SPOILER Andor Ep. 7 Discussion

There’s nothing disjointed about it. Episode 7 bridged the immediate aftermath and fall out from Aldhani, and the next arc. Events on Niamos are a direct consequence of the raft of legal measures introduced by the Emperor mentioned earlier in the episode following Aldhani. Even at the “trial”, the magistrate notes that previously the sentence that would have been handed down to him would have been 6 months, but is now 6 years. She even says he can thank the Emperor for the tightening up and more stringent sentencing. Irony being of course that he has become a victim of the success of the Aldhani mission.

 

I think that "like Star Wars" is a quality that is going to have increasingly varied definitions if the success of the different D+ shows so far is sustained and is anything to go by. If you mean it's more like the Skywalker saga films then I don't really agree with you there. But in truth, as long as there is "historical" accuracy and authenticity and the writing is this good, whatever the tone and style are, that's as Star Wars like as I'm going to need it.

I suspected that myself, but I think it sort of doesn't matter either way. Since it does not make it clear, and you can be forgiven for assuming it follows the episode's preceding events chronologically, I don't think the producers necessarily demand that you understand we are getting a taste of how things used to be. Except perhaps to show that Andor is sort of in some form of denial about the state of the galaxy.


It is notable that the other flashbacks are to when Cassian's adoptive dad was hung in the street. And that the KX droid repeated the misheard command "hang" in the coda scene.

 

It loos like the famous Aztec mosaic piece of jewelry at the British Museum...




...but I do feel this is something we've seen in a (non-SW) film somewhere?

 

I definitely want to say the double-headed serpent statue is in something... Like Indiana Jones, or whatever, but I can't remember.

Alternatively, it could just be a visual reference, one-step-removed, from the Mayan Tikal-pyramid depicted in ANH. A piece of cultural approximation echoing the Yavin IV temple.

 

I'm just after calling my mother to ask her to look up an art book I left at home to see if there was a photo of a piece that fit that description. I knew it looked familiar.

 

I like this idea, but as others have pointed out the harsh sentence handed out to Andor was a direct result of the Aldhani attack and the Empire cracking down. Also, we see Andor's hidden stash of credits that he's using to live off from the Aldhani heist.

I suspect Karn is going to be interviewed by Meero. Now that she's in charge of the investigation she'll want to talk to Karn directly about what happened on Ferrix. The only reason Andor hasn't been linked to that attack is because Blevin wasn't interested in investigating. Karn can identify Andor and Meero will put out an APB which is a problem since Andor is in jail. Luthen views Andor as a loose end so there will be a race to find Andor before the Empire questions him about the heist.

 

Is that incarceration he refers to, when he speaks with Skeen, after waking up, in episode 5, and they share about their past in prison....

 

The judge could have been referring to before the Empire took control it would have 6 months... Also that stash of credits was fairly small. The biggest clue to me is his arm- no wound or scar.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 21, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 21, 2022 ---

It was very reminiscent of Mando's walk thru the city searching for the Armorer in The Book of Bob's Fett.

 

I admire you for sticking with this, but it's clear there's an Empire crackdown due to the heist. Some time has passed since the attack, there's been a time jump. In the past he wouldn't be chilling on the beach. This seems to be the first time he's ever had credits to live like this and away from family.

 

My favorite lines from this episode: "There are no small jobs at the Bureau of Standards.... Some sectors might naturally appear more exciting from the outside. Weights and Gauges might seem a more vibrant arena than Redundancy or Verification, but walk the floor, talk to any lifetime employee, and you'll be surprised." All the while Syril is walking through this completely uniform gray working area, with little cubicles like kennels for veal, as far as the eye can see. Beautiful visual irony.

I really like the way this show does Easter eggs or whatever you want to call them--the stuff in Luthen's shop, name drops of Ord Mantell, etc.

So as far as Vel and Luthen's shop assistant whose name I can't remember... So I think that Vel must be Luthen's daughter. I have to wonder if Ms. Shop Assistant thinks Cassian was a bad idea and this whole plan to have Vel kill Cassian is from her only, and Luthen neither got the message nor sent any. I could be wrong (because I believe Luthen can be ruthless), but I have a hard time imagining Luthen would give Cassian that crystal and ask for it back if he really just wanted him dead when the job was done. I really think he wanted to recruit Cassian for more than just that heist, because he's clearly very useful (I doubt it's personal).

 

Incidentally, there's a similar, bird's eye view of ranks of office workers in A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) "For some people this IS heaven.." (Probably referring to the mass unemployment experienced during the depression the preceded the war.

 

I agree, in part. Could Kleya (Luthen's assistant and fellow rebel) be looking to cover his tracks without his knowledge? Maybe. It wouldn't be a big deal if Cassian formally joined the resistance, but there's the argument that he shouldn't be left in the wind to be picked up by the Empire, as he could identify Luthen Rael and bring down the entire network. He knows too much. At the same time, Luthen expected him to join the rebellion and gave Andor the crystal as a "down payment" which Cassian returned to Vel and took his full cut of 200K credits. He should be worried and may have put the hit out on Andor himself.

I don't agree that Vel is Luthen's daughter. He wouldn't need a go-between (based on what we know) to communicate with his daughter. If anything, he's using Kleya to provide distance between him and the cell (or cells, there could be more than one) as a "cut-out".

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 21, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 21, 2022 ---

Did anyone notice the symbol on the ground when Kleya goes to meet Vel? I would dismiss it as regular “spy craft” but it looks a lot like the Crimson Dawn symbol.

 

Looks like a seeker ball with a little hat on.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 21, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 21, 2022 ---

Ha ha! It amazed me when I first visited the US how different drink pouring was in bars etc. Just about everywhere that sells alcohol in the UK has a notice, sometimes a big brass pate, declaring the "Weights & Measures Act..." and whatever year the most recent act came into effect. It's almost an ancient tradition enshrined in the monarchistic and later "imperial" rule of law. And in most people's experiences determines the divisions by which alcoholic beverages must be bought, sold, and consumed. But, more importantly, how it is taxed.

 

Great episode! Not a ton of action but you can see them laying out the incidents in Cassian’s life that drive him to be the fully committed rebel we see in RO! In no way was this filler.

 

I just realized, with your comments : the girl that goes to Vel is Luthen's shop assistant Kleya.
I didn't notice.

 

Wow. Until reading this, it never once occurred to me that the Niamos storyline was a flashback.

 

One of my favourite parts of this episode was when the Admiral mentions "I spoke with Emperor Palpatine last night..." and there wasn't an ominous or mysterious music cue. There were no reaction shots of the ISB staff flinching or trembling. No double takes at the mention of his name. To them, Palpatine is just the top of the pyramid. The symbolic and logical pinnacle of the system they serve. Yet distant and impersonal. This is familiar to us as the first concept of the Emperor provided in the Star Wars novelisation.

Once war breaks out and the Empire and, ultimately, the Emperor begins to tighten its grip, the whole galaxy, including and especially the Imperial personnel, will start to have a more intimate experience of Palpatine's personal tyrany.

 

Being very very nit-picky I would have preferred if they’d kept his name out of it and just referred to him as The Emperor. It’s no big deal but it just jumped out at me. Thinking about similar debriefings the title would generally be used without adding the name, ie The President, The Prime Minister, His/Her Majesty, etc. Just like was done in A New Hope (albeit he didn’t officially have a name at that point yet).