Star Wars Andor Episode 6 Review and Breakdown

Episode 6 of Star Wars Andor has finally relieved the tension that the last two episodes accumulated. It was full of action, drama, and an unexpected turn of events.

The big day is here and it’s too late to back down, everything’s happening according to plan the big hit is just around the corner. It’s been a while since I felt this worried watching a Star Wars Series.

This review contains heavy spoilers.

Andor Recap: the story so far

After a rough start, Cassian is finally accepted into the group. He has abilities and knowledge that no one else does and for this, he’s a valuable member of the team.

The plan to steal an absurd amount of money from the Empire is odd but everything is calculated and they’re confident that things will go according to plan.

Every member of the team has a motive to hate the Empire, despite their differences, they all work together for one common goal. This movement is what’s going to evolve into the Rebel Alliance.

Luthen Rael is nervous about the big day, due to the rush not everything was perfect and he’s afraid of being connected to the incident, but there’s nothing he can do about it.

A true believer

The episode starts with Nemik having a conversation with Cassian, he’s understandably nervous and talks about not being able to sleep. Eager to talk about his writings, Nemik briefly mentions his conclusion about “The role of Mercenaries in The Galactic Struggle for Freedom”.

You can tell that Nemik actually believes in the idea of freedom and hope for a better tomorrow. Fighting against oppression is one of the best reasons to fight for something and I love that they introduced a character like Nemik.

The rebellion is made by and for people like him, some individuals were dragged into the fight, and others are paid to be in it but the majority of people that joined the rebellion really want to fight for a brighter future for the next generations.

These people that I mention are not highlighted very often in Star Wars, they’re not Jedis, warriors, or abnormally skilled individuals. The rebellion’s ranks are filled by normal people like you and me, Nemik might be too naive for his own good but he embodies the foundation of the Rebel Alliance, one of my favorite characters yet.

The Empire devalues

The Empire has always been known for dehumanizing and undervaluing people, for them, everyone else is a lesser being, and the Aldhani locals are no exception. Since their plan is to turn the planet into an air base, they have slowly pushed away its habitants into a designated area where they can live “peacefully”.

The Eye is an astronomical event that occurs once every three years, it used to gather up to fifteen thousand Aldhanis but after a decade of the Empire’s efforts only a few dozens show up for the sacred occasion.

One of the Empire’s leaders’ weak spots is their complete disregard for anything that doesn’t involve filling their pockets or getting a promotion. A wise leader would try to learn and understand the local’s costumes and beliefs, but the Empire is full of Officers, Majors, and Moffs that are the opposite of a wise leader.

This lack of awareness is as old as the Empire itself, even when the Clone Wars were happening, Palpatine underestimated countless planets and races because he didn’t deem them worthy of his concern.

This arrogance spread throughout the Empire like a virus, ultimately causing its downfall and destruction. Palpatine, Vader, Tarkin, and everyone I can think of (with the exception of Grand Admiral Thrawn) made this mistake. The more I think about it the more I’m surprised about the number and magnitude of said mistakes that the Galactic Empire made without learning the lesson.

We win, or everyone dies

I was eager to see some action in the previous episode but considering how different Andor has been, I gave the series the benefit of the doubt and it paid off.

The tension was incredibly high for the majority of the episode, I’ve never felt nervous when watching a Star Wars show or movie because I’m aware of the safe route Disney usually takes, but this time I was actually anxious about the possible outcome.

The stakes are incredibly high, Vel is completely aware of this and makes sure that everyone in the room knows it as well. If they fail, everyone will die, including the wife and son of Commandant Jayhold.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that this is the first time we see the “good guys” take a kid hostage, I’m enjoying how they’re emphasizing the grey areas of morality instead of the usual black and white.

We’re finally seeing the darker aspects of the rebellion that the showrunners and Diego Luna mentioned, at the beginning of the episode Nemik pointed out that the Empire has no moral boundaries, this is no news, but what’s going to be very interesting is to see what Cassian and company are willing to do in order to defeat the Empire, how much is too much?

People like Mon Mothma have a clear limit to what can be done, because if you go too far then there’s nothing different between you and the tyrant you’re trying to defeat. However, there are also extremists like Saw Gerrera that will stop at nothing to achieve victory, even if this means doing the same things or worse than the Empire.

Some use their moral compass to establish their limits, while others think of it as a risk-benefit. At this point in time, Cassian Andor appears to be more of the second type, he was hired as a mercenary after all, but some mercenaries still have honor and boundaries that they won’t cross. I’m looking forward to seeing the key moments that turn Andor into the rebel spy that we see in Rogue One.

If something can go wrong, it probably will

Andor is considered a “spy series”, the topics, characters, and action sequences fit perfectly. Tony Gilroy, the showrunner of the series was heavily involved in the Bourne movies so it makes perfect sense.

The mission Luthen Rael assigned to Andor, Vel and the rest of the crew is something that we would see in a Mission Impossible movie, but this time we’re not watching Jedi Knights or extremely well-trained Mandalorians, it’s only regular people with no special training who are attempting this high-risk, high-reward mission.

So naturally, things go wrong. From the moment that Vel hesitated, I lost all my confidence in them completing the mission without any setbacks.

