Andor Episode 5 Review: So, What’s Going On Again?

Eh, maybe it’s just me, but what is Andor trying to steal again? Andor Episode 5 was not awful by any means, but the writing seemed to divot from the key points of the plot in favor of too many witty dialogue exchanges.

Okay, like I said, it might just be my inability to comprehend what’s going on in Andor, but what is going on in Andor? I thought that Andor and his new crew were going to rob the weapons and ammunition of the Imperial Garrison on Aldhani?

Yet, in this episode, it now seems like the crew was going to steal a ship?

Alright, I should probably start this whole review off by saying that this episode heavily focused on Andor, Vel, and the rest of the ‘heist’ crew as they continue to prepare for their robbery of the Imperial Garrison, despite the mistrust and tension between Cassin Andor and his new crew members being palpable.

Especially between him and Skeen.

While most of the crew, aside from Waiff…ahem…Vel (sorry, I’ve got to get that character image out of my head when I see her) as she already knows who he is, teeters between openly trusting and tentatively trusting Andor, Skeen just straight up questions his loyalty off the bat.

And to be honest, I would be too as Andor did just come in out of nowhere and was given a crucial role in a plan these guys have been setting up for months.

It makes sense why he thinks Andor is some sort of spy…and also why he ended up attacking Andor near the end of the episode. But more on that in a second.

There were a few nice moments between Andor, Skeen, and Nemik (I think that’s his name) as they all were discussing their motivations for joining this heist against the Empire. Well, it was actually more just Nemik spewing on and on about some theoretical political oppression that the Empire was causing and how it affected everyone, while Skeen and Andor could only groan as they listened.

It’s good to see that there is some separation of motivations between those who want revenge against the Empire for an atrocity it committed in the past, those who are ‘political revolutionaries’ that want galaxy-spanning change and to see the toppling of the Empire, and those who are just helping out for the monetary gain.

All three viewpoints are very believable and are most definitely valid reasons to hate the Empire and join this mini rebellion.

Moreover, I appreciate the writers/directors/showrunners emphasis on showing the members training and planning out the heist before just ‘running in guns blazing’ as most Star Wars projects don’t even bother to explain the rationale behind certain objectives and missions, let alone concentrate on the preparation that goes into executing them well.

However, the only downside to said emphasis is all of the Star Wars in-world lingo being thrown around. I’ve been a big Star Wars fan for a long time, but I’ve got absolutely no idea what half of the ship/heist jargon being debated about in this episode meant.

There was one scene where Andor was throwing around his knowledge to the others about some weight log from a ship and how they were fools not to know what said log was for, which I assume was supposed to showcase how good of a piolet he is.

Though, the only thing was that none of what he was saying or what the other heist members were retorting back with made sense to me as it all sounded like jumbled nonsense.

Maybe some fans who are really into the lore would know what they were talking about, but I know I can’t be the only one who was taken out of the moment when that scene was going on.

As for Cassian’s fight scene with Skeen, it all started because Andor’s cover was blown as Skeen saw that he was hiding the Kyber crystal Luthen gave him last episode around his neck and held Andor at knifepoint over it.

When pressed about his true identity, Cassian revealed that he was contracted to do the job and that he was only there for the reward Luthen was going to pay him after.

Now, I thought that Andor was either going to get shot by a member of the crew, or he was going to kill all of them, as they were under the impression he was in on this plan from the beginning. But, he survived, and we ended the episode with the heist crew carrying on with their mission to rob the garrison of either a ship or arms and ammunition (I still confused on which one) during the Eye constellation event.

Even though I’m a little confused on what the purpose this heist will have in the overall plot, this subplot was definitely the high point of the episode for me. We got some more character development for Andor, Vel, and Skeen, which helped to set them apart from the rest of the cast.

As for the others, they still need more scenes and dialogue to expand upon their character’s personality.

Anyway, the biggest complaint for this episode is not with this plot, but with Mon Mothma and Krill’s. Did they even have a purpose of being in this episode?

I guess we got an insight into the dynamics of Mon Mothma’s family, but it felt very…scripted. Mon Mothma, her husband, and her newly introduced daughter’s actors/actresses seemed as though they were trying to ‘one-up’ each other through witty, non-realistic dialogue, rather than play out a realistic family environment.

Plus, we never got to see the dinner party Mon Mothma was so aggrieved about last episode.

What gives? I wanted to see what a high society, aristocratic Imperial party.

As for Krill, if you thought the dialogue in the Mon Mothma scenes felt forced, then his would blow you away. Essentially, we had to bear through three scenes of Krill duking it out with his mother across a breakfast table through quick, witty, one-liners that made them sound like robots and not actually people.

I get the writers want to make some of these characters feel witty and clever, but it was over-the-top in most instances.

Still, I enjoyed this episode (not as much as the first four, though) as it has set up the stakes and preparations behind the Imperial Garrison heist, while also giving us an insight into Mon Mothma’s family life. Episode 5 gets an 8.2/10 from me.

Images Source: Featured Image: (Disney/Star Wars) (Special Look | Andor | Disney+ – YouTube)

In Text Image 1: (Disney/Star Wars) (Andor | Teaser Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)

In Text Image 2: (Disney/Star Wars) (Special Look | Andor | Disney+ – YouTube)