SPOILER Andor Ep. 5 Discussion

Well, I enjoyed this chapter, but it was a reality check. At this rate the actual heist is going to take two or three episodes. I'm enjoying this, but I will say I'm glad not all SW is paced like this. At the same time, I'm glad we have something a little different in terms of pacing and plot, but that doesn't mean I've suddenly turned patient.

I do like how this show name-drops (e.g., Hosnian Prime).

I still don't care about anyone in the show really, but I do feel sorry for Mon Mothma and I even had a flash of sympathy for Luthen acting like a nervous father-to-be over whether the heist will succeed. And also I am enjoying Syril's mother. They better not fridge her. She needs to live a nice long life and retire to a nice village on the 3rd level where she can play space bridge and gossip nastily with/about her friends, sipping a Fuzzy Tauntaun.

 

Ep. 5 -- The Axe Forgets (7/10)
(What the heck does that title refer to?)

This was a really solid set-up episode with lots of character and tension building; this was definitely a "quiet before the storm" kinda thing. I really liked it, and the only reason I give it "only" a 7/10 is because it doesn't work that well as a self-contained episode. With all that setting-the-stage and relating the plot to the viewer, it is unfortunate that we'll have to wait a week to see the payoff; it would have been better to go into the heist with all the background and prep stuff fresh in the mind. In other words, this episode will work a hell of a lot better for binge-watching

Some thoughts:
--The beef between Skeen & Andor, I'm sure that's misdirection. There will be trouble next episode and the team will fall apart, but it will not be because of Skeen. I still suspect that the kid, Nemik is a spy; he's too inocent and too text-book rebel for this show. Hearts gonna break when he betray the others
--I wonder what the deal with the kyber crystal is. I'm sure there is more to this than just a friendship-bracelet thing between Andor & Luthen. Perhaps the crystal is going to do something special during the stellar event? To quote the ISB agent fellow: "It's too random to be random"
--And finally, the Syril Karn arc is a big fat enigma at this point. What is going on there? I mean, it is obvious that Karn will bounce back in some major way, or we would've just dropped the arc already, and it all depends on who/what this "uncle Harol" is. Could Harol be associated with the Rebellion somehow? With Mon Mothma even? Could Karn be heading for a career in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, either willingly or unwittingly? In any case, his obsession with Andor will come back into play at some point, and I bet Karn is gonna spot Andor in a crowd or something

Exciting stuff


Edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention something! On a shelf in Luthen's workshop/backroom, there's an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom easter egg

Edit 2: And... I have a very bad feeling about the Mothma family... Is there a reason why we've never heard about Mon's husband and daughter before this show? This is gonna be so sad... #ManyFamilyMembersDiedToBuildTheRebellion

 

The title comes from the conversation between Cassian and Skeen about the Empire, something like "The axe forgets, but the tree remembers"... Sorry, can't remember exactly!

I like your idea that the kyber crystal will do something during the "Eye" event! We shall see...

 

Ah, I see... thanks! That's a proverb, right? A metaphor meaning something like "the bully forgets but the victim remembers", or somesuch? I wonder if the next episode will be titled "The Tree Remembers"?

 

I agree, but understanding it was a set-up for what's to come I thought the episode perfectly captured the 'day before' anxiety leading up to the team's mission.

Not only could the audience feel the mounting tension among the team members, I thought the little scene where Luthen was acting like -- as @Choose Light said -- "a nervous father-to-be" added to the overall vibe of the episode. Though different, I thought it gave off the same kind of suspense-filled, moody atmosphere the audience got watching Peter Jackson's build-up to the Battle of Helms Deep in LOTR:TTT

 

It may or may not play a part in the show at some point, but if nothing else it’s a nice little link to Rogue One, in that Jyn was also given a Kyber crystal (although it’s not clear if he still has it by RO)

 

Hmm... definitely liked this episode better than last week.

At this point, we're almost halfway through the show, so the longer format no longer seems quite as daunting (though given the especially heavy first week, still plenty of time to go).

