The triple premiere of Andor, with two episodes of setup followed by a thrilling payoff, established that the Star Wars series’ serialized narrative would unfold in chunks of three episodes. The current three-episode chunk of Andor reaches its tense, action-packed climax this week in “The Eye.” After two weeks of planning, “The Eye” sees Cassian and his new Rebel allies finally pull off their daring, long-awaited Imperial heist against the backdrop of a local festival. Just as the first three episodes, directed by Toby Haynes and scripted by showrunner Tony Gilroy, told their own self-contained storyline leading into the next, “The Eye” and its two predecessors – directed by Susanna White and scripted by Tony’s brother Dan Gilroy – tell their own story of Cassian’s first Rebel adventure.
With a dazzling chase sequence, a bunch of elaborate disguises, and spies descending down the side of the Imperial base on wires, “The Eye” plays like Mission: Impossible in a galaxy far, far away. But, unlike most Star Wars shows, it’s not just mindless action. Thanks to two weeks’ worth of planning, the stakes of the heist have been clearly established. As with any great heist storyline, the plan doesn’t go off without a hitch. Once the audience knows how it’s supposed to go down, they also know when it all goes horribly wrong. The robbery is interrupted by a concerned corporal, the only hostage the spies have any leverage over has an unexpected heart attack, and a firefight breaks out between Imperial officers and the disguised Rebels lurking among them.
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Each installment of this three-part heist storyline has used the series’ more patient pacing to develop a different Rebel character every week. When Cassian first joined the Rebels, he butted heads with Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha. Last week, he contented with contempt and mistrust from Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Arvel Skeen. This week, he bonds with the young, dedicated yet naive Karis Nemik, played brilliantly by Alex Lawther, as he helps him overcome his nerves. One by one, Cassian is forging solid emotional connections with each of his new allies. He initially joined the team for a paycheck, but he’s slowly starting to believe in the Rebellion’s cause. That faith is tested by Skeen’s surprising Treasure of the Sierra Madre betrayal, but it’s reinforced by Nemik’s unwavering commitment to their fight. The Skeen twist seems to have put a stop to Cassian’s Rebel radicalization, but the manifesto he inherits from Nemik might change his mind.
If it wasn’t for familiar motifs like Stormtroopers and TIE fighters – as well as neat sci-fi visual flourishes like a four-armed alien doctor who has an additional pair of hands to perform surgery with – Andor would still work as a straightforward spy thriller about resistance fighters taking on an oppressive dictatorship. White’s handheld camerawork suits this tone perfectly. Shaky cam is relatively new to the Star Wars universe, and it doesn’t always work (like in the lightsaber duels of Obi-Wan Kenobi), but in Andor, it adds an extra layer of intensity to the action scenes. The camera follows the Rebels to their cover during a shootout and yanks back as Cassian lunges for his blaster.
When Andor was first announced, Star Wars fans wondered what would be the point of filling in the backstory of a character whose fate has already been determined by the shocking downer ending of Rogue One. But Cassian has already proven to be a compelling lead, thanks to Diego Luna’s nuanced performance and the character’s unique position within the framework of the Rebel Alliance, and the fates of every other character in the series have yet to be decided. This week brings Andor’s first heartbreaking character death as Nemik is fatally wounded during the heist.
Unlike the more child-oriented Star Wars shows that offer non-stop action without any real consequences, Andor is a more somber, contemplative series that has real stakes, takes real risks, and makes the audience wait for payoffs – and when they arrive, those payoffs take a real toll. “The Eye” lives up to two episodes’ worth of anticipation with an action-packed Rebel mission that remains crucially focused on the characters and their dynamics.
Andor is now midway through its first-season run. Skeen’s deceitful offer to make off with the loot and split it 50/50 has caused Cassian to double down on his disdain for the Rebellion. He’s taken his share, cut ties with the Rebels, and disappeared in a new ship. He couldn’t be further from becoming the diehard Rebel leader seen in Rogue One. As with all great prequels, Andor is using the inevitability of its title character’s foretold future to beg an interesting dramatic question: how will this morally dubious scoundrel who looks out for nobody but himself eventually come to embrace a dangerous cause that affects the whole galaxy?
Andor streams new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
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