Andor really does just keep getting better and better, doesn’t it? Andor Episode 7 may have been a ‘reaction’ episode, with all of the major players reeling from the Aldhani Garrison robbery, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t really fun to watch.
Ah, I really do love where Star Wars is heading under this new direction by Disney. I’m not sure if this realistic, gritty, cold, and ruthless version of Star Wars is an intentional thing on behalf of the Big Mouse, or it’s just another example of Disney bumbling its handling of this major franchise, but it’s working regardless.
Now, I’ll always love the huge, soap-opera, poetic, sci-fi epic that George Lucas wrote with Episodes 1-6 (yes, Disney’s Episodes 7-9 don’t count) and it’ll always have a cultural impact for as long as it is shown.
But, at least in my opinion, Star Wars needed a revamp. Something to draw in new audiences and thwart off the in-fighting and toxicity that has plagued this fanbase ever since Episode 8: The Last Jedi was released back in 2017.
And Andor has been that revamp, which Episode 7 has proved again.
Taking place immediately after Cassian Andor and Vel’s Rebel crew robbed the Aldhani Garrison, the episode circulates around the majority of our key characters as they react to how the Garrison robbery has changed the Empire and its attitude towards the infant rebellion. Namely, the Empire has become much stricter.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll just focus on the three main character who were affected most by this change: Mon Mothma, Cassian Andor, and Director Dedra.
Starting with Dedra, the Imperial Security Bureau went up in arms as the Aldhani Garrison was the largest rebel attack the Empire has ever suffered.
It was great to see the various opinions on the matter, such as Dedra’s concern, Lieutenant Blevin’s disregard, and Major Partagaz’s reserved intrigue, while also witnessing how the Empire’s bureaucracy deals with such matters.
(Disney/Star Wars-Andor-Official Trailer)
In the Star Wars movies, we would just see a bunch of stormtroopers get sent to any major attack site, but this series has opened up how the Empire really decides and deals with such incursions. It’s great to see.
Anyway, there’s another scene of Blevin accusing Dedra of overstepping her sectoral boundaries (but it’s really because he dislikes her) in an attempt to get her fired/punished by Partagaz. Unfortunately for him, Partagaz is impressed by Deedra’s perseverance and rewards her with Blevin’s own sector, which will undoubtably cause Blevin’s wrath to fall upon her even more so.
As for Mon Mothma, she is horrified when Luthen tells her that he’s responsible for the attack on Aldhani, and that he’s annoyed with Mothma’s inability in getting the sufficient funds for the rebels.
Given how worried Mothma looked as she left Luthen’s cover shop, and the fact that he orders Vel to kill Andor later on in the episode, I’m starting to believe that Luthen is far more ruthless than I originally thought.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he targets a major Imperial building, or an important figurehead, later down the line to get the Emperor to show his true colors even more.
Nonetheless, we finally got to see Mon Mothma’s high-society dinner party that I’ve been clamoring for. And it didn’t disappoint.
I really enjoyed the costumes, the finery, the opulence, and the snobby attitudes of all of the guests, who are presumably all members of either the Imperial Senate, a noble family, or a governor of some world. Regardless, the set designer and costume designer should get a raise for how great everything looked.
Anywho, the main purpose of this scene was Mon Mothma finally getting the access to her family’s funds as she convinces a childhood friend, the banker Tay Kolma, to release the, as he is a fellow rebel sympathizer (maybe). Let me just say that these Mothma/high society scenes just keep getting better and better.
(Disney/Star Wars-Andor-Official Trailer)
Every word feels so important, while I’m practically on the edge of my seat in anticipation as to the dangers Mon Mothma is getting herself into.
As for Cassian Andor, he had a brief trip back home to Ferrix where he reconnected with both his mother, Maarva, and his old fling, Blix. Both refused his offer to flee off world with him, with Bix outright blaming him for the Empire’s heavy presence on Kerrix, while his mother has fully taken up the rebel cause.
We also learned that the name “Clem”, which Andor used during the robbery, was actually his adoptive father’s name and he was hanged by the Empire when the clones were still being used.
In closing, Andor leaves them both and travels to the resort world of Niamos to live out the rest of his days in peace. For a second, I thought we were watching a dream sequence as everything seemed so peaceful for Andor…until he got arrested by the stormtrooper beach patrol for standing in the place at the wrong time during some minor rebel protest and was sentenced to 6 years in jail for it.
Yeah, I don’t know how Andor will be getting out of that bind, but I’m sure he’ll find a way. Plus, he’ll also have his hand’s full when Vel catches his trail.
As I said in the beginning, Andor keeps getting better and better with each episode entry. Sure, this episode was a little slow and lacked significant action, but it more than made up for it with tension and suspense. Andor Episode 7 gets an 9.4/10.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Disney/Star Wars) (Andor | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Disney/Star Wars) (Andor | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (Disney/Star Wars) (Andor | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube)
