we find out, that’s not exactly the case. The group’s fears of Cassian are ultimately displaced. It makes for some great character building all around.
We should pause a moment to compliment the costume designers on this show. The hats are top-notch in this episode, and everything from the rebels to the Imperial to the Dhanis’ traditional garb are all impeccably designed and feel real and used in a way we haven’t seen in shows like Mandolorian and Boba Fett. It makes the racist eugenics speech Jayhold delivers about the Dhani that much more scathing. These feel like real people being wronged. Not extras on a set.
Austin: In much the same way that Nemik and Cassian’s discussion at the start of the episode is a great microcosm of the internal struggle at the heart of the nascent Rebellion, that speech from Imperial Major Jayhold perfectly encapsulates the Empire’s approach to locals/natives/anyone they deem beneath them: Jayhold is demeaning and condescending to the Aldhani and reveals the ways the Empire has overtly and subtly manipulated them. Then, in the end, Lieutenant Gorn sums it all up by responding, when asked whether the Aldhani will let the Empire have their way with their world, that he doesn’t see that they have much choice. Right at the top, Gilroy and company have painted a compelling picture of the two sides of this conflict without being super obvious about it, and presented stakes grander than simply the question of whether or not the protagonists will succeed in their heist.
Adam: There’s also actual signs of petty personal motivations that we never see in Star Wars. Jayhold can’t get his belt on, his consumptive son is annoyed he has to wear an Imperial “blouse,” and they’re all hoping for a big promotion to take them off this backwoods planet.
Austin: I’m shocked (shocked I tell you!) to learn that the Imperial commandment who thinks poorly of the locals being oppressed under the Empire’s shiny bootheel turns out to be a shitty husband and father.
Adam: All of it adds intrigue to the eventual hostage scenario. All of the players are named and have some hints at their inner turmoil so that we can guess at their actions later on. And I don’t know about you, I was already wondering who in the team was set to betray their comrades. Is Lieutenant Gorn on the level or about to lead them into a trap? The tension is palpable, as are the nerves on everyone’s part. That said, the episode does seem eager to get to the actual heist. After some symbolic trading of goat hides, Luthen’s Eleven jumps into action, executing the plan they’ve been hinting at for the last two episodes.
Bullion Burglars
Austin: I will say, if I have one complaint about this episode, it’s that we never really got a sense of what the initial plan was. We’ve had hints of it in prior episodes (the drilling of Luthen’s Eleven to act like Imperial troops, the discussion of the getaway vehicle, etc.). But we never got the scene we get in every heist movie where the audience learns at least some portion of how things are supposed to go, so we can get some sense of whether or not things are going wrong. That ignorance adds to the tension here, but sometimes, it’s hard to tell if what is happening is SUPPOSED to be happening, or if it’s all falling apart. Things would be even more tense, for example, if we knew just how detrimental Vel and Cinta’s seemingly-leisurely movements to get into position were to the overall timing of the plan. As it is, we’re left wondering if it’s as big a deal as Cassian seems to think, or not as a big deal, as everyone else seems to suggest.
Adam: I appreciated not being in on it. As I said earlier, I was waiting for things to go wrong, and the little surprises along the way about whether things were going to go horribly wrong worked for me. The first, as you just alluded to, was that great moment where after Vel and Cinta place the radio jammer. They both have to rappel right off the side of the bridge into the water, and Vel gets visibly nervous. It’s right here that their hinted at relationship becomes clear. Andor is excelling at showing and not telling. There is actual acting happening here and it is so enjoyable to watch. From there we get the payoff of Nemik’s suggestion in the last episode that “Surprise from above is never as shocking as one from below” as the pair use their outboard motor to sneak into the base underwater. But let’s be frank, from the moment the heist begins things look shaky. Our crew looks more like amateurs than first-rate experts, especially when Colonel Petigar (I am very proud of myself for knowing these names) gets the drop on Nemik at blasterpoint. It’s not until Cinta shoots the Colonel and Vel delivers the demands that things start to feel remotely in control again.
Austin: To your point about showing vs. telling, there’s all kind of little details sprinkled throughout the heist to suggest Cassian isn’t exactly working with “proper villains” here (including the fact that, as we know from the first three episodes, even Cassian himself isn’t quite on the level of someone like Luthen). With Cinta left behind to guard the hostages meant to ensure Jayhold’s support, it’s unclear what her exit strategy, if any, is. Down in the vault, we quickly realize that their plan involves the forced labor of the Imperial workers there, which just seems like a recipe for disaster (or at least poor work effort), especially with so few guns trained on them. Then Gorn shows up and starts berating them for moving so slow (the look on Jayhold’s face when he realizes Gorn is in on the heist is priceless), and I was glad someone was finally trying to move things along. Except shortly thereafter Corporal Kimzi shows up, and you have to wonder if maybe Gorn should have stayed topside to cover everyone’s backs from something like that. Needless to say, the shit hits the fan (as we all kind of expected it to).
