Warning! This review contains spoilers forAndorepisode 7.
Now past the season’s midpoint, the seventh episode ofAndortakes on the daunting task of following up last week’s thrilling heist storyline. In “Announcement,” streaming on Disney+, the galaxy reacts to the first major blow that the Rebellion has dealt the Empire. Imperial forces scramble to find the Rebel spies responsible, the Senate drafts up a new bill to tackle the growing insurgency, and Cassian resumes his original goal of clearing his name.
Writer Stephen Schiff is just as interested in the supporting players as he is in the title character. Syril Karn is demoted to a desk job, Mon Mothma confronts Luthen Rael with mixed feelings about the heist, and Dedra Meero thinks the Empire is taking the wrong approach to punishing the crime, playing right into the Rebels’ hands. Andor himself doesn’t show up until a third of the way through the episode. Following on from last week’s episode, he’s back to his old selfish ways, trying to ensure his own security without giving the Rebels’ quest tobring down the Empirea second thought. Cassian returns home with his score from the heist to implore his mother to run away with him to a safer planet – only to find that, ironically, she’s been inspired by the Aldhani hit to join the Rebellion.
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Stellan Skarsgård is still doing a terrific job of playing Luthen Rael’s duality with the friendly facade of an antique dealer covering for his secret life as a Rebel leader.Genevieve O’Reilly continues to seize the spotlightin the role of Mon Mothma. After being relegated to glorified cameos in her past live-actionStar Warsappearances, O’Reilly is rounding out the soon-to-be Rebel head honcho as a conflicted politician trying to balance her senatorial duties with her double life as a resistance fighter.
As with previous episodes, theStar WarsEaster eggsin “Announcement” are few and far between, and when there is a reference to familiar lore, it serves a real purpose in the story. An Emperor Palpatine name-drop sets up the Senate hearing that Mon Mothma is going to. The ominous overhead Star Destroyer serves to establish how seriously the Empire takes the Rebel hit. After watching Boba Fett ride a rancor, it’s refreshing to see aStar Warsshow that captivates its audience with fresh faces and rich storytelling,not cheap fan service.
Director Benjamin Caron carries the torch from previous episode helmers Toby Haynes and Susanna White with the same shooting style that made the earlier episodes feel so different. Cold, bureaucratic environments like Imperial offices and senatorial banquets full of schmoozing politicians are captured in stationary shots and smooth pans, whileCassian’s covert adventures on the war-torn streetsare captured with shaky handheld cameras.
This episode brings back the flashback structure from the first installments, but Caron strikes a better balance between the past and the present. Where the extended flashback sequences dragged down those early episodes, the brief glimpses at Cassian’s past in “Announcement” show the audience just what they need to see before cutting back to the present-day action: villagers executed by a Stormtrooper firing squad (still in their prequel-era clone armor), his adoptive father Clem hanging in the town square, etc. These flashbacks don’t make up half of the episode like they did inthe triple premiere; they’re just blink-and-miss-it glimmers of Cassian’s dark past to round out his relationship with the Empire and why he needs the Rebellion as much as they need him.
Afterlast week’s action-packed thrill-ride,Andorreturns to somber politicking this week. But politics don’t slow down this show like they slowed downThe Phantom Menace. In exploring the consequences of the Imperial heist, the show remains just as compelling whether it has blaster shootouts or not. While the previousStar Warsseries were focused on trying to recapture the uniquely pulpy tone ofGeorge Lucas’ original movies,Andor’s gritty political thriller has proven that this universe is vast and richly drawn enough to tell any kind of story with any tone and any creative approach (if the writing is strong enough).
Just when it seemed likeAndorwas settling back into its original formula, the ending of this episode significantly raises the stakes and shakes up the story. Cassian has relocated to the tropical planet of Niamos and begun a new life under the name “Keef Girgo.” However, this breezy sun-drenched vacation is cut short when an Imperial officer accosts Cassian just for looking around suspiciously, he’s incapacitated by a sinister Imperial droid (who may or may not later become his reprogrammed sidekick K-2SO), and gets sentenced to six years in prison. When he desperately tries to appeal the sentence, the judge simply threatens to extend his sentence with a “resisting judgment” charge.The events ofRogue Onemean there’s no way Cassian will serve his full sentence, but this sentencing exemplifies the ruthlessness of the Empire and uses the inevitability of fate to set up an exciting prison break episode in the show’s future.
Andoris painting a bleak portrait of life under an oppressive regime. Exploring how regular people’s lives are affected by Imperial rule is going a long way to making the Rebels’ struggle in the original trilogy even more impactful. Now that Cassian has bonded with Nemik, his own mother has joined the Rebellion, and he’s been personally affected by the unfairness of the Empire, he’s well on the way to becoming the fearless Rebel leader seen inRogue One.