I'm not minding the pacing as much as I thought I would earlier on, but something still isn't quite clicking for me. It has all the pieces of what could and should be one of my favorite pieces of Star Wars media ever (favorite time period, no Force sensitives, somewhat gritty ground level POV). I really, really hate to say it, but I think if this had come out during a time that I was more excited about Star Wars, I might be more into it.

And that's not to say it's all doom and gloom. I think this show has a lot to offer still- Episode 3 was really great, and I think they're building up to another good thing again.

Maybe my hot take here is that it seems Disney can balance two different release models- the somewhat formulaic 6 episode event season (with each episode being a clearly defined, different thing) and the longer form season. But I think the release model should be different for these things- a six episode event can sustain itself week to week pretty easily, but a longer form slow burn like this could really benefit from releasing either all at once or in chunks.

Essentially.

I think it probably also has a few connotations to:

-the somewhat environmental themes of the beginning of this season

- the fact that these scorned freedom fighters are preparing for a raid, with the Empire being totally unaware.

 

This is the first Star Wars series that I think should have been released in its entirety so we can binge it…

if the first 3 episodes weren’t released at the same time, allot of people would have left it behind, anywho, at least we have something to discuss on a week to week basis… great series nonetheless

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 5, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 5, 2022 ---

I hope Karn doesn’t join the Rebellion. He’ll cause a major catastrophe on the same level of say, a Jar Jar Binks… and the Rebelion will exile him for being so clumsy… hehe

 

Yeah, that is certainly a concern
To be honest, though, I would prefer that Karn doesn't have a change of heart at some point, but instead stays a bad guy even though he might be manipulated into doing work for the good'uns. Let him be the silly wannabe

 

One thing to note is that there is no official Rebellion yet, just separate rebel cells scattered across the galaxy, not one organised body. That’s not established until 2 BBY.

 

I hope he doesn't, just because I feel like we've seen this so many times before in Star Wars lately. Kallus, Versio, Thane Kyrell, etc. Not that we shouldn't ever have another big defection storyline again, but it just seems so obvious. Back when Karn and Cassian encountered each other on Ferrix, I figured this was almost a given... so, to turn that expectation on its side would probably be the better story in this case.

 

A good episode, but it seemed to basically be all connective tissue - a transitional jam noodling its way to the next song. This seems to be the pattern for the middle third of one of these story arcs.

Granted, I watched this thing in the very wee hours this morning when I couldn't get back to sleep, so I'll need another viewing tonight before I go to sleep. Solid character development, I thought, especially among the heist crew. I agree that the kid is a prime candidate to be an Imperial spy who will rat them out in mid-caper next week.

We're seeing how Cassian has a more natural affinity for this kind of work than the rest of the crew appears to have. I know they'll lose some members, but I also suspect that they'll pull it off in the end. Otherwise, if it's a complete fiasco, Cassian will have little motivation to stick with the Rebellion after this.

I also agree with the idea that Not-Kyle-MacLachlen will end up being recruited by the ISB agent. I think that's more likely than him joining the Rebellion - though I think there is a decent case to be made for that too.

 

IMO this was the weakest episode so far, but still very good!

Syril Karn is probably the most interesting character of this show. The scene with his mother was very relatable. I hope he becomes an evil Imperial Officer who makes Andor's life a nightmare. Haha!

 

Still not a single blaster bullet was fired! Honestly, this is kinda a refreshing pace. I'm sure the action is coming, but any chance there is time to talk, I'm for it.

 

I still can't tell where Karn's story might be heading. Although he clearly sees Andor as unfinished business. I wonder if he's going to go postal. Or do a Norman Bates on his mother. Obviously, he's not going to affect the heist in progress. I guess Andor will be identified during that caper which will see Karn come back into the plot that way. Maybe. Who is uncle Harlo? Does he run a car wash? Or an investment bank? Where's that leading to? Maybe Karn and Mothma will cross paths that way. Somehow.

Grrrr. This show is giving us time to think about things. Very dangerous.

 

Karn and Mothma share having strained family relationships which are pulling them away from their respective families. That’s in contrast to Andor (the outsider) and his merry band, relative strangers who still don’t fully trust each other but have become a unit working towards their common goal. All roads seemingly leading to the developing rebellion and/or Andor.