SPOILER Andor Ep. 9 Discussion

Episode 9 screenshots

 

Don’t know, if anything it had the opposite effect. Plans are now afoot for an escape. The hope and promise of freedom is a far more powerful tool than fear of stepping out of line. It’s certainly not a policy that is implemented routinely given Kino has been there for years and this is the first time this has happened (going by his reaction). It need not be the case that prisoners are recycled to a like for like facility. It serves the Empire to keep those in that facility hopeful. Once they’ve served their original sentence they could be sent to a different kind of facility where hope is irrelevant and prisoners are subject to much harsher conditions.

 

For Cassian and Kino it's having the opposite effect. But that might not be true for all of them.

Anyway that's sort of the point. It's the system. The system is becoming harsher but it's in a cycle now where resistance will stiffen and where it does, the flaws inherent in the system will fail under that pushback. The system will retaliate and the cracks elsewhere in the system will cause it to fail. Like Luthen envisioned about the tightening of the fist. The prison factory is that principle in microcosm.

I think if the whole level was fried for finding this out then they would have no problem frying everyone else in the block since they must all surely know by now.

And I'm sure that this false recycling of inmates is a recent development.

 

I really enjoy this show and enjoy the long seasons. I really miss shows with long seasons that slowly unfold.

 

Three words to best describe ep. 9
Dark, dark and dark.
And the gold medal in the Freestyle Dark competition goes to Dedra and Dr. Gorst. Jesus.
They broadcast and recorded the dying screams while they massacred these people as to intimidate others from resisting. Then they found the recording could also be used as a means of torture. That rivals the Purge of the Jedi Temple as one of the darkest in SW lore.

I like how the prison is a microcosm of the Galaxy. There are some like Kino and the Doctor who are just resigned to tow the line for the Empire, and some like Cassian and Melshi who will never bend. Again we have the theme of using the Empire's arrogance against them. They can't be bothered to pay attention to what's being talked about, so the inmates are able to openly observe movements, discuss and plan. The inmates on level 2 obviously paid a price for causing trouble, but they had the disadvantage of never suspecting such a drastic measure. Ulaf's death, while tragic, was ironically perfect timing as word is traveling throughout the facility about the reassigned inmate and the fallout. The arrival of his replacement as well as the pending intake of the replacements for level 2 will obviously overwhelm the guards and provide an opportunity for a facility wide overthrow/escape just as it's becoming clear to all how dire their situation is.

Mon and Vel being cousins was definitely not expected, but it really turns up the tension and shows a whole new risk of exposure for both of them. I found it interesting that during their conversation they clearly used words like "the Rebellion comes first, we chose a side, we took a vow, things are happening..." yet the one thing they both refused to say was "his" name. There had to be some sting in Mon telling her, "just go be a spoiled rich girl for a bit" after her words with Cinta back on Ferrix. Also I loved the dialogue between Vel and Perrin! Seeing him get verbally out-sparred two episodes in a row was great. Even in a GFFA there are d-bags.

Syril and Dedra... He is so pathetic and she is so evil. She is gonna chew him up and spit him out. I have a feeling the ISB is about to commit some Tarkin-level atrocities to try and tie all their loose ends into one knot. With them now tying Cassian to Aldhani, how much risk is Cinta in as she is camped out on Maarva's house and can also be identified as one of the Aldhani rebels? And the captured rebel pilot? Could that be Luthen? We didn't see any of him this episode...

 

There’s certainly merit in that rationale and whilst it is highly likely prison facilities have been handed down orders to implement new policies reflecting the Empire’s tighter measures, we have seen the imperial prison guards struggling to manage their duties; so a combination of new policy combined with a lack of adequate resource could well have contributed to a real mistake. And that combination is going to backfire on them. Andor and Kino won’t be able to do it alone, it’ll take a significant portion of the level population (and maybe beyond) who are on the same page as them to stage a prison break.

 

Someone else noticed when Serkis is screaming at his people in the corridor, it seemed improvised cause he mispelled his lines?
Nothing to blame cause could be caused for the stress and tension of the moment. Felt quite real so is nothing important. Quite hilarious too. I guess that's why they decided to put in the final cut.

 

Dr Gorst would have learned his true identity don't you think? And there would have been evidence on his ship.

I have a feeling that Luthen was employing a bit of reverse psychology with Saw in ep 8. I imagine he knew that Saw would not agree to collaborate with Kreege and would pull some other big stunt on the Empire. Like busting out a whole prison factory.

 

This was not boring. Dedra has finally shown us what a terror she can be. What fabulous acting/vocabulary in her scenes. I wonder if she is meant to reflect the Legends character Ysanne "Iceheart" Isard? Perhaps we are looking at the eventual head of the ISB. Maybe we even get a look at Iden Versio later on in the show. Very dark, very enjoyable to me.

 

Really enjoyed this episode showing the methods the empire got up to. The one thing I wanted to see was the aftermath of what happened on level 2, work crew lying all over this like a massacre. So glad Kenoy finally listened

 

Good point. I don't think Luthen is the pilot, although I also would've never thought Vel and Mon were cousins. The ISB definitely knows Anto Kreegr and apparently they don't want to anger him. My guess is that the dead pilot is going to put Luthen on high alert and back to Saw to unload some of the stolen Imperial gear.
Andor and his fellow inmates are gonna bust out without any outside help. The Empire doesn't even know his true ID so no way Luthen could know yet. Cassian will probably be identified as a result of the prison break which will probably strengthen his "street cred" with the rebellion, and change their plans for him.

 

Just wait for the next prisoner / supplies drop off.

 

7 levels, 7 rooms per level running 24 hours per day every day. They're producing tens of thousands of these things per week and likely have limited storage. Also requiring the material and parts to be supplied constantly to keep up with production, so there must be regular cargo ships coming and going. It could be assumed that inmates are used to assist with the loading and unloading since the facility seems to run with a minimal staff of guards- even the Doctor was an inmate. A cargo ship would be the most available way out since we saw the prisoner transport barely slowed to a stop to unload the new arrivals and immediately flew away.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 4, 2022, Original Post Date: Nov 4, 2022 ---

Never more than 12 guards on a level. That's less than 100 for the entire facility and there's roughly 5000 inmates. A complete takeover would be the best course of action. Can't imagine it would be too difficult to convince a few guards to comply once the tables turn.

 

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