SPOILER Andor Ep. 10 Discussion

There is symbolism in this. It hints of the Imperial insignia being exploded.

 

The ending was perfect. It was a much more dramatic conclusion than having Kino gunned down back in the command center.

 

Kino's was great, too!

It was so interesting seeing such a previously intense character have a moment of fear and doubt, only to channel their previous intensity into something good.

And man, that stinger at the end with "I can't swim". Absolutely tragic.

 

Repeatedly, throughout the episode, the Kino character was confronted with scenarios placing him on a figurative ledge, forcing him to commit to a significant leap into the unknown. Each time, he initially shrinks back out of fear, but then steals his resolve, takes that plunge and then thrives.

It would be super weird if, at the end, when he’s presented with a very literal ledge and hesitates, that he’d just stay there and not risk like he’d been risking the whole episode. What would be the point of that? It makes very little sense to me that he wouldn’t take the same sort of leap he’d been taking throughout. It's the established motif of the piece.

 

This episode was great! I think one can tell when something is done well when you know how things will pan out for Cassian (he is free from that prison by the time we meet him in Rogue One) but nevertheless, you are still at the edge of your seat as the action progresses.

Give all the awards to Andy Serkis and Stellan Skaargard. Magnificent performance.

Totally agree!

I keep thinking that with all this added material, watching her scenes in ROTJ giving the speech about the DS2 and finishing with that "many Bothans died to bring us this information" is even more poignant because for her it has been an easy ride and even if the type of fight she's fighting is different to the other actors of the Rebellion, her personal stakes might be as high as theirs. Seeing her conflicted relationship with her daughter and the choices she is faced at that point make me think of her mentorship relationship with Leia and wonder what happens with her own daughter.

It was glorious and throw all the awards to Serkis just for that speech.

DASITHINDAKNORF!

I knew it!! LOL

(Also, did you catch your old man Rhaegar Targaryen being the second Targaryen in space and also an Imperial?)

 

Great point. What I think resonates must to me, reflecting on that line in ROTJ now, is that Mon never compromises her empathy for the cause. Luthen can justify the loss of 50 bodies for the greater good. And Mon can too, but she doesn’t harden herself to that tragedy. She still feels it. She manages to retain her humanity in an inhumane struggle, while so many others don’t.

It’s one thing to accept sacrifice as a necessary ill. It’s something else to disconnect yourself from the weight of that sacrifice. It’s the easier thing to do. But Mon doesn’t do it, even at the end. What was always a deliberate line to communicate the difference in ideologies (compassion versus cruelty), has so much more gravity with this added context. Good stuff

 

What grabbed me about Luthen's "you're worth far more than 50 men" line was the immediate resolve. He not only boosted Lonni's ego, but he calculated the value of his resources like a CPU. That fast, in-the-moment decision making seems to be a trait Luthen may have seen in Cassian as well. He wasted no time during the incident on Ferrix with the Corpos, he acted similarly on Aldhani and absolutely relied on quick thinking in the prison break.

 

Was just thinking about how I didn't even know who Lonni was during that scene.

How very Andor of the show to feature one of the best monologues in Star Wars history to a random character almost no one even knows

 

And that's another problem for me. I thought the monologue was pretty damn good, but not well placed in an otherwise first-rate episode. The producers could have placed this scene in another episode. Don't get me wrong. "Andor" is a pretty damn good series. But I also feel that it is overrated.

 

Aww, c'mon, that's objective. He was called out in just about every ISB briefing, and was shown in his ISB uniform earlier in the episode meeting with Dedra.
Then again, if his identity didn't jump out, it could also be paralleled to the scene where Luthen's assistant, Kleya meets with Vel. I saw many commentators say they didn't recognize her.

 

It was in this episode for a reason. Luthen and Mon Mothma share the same ultimate goal but their methods are very different. There are some principles she seems unwilling to compromise, whilst there is no line he seems unwilling to cross. That contrast played out during the episode and was cemented with his monologue at the end of the episode.

 

Do you mean "subjective"?

Because sure, I'd say it certainly is. I wouldn't read too much into my comment though, it was mostly a joke.

 

I don't think there was no real reason for Luthen's monologue to appear in this particular episode. In fact, he had a conversation with Mon Mothma on the very same subject in an earlier episode. One could almost accuse the writers of repeating themselves.

 

If that’s how you feel then that’s how you feel. I think it was an appropriate way to top off an episode that saw Mon Mothma not willing to contemplate compromising her daughter’s freedoms in any way, and Luthen willing to let 50 people walk into a trap that will lead to their death to keep his mole’s cover (who desperately wants out).

 

I don't care what happened in this episode. By having Luthen give the SAME SPEECH that he did in an earlier episode seemed repetitive to me.

 

Well if you don’t care what happened this in episode that pretty much explains why the monologue’s intended impact was lost on you. He didn’t give the same speech, as you well know. This was escalation, not repetition.

 

Well, if subjective is correct, then that's exactly what I meant.

 

For my part, I didn't recognize Luthen in the speakers. C'm'on with me cawa, we gonna drink a blue milk in a cantina to wash away our sins ...

 

On top of the escape being one of the most finely crafted action/suspense scenes since the trench run, it sets "Climb!" in stone as a recurring theme in Cassian's life.

This episode more than justified the extra setup episode last week, IMHO. And Luthen's monologue at the end was a huge bonus. I an honestly say that I haven't had an episode of Andor stick with me like this before.