Only a few minutes after the mission starts Nemik makes a mistake and allows the imperial Engineer to draw his gun, oddly enough, his demand was for them to let the children go, a surprisingly selfless demand for someone in that position. Luckily, Cinta was entering the facility and shot the imperial on sight.

I’d think that this type of operation would require a backup plan for the backup plan, but it was apparent that they had to improvise when things didn’t go as expected.

Their strategy relied on timing, execution, and the most uncontrollable variable; the cooperation of the imperial staff. I really didn’t expect them to require the soldiers stationed at the vault to help them, even Commandant Jayhold was asked to move the credits from the vault.

When Kimzi intercepted the transmissions everything started to fall apart. He contacts the post where Cinta is holding the rest of the hostages, she doesn’t know what to do and in the most Han Solo way possible she just turns off the console.

Only a few minutes later he and some soldiers were on their way to find out what was happening. When they arrived shots were fired within seconds, Lieutenant Gorn was the first one to fall, his death was way too fast and the angle didn’t make it obvious so I had to re-watch that scene.

Vel was pinned down and couldn’t move so she requested help, Taramyn didn’t hesitate to join her and ask Skeen to cover him, however, Skeen didn’t do it properly and Taramyn was down just a few seconds later. It was way too obvious that Skeen didn’t even try to help poor Taramyn.

Time runs out and they have to get out of there, there are still a lot of credits in the vault but if they stay any longer the operation will fail. With the rush of the moment, Cassian powers the shuttle and accelerates, the speed is too much for the rest of the crew, and Skeen, Vel, and Nemik fly across the room.

Sadly, the big pile of credits does the same, and Nemik ends up crushed. He’s the only one capable of using that mysterious navigational technology, Vel uses a Med-spike to help him stay conscious until they’re out of there.

While they’re trying to escape, “The Eye” is happening, a beautiful visual spectacle that stuns both the Aldhanis and the Imperial Troops. The pilots that were on the Tie Fighters had a more personal experience and became part of it. It was a beautiful and terrifying scene at the same time.

After they’re gone, we see Cinta walking into the valley with what I think is a disturbing expression. She strikes me as the coldest and most fierce of the group, she was with four hostages and has a very clear reason to hate the Empire, I wonder if she did the unthinkable and ended their lives, including the son and wife of Commandant Jayhold. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me, this and more questions will probably be answered in the next episode.

Me against everybody else

They take Nemik to a location where a doctor is waiting for them, Vel joins the doctor in his efforts to save Nemik while Skeen and Cassian wait outside. They’re just chatting about Nemik’s condition when suddenly Skeen suggests that they take the loot and split it in two, Cassian is able to keep a calm composure but his expression tells you everything, he’s disgusted by the idea of leaving Vel and Nemik behind.

If we consider the idea that it was his plan since the beginning some things start to make sense, like him not covering Taramyn or insisting on taking Nemik to the doctor. Indirectly taking down his own crew members to take a higher cut is something that’s too low for Andor. He might not be a role model but he knows better than to betray those you supposedly care about.

Skeen views Andor as another survivor, “me against everybody else” is the phrase used by Skeen to describe himself. I believe it would be just a matter of time before Skeen also tries to betray him so without doubting Andor pulls his blaster and shoots him, he never saw it coming.

From what’s revealed in this scene, Skeen could be described as a scum, taking advantage of whoever he cans just to betray them when the opportunity comes. There are plenty of people willing to walk over others for personal benefit, but Cassian is not one of them.

Not to mention that it would be the dumbest idea to doublecross someone like Luthen Rael, Cassian is smarter than that. By completing this mission he has proved his worth and has ensured more profitable work in the near future.

Cassian enters the tent to see that Nemik didn’t survive, he raises his blaster and offers the doctor thirty thousand credits for the ship in his barn. Vel is confused and calls Skeen but she learns that he’s dead and his failed plan to abandon her.

After telling her that he’s leaving with his pay and nothing more, Cassian gives Vel the blue Kyber crystal. She accepts it and offers him Nemik’s manifesto, Cassian accepts it and leaves immediately. I wonder if this manifesto will play any role in the rebellion conception, Cassian does not strike me as a man of many words so I’m very curious to learn the destiny of this book.

A successful operation, but is it?

The Imperial Security Bureau is under high alert, all personnel is summoned by Major Partagaz. Nemik hoped that the Empire care about them after the heist, well, now they do. I doubt Luthen is aware of what he’s unleashed, the Empire is about to focus its entire attention on the people that dared to humiliate them.

The only thing that motivates Imperial Officers better than money or a promotion is the fear of failure. We know who the Emperor sends when an example must be made, regardless if it’s an ally or enemy.

The news about the heist travel fast and Luthen hears them in his own shop. He goes to the back and for the first time in the series he genuinely smiles, the Empire took a big hit, Goliath can bleed and everyone knows it. It’s probably the first big victory in the rebellion’s history, but things are about to get way more difficult for everyone.

This is going to be the moment when Mothma, Luthen, and the rest of their circle prove how resourceful and intelligent they can be. It’s just a matter of time until the storm unleashes, but who will be at the center of it? And what would happen if the Empire fails to find the perpetrators?

Andor Episode 6 Easter Eggs

This episode’s subtle references to Rogue One and the prequel movies. I love how meaningful a simple word or phrase can become when given a good context. These are