Andorfinally completed another 3-episode arc whenepisode 6was released. This time the small group of proto-rebels execute their long-planned heist and do their best to get away with the money. But their big score comes with a high price, and we learn even more about those people we thought we knew. We’re also told how theEmpire quietly manipulatespeople to rely on its control.
Andoralways gives us a good look atthe real charactersbehind what would normally just be empty roles to fill, as the stories we heard two episodes ago are peeled back to reveal an even deeper truth.
In “The Eye,” the Rebels attempt their heist under a beautiful celestial event revered by the tribes of the planet as a religious event. While everything goes smoothly for a while, eventually, things turn sideways. They are forced to make tough decisions as they lose friends and make difficult decisions in pursuit of their goal. They narrowly escape the Imperial forces, and when it comes time for Andor to show where his allegiance truly lies, he makes a complicated decision based on what he’s seen from this group of thieves. As always,Andordoesn’t disappoint a true moral compass.
Setting Up a Heist During The Eye
In the beginning, the tiny group of rebels is making their final approach on the Imperial base. They are nervous the night before. Nemik comes to Andor, telling him he can’t sleep and that he wants to be his sharpest to accomplish the mission. Andor tells Nemik that the excitement will keep him awake during the heist, and he’ll sleep when it’s done.
The next day they test an old Imperial communications device to contact Vel and Cinta, the other half of their team. Meanwhile, the Commandant of the Imperial base is being inspected by a higher-ranking Imperial officer. The Commandant wants to impress this officer in hopes of getting a better position in the Empire and tells his family to dress accordingly.
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When the officer arrives, he and the Commandant speak on this celestial event the tribal people call “The Eye.” It is a time when the planet Aldhani passes through a body of crystals moving through space, and as they burn up in Aldhani’s atmosphere, they make incredible and exciting lights. The tribal people have walked for days to make it to their temple in order to observe the lights. The Empire is, of course, working to end this ritual as it keeps them from controlling the local population.
The Commandant informs the officer that they’ve put several comfortable places offering drinks along the path of the tribe’s journey to attempt to sway people off the track. This, he says, is how the Empire manages to control its people, by providing them with a great number of choices alternative to theirindigenous culture.
Andor and the rebels change into their Imperial soldier uniforms and join the tribal journey as an Imperial escort. When they get to the temple, they meet Lieutenant Gorn, their “inside man” on the operation. While he leaves three other Imperial squads down at the temple to watch the tribespeople, he tells this particular squad to join as an escort to the Imperial officer, Commandant, and his family. At the same time, Vel and Cinta are swimming underneath the lake to scale the outside of the Imperial base.
Once there, they climb up a ladder on the outside to get to a communications tower, where they install jamming equipment on the machinery. Andor and his squad of disguised soldiers enter an elevator with the Commandant and his family, and that’s when the real heist starts.
Andor’s Heist Goes Well… Until It Doesn’t
As soon as the elevator doors close, those “Imperial soldiers” turn on the officer, the Commandant, and his family. Suddenly, guns are pointing at them from every direction. Skeen holds a gun to the heads of the Commandant’s wife and child. But, seeing the young Namik quiver in his stance, the Imperial officer draws his pistol and tells Skeen to let the boy go. There is a moment of serious tension when Skeen presses his rifle into the boy’s head but right as Andor says, “Nobody has to die,” Vel drops from the ceiling and blasts the officer. They take those remaining to the control tower.
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The Commandant keeps tellingthe Rebelsthat they’ll never get in the vault, but Vel eventually snaps and shouts at him. While keeping his family hostage, they lead the Commandant down to the vault, where a few other Imperial soldiers are playing a card game. Lieutenant Gorn forces them all up in a line before the Commandant comes in with a gun to his back and tells all the soldiers to comply.
The heist goes well until the communications tower discovers their jamming problem, and the officer up there gets a few soldiers to join him in checking the vault. When they get down there, the gunfire starts. Gorn is killed. Only Vel, Skeen, Andor, and Namik make it onto the ship alive.
As they flee the Imperial base with the stolen money in their escape vessel, tie-fighters approach from behind, putting pressure on the ship. During its launch, Namik is crushed by one of the carts they used to move the money. Though he can’t feel his legs, they drag him to the front of the ship so that he can calculate the navigation.
After they’ve finally escaped, they take Namik to a doctor who operates on the boy. Outside, Skeen talks to Andor and offers him a deal. They can take the money for themselves and leave Vel and Namik. He says he’s never been a part of this Rebellion and is only looking out for himself. Andor shoots Skeen before he can tell what Andor’s thinking. Then Andor walks into the operating room and tells Vel he is taking his cut and leaving. He gives her back Luthen’s kyber crystal. She gives him Namik’s rebel manifesto because Namik has just died.
