Spoiler Warning: Andor Season One
Episode 8 of Andoro sent Cassian to an Imperial prison. The Empire has finally captured one of its most wanted individuals, but has no idea what they have. Since Cassian intelligently used a false name in the final episode, the Empire thinks they just sentenced another commoner to prison for not doing anything. When Andor is pushed into a lineup of convicts, he’s ordered to go to “Narkina 5,” which also serves as the episode’s title. Indeed, the rest of this episode mainly focuses on Andor as he adjusts to prison life and experiences how the Empire keeps its convicts in line.
This episode of Andoro also gives us a look back at Ferrix, where Andor’s mother is still fighting for the uprising but is ill. Syril Karn gets the chance to talk to Dedra Meero and inform senior Imperial officers about his quarrel with Andor. His hatred for Cassian only grows in that cubicle. And Mon Mothma continues to skate around the subtleties of being a rebel, an Imperial senator and a woman. The stakes only get higher and the situations here only get worse Andoro episode.
Andor finds himself on Narkina 5
After Cassian is sent to his specific prison colony, Syril is chosen from his cell to speak to Dedra Meero, who now has full authority to investigate the seizure of her Starpath unit. Meero discovers that Syril was not allowed to look at the full report of the incident and gives him a copy. But when she interviews him again, she realizes he can’t help much, as his only encounter with Andor was when Cassian had a gun to the back of his head.
Meero then goes to talk to a larger council of apparently senior Imperial officers, the head of which is Colonel Yularen, who lives in that room. Star Wars: A New Hope the first time we saw Darth Vader forcibly strangle someone. She reports on her findings, which doesn’t impress Yularen, but Major Partagaz knows how to vouch for her.
When Andor is brought into the prison colony, they force him and a bunch of other inmates to take off their shoes. The director demonstrates a punishment in which they are all electrocuted by putting their feet on the ground. The Imperial soldiers wear insulated boots, which will no doubt come in handy if Andor escapes. When Cassian is brought to the shop floor, we see Andy Serkis, who here is another inmate who manages lower inmates on that particular floor to manufacture some mechanical parts for the Empire. But Serkis is also known for playing Snoke in the latest Star Wars trilogy. Serkis (Kino) explains the incentives, punishments, and fast pace that keep prisoners in line here on Narkina 5.
Andor is introduced to his production team, who try to teach him how to work there. If they score higher in production, they get better tasting food from the tubes in their cell. Later, Andor notices that one inmate communicates with another about an opening in the prison through a series of hand movements. And a prisoner appears to be sleepwalking out of bed and stepping onto the electrified floor. Andor is stuck in this hell for now.
The uprising is alive
Meanwhile, Mon Mothma is partying with other politicians in her comfortable home on Coruscant. They joke about Palpatine’s increasing control over the empire and its new laws regarding punishment. She and her husband drink strange cocktails in which you dissolve a live worm in your glass. Mon Mothma refuses her worm, but her husband gladly takes hers.
Mon Mothma is of course not at these parties to have fun but to work. The rift between her and her husband also widens as she talks to her friend Tay about helping the rebellion. As they talk about their “charity fund,” her husband leaves and says, “While you two try to feed the galaxy, I’m going to feed myself,” to which Tay replies, “Charity starts at home.” Mon Mothma’s husband stares at Tay, incredibly offended by this statement.
Later in the episode, Luthen visits Rael Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), the radical rebel leader from Rogue One. From the moment their meeting begins, it’s clear that the two don’t trust each other. Saw Gerrera’s jokes about Luthen’s raid on Aldani, but Luthen jokes back at him, denies the whole thing and even says he must have done it because he asks. Luthen knows that if Saw ever finds out about this huge sum of money, he could kill Luthen to get it.
During their conversation, Luthen offers Saw a connection to launch a military attack on the Empire, but Saw declines. He won’t work with the connection of Luther because he is a separatist. Saw tells Luthen that of all the different rebel factions, he is the only one with a clear mind.
It will be interesting to see how these events play out in Andor Episode 9, airing November 2, 2022, on Disney+.