Adam: The sheer chaos involved with our protagonists rushing the Imperial skeleton crew to load the gold into the ship plus Kimzi’s slow realization of what’s going on and his march to stop it ratcheted up the tension another ten notches. And just like Rogue One there are going to be casualties. Not everyone is going to make it out of this heist alive. There is no cute Baby Yoda or Lil’ Leia to protect. There is desperation, and mistakes, and it suddenly feels like there is actual war in Star Wars. Gorn gets shot, Jayhold has a freaking heart attack! It’s sheer bedlam.
Austin: One of the ways the episode amps up that feeling is how, once things start to go south in the heist and the Empire is getting wise to things, the episode starts cutting back and forth between events in the vault and sequences involving a squad of TIE fighters preparing to depart. We don’t need to see that to set up their inevitable arrival, but the quick cuts back and forth heighten the pacing of what had previously been a very deliberate episode. The tension has broken, and now things are happening fast and furious; even the construction of the episode is supporting that notion.
Threading the Space Needle
Austin: (Somehow) the crew manages to get aboard the shuttle and blast off from the Imperial facility, though they are drastically diminished: Tamaryn and Gorn are dead, while Cinta remains behind (it was not clear to me if that was the plan all along, or the result of a the abbreviated departure).
Adam: Whether it was always Cinta’s role to walk out in Imperial garb or not, it’s still a bold move given what just happened.
Austin: Pursued by the TIE fighters, Cassian flies the shuttle into the Eye, the cosmic event which gives the episode its name and which provides the cover for the Rebel heist. This sequence feels the most traditionally Star Wars, in part because of the familiar shriek of the TIEs, the pinging of their targeting computers, and the pew-pews of their blasters. But the usage of the Eye is important, too. A repeated theme of Star Wars is the way the Empire often ignores the natural world to its peril, whereas the Rebellion is much more respectful of it and draws strength from it. Here, the Imperials view the Eye has simply a convenient way for them to assert authority over the native Aldhani, while the Rebel thieves take advantage of that to first sneak into the facility and then, to cover their escape.
Adam: When we realized that not only is Nemik injured but that he’s so critically hurt he may not be able to provide the coordinates to get the ship out of The Eye we’re reminded just how rickety this plan is. So many variables could mess things up and already have. We’ve been used to Star Wars characters soaking in some Bacta and moseying out like nothing is wrong. When Vel whipped out the adrenaline shot and jammed it into Nemik’s chest like we were suddenly in Pulp Fiction, I was downright shocked. These characters are not invincible. Nemik is able to guide Cassian through the Eye with the Tie Fighters bad marksmanship and piloting leaving them in the dust, and everyone marveling about the event in the sky none the wiser about what just happened.
The TIE Fighters were a great reminder that yes, this is still Star Wars, and yes we will still have the sound effects, and yes – we will have an alien! Let’s hear it for Quadpaw! He may not be as high tech as Thundercat, he may not even be able to save Nemik’s life, but dammit he has four arms and that has to count for something.
Austin: Plus, “Quadpaw” is just a delightfully punny name for a four-armed alien (and names that are thinly-veiled puns and/or on-the-nose are also very Star Wars).
After escaping from Aldhani, the stripped-down crew gets even more stripped down: Nemik dies of his injuries, and Skeen dies by turning out to be even more mercenary than Cassian and getting shot when he tries to convince Cassian to join him in a cut-and-run. It’s a duel loss of life and ideals, really, for Nemik, as the altruism of the Rebel thiefs takes another hit. In the end, the mission is (seemingly) a success (Luthen, as word spreads of the heist to the galaxy, slips into his backroom to celebrate), but only Cassian and Vel are around to savor it.
Adam: I’ve seen some folks online comparing the Skeen reveal and Cassian’s prompt blasting of the jerk to “Han shot first.” For those with sharp eyes they may have noticed that Skeen’s blaster is the same weapon as Greedo’s from the original Star Wars. I think what’s more important is the fact that since it happened with no witnesses, Cassian looks like he shot a comrade so he could skip town more easily. And if the show wasn’t already proudly saying, “No Jedi, please!”, we get Cassian exchanging Rael’s Kyber crystal for Nemik’s manifesto. The symbolism doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Force Facts
- Looks like they rebuilt the Senate after Yoda and Palpatine tore it up at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Nice job with the restoration!
- We will now forever refer to Imperial capes as blouses.
- Tamaryn was a Stormtrooper! Looks like Finn had a predecessor.
- Speaking of Stormtroopers, there’s been a trend in a few places of the Disney canon (like here and in Solo) to reinforce the idea that there are non-Stormtrooper Imperial soldiers, that it’s not Stormtroopers and offices, as it often seemed in the OT.
- And in other little Star Wars touches, the turbolaser turrets guarding the dam look just like the ones on the Death Star, while you can spot a couple speeder bikes hovering in the background as the Aldhani march past the Imperial troops.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom.
