Each week, Dom from @movienerdreviews will be recapping the latest Star Wars series, Andor, now streaming on Disney+.

Episode 6

At last, we’re going somewhere. And it is very good. Very, very good. We finally get to see the heist that Stellan Skarsgard’s character put Andor on originally, and good thing too, because it may have never gone off without him. What I love so much about this episode, besides it being an explosive midpoint, is that it continues to bring forward everything that we loved so much about Rogue One, and applies it to the small screen in the best ways possible. Rogue One was such an intimate character driven story amongst all the Star Wars craziness, and what can be more intimate, thrilling and character driven than a heist?

In the longest episode yet so far of the show, we painstakingly follow our small band of characters as they pull off every phase of this plan, from their infiltration of the imperial base, using the known traditions of the planet’s locals, to their hijacking of the imperial commander’s family to the actual heist itself, which by movie logic has to go wrong because unless you’re Ocean’s 11, the heist always goes wrong. But they never lose focus, they never lose sight of the characters and their natures, and they continue the excellent adherence to the morally gray nature of the characters, as you almost feel for the portly Imperial commander, who seems determined to just protect his family. And one would think that the heist centerpiece of a heist-driven episode would be the high point, but one would be wrong, because this show continues to break all expectations and preconceived notions.

Right when all starts to go wrong, and the crew members start dropping like flies, Andor is barely able to get them all away once they’ve loaded their haul onto the freighter, only for them to lose another character once they’ve hit the stars. It’s always so difficult to make us care for characters who we’ve maybe heard their names only once or twice, but this show does such a phenomenal job with that, utilizing character actors who’ve been in a million things but we don’t know their names, such as Faye Marsay, better known as the Waif from “Game of Thrones,” Ebon Moss-Bachrach who appeared earlier this year on “The Bear,” and Alex Lawther of “Black Mirror” and “The End of the F**king World” fame. So we’ve got enough familiarity with the actors but not enough to distract them from their work as these characters. But in the post heist craziness is where the real story kicks in, as Andor makes a difficult choice once he realizes the true intention of the other people, something he was accused of so heavily once he joined: the idea of self preservation over truly believing in a cause, because news flash, self preservation is always a lot easier of a sell.

It all caps in what was obviously Skarsgard’s real intention, to show the galaxy just what the rebellion is capable of, capturing the hearts and minds of the people through that radio broadcast at the end. It shows that while the heist itself may have been a failure, the mission itself was a success, once again demonstrating that this show is operating on a whole different level than most traditional Star Wars.

Episode 7

The galaxy is once again in turmoil, as it always is. In fact, I can't remember a Star Wars movie or property where it isn't in turmoil. Except for maybe the Mandalorian? Anyways, this week sees the fallout of the Ferrix heist, and the ripple effects it has on the galaxy. Luthen sends Vel to kill Cassian to prevent anything leading back to Luthen, Mon Mothma realizes what she's involved in, Kam starts his new job at the Bureau of Standards and Meero is assigned Ferrix after she persuades her superiors that the rebel activity there could pose a threat to their presence.

As for our protagonist Andor, he's once again trying to just get away from it all and relax at a beach resort somewhere far from the action. But not only have his actions stirred up the activity on his home planet, but also the Empire's presence galaxy wide, as Meero sets Storm Troopers to start enacting draconian enforcement techniques, which results in him getting arrested just for walking fast. All of this is to say that we're at the point of the show where the plot is starting to pick up.

The structure of the show has been established in that each set of six episodes will build to a major event while also providing context behind certain other characters and events, which is crucial considering how this show has been structured so differently than previous Disney+ shows. The twelve episode count seemed exhausting at first, given how every show prior had between 6-9 episodes, but given how rich and in-depth the storytelling and writing has been, this show could run the traditional 24 episode count and I'd be ok with it. The show has fully committed to its vision of selling us a gritty, Star Wars underbelly of working class people just trying to get by that was promised to audiences for years but was never quite delivered. But now we're getting it, and if that spells out more adult themes Star Wars content in the future, then I'm all for it.

Episode 8

If this were a friends episode, this would be called "the one where Cassian goes to prison." Oh, and a bunch of cameos, because not only do we get Forest Whitaker's long awaited return as freedom fighter Saw Gerrara, but also a surprise cameo from the one and only Andy Serkis! After his impromptu arrest at the end of last episode, Cassian is shipped off to a prison facility on Narkina 5, where people arrested by the empire are forced to work in competition with each other to build the Empire's machines for petty rewards. Food and water is given in rations out of a tube in their cubicle prison cells and the floors are super heated to fry anyone that attempts to escape. Kind of how we all felt during lockdown. Cassian hasn't fully realized the extent of the Empire's evil, but he's about to, especially once he sees the typical prison mindset that has ensconced his fellow imprisoned.

Serkis is the ringleader of his section, and he is all about making sure that things get done on time so that he can complete his sentence, still completely believing that the empire is good and fair, while others are much more skeptical and have accepted that they're just the latest cogs in the Empire's machine, literally. Meanwhile, Cassian's adopted mother Marwa falls ill, prompting Bix to attempt to contact Luthen, who shuts off communication. He then goes to meet with Gerrara, in a faulty attempt to once again get Saw to ally his faction with the rebels, but Saw refuses as his opposing views to how the rebels handle things continues to drive a wedge between him and people like Mon Mothma, who continues to feel the pressure of the Empire in her attempts to secure her fortune.

Arguably the star of this episode, however, is Meero, who is able to finally get a lead on Cassian through Karn, who has of course submitted multiple complaints on Andor since his reassignment. Through Karn, she's able to learn about the cover up of the incident on Ferrix, and as a result proceeds to land a garrison on Ferrix and capture Bix, allowing her to use it as a trap for Cassian, completely unaware that he's in prison. Once more, Tony Gilroy shows that he intends on exploring every level of the underbelly of the Star Wars universe, this time exploring the prison setting. He also re enforces what was a major point of criticism in Rogue One, that of the many cameos that were criticized as being "Star Wars porn" a term that still makes absolutely no sense and shows the relative intelligence of people online.

The return of Saw as well as Andy Serkis popping up helps to make the universe feel more fleshed out because the writing team has a chance to incorporate them in more naturally, as opposed to being quick appearances in movies that amount to nothing more than glorified cameos that makes the audiences feel like they have to do homework. It's something that Star Wars has a tricky time balancing, but when it's done well, it's glorious. And with these final stretch of episodes being written by "House of Cards" scribe Beau Willomon and with Meeron closing in on Andor, the plot is only thickening.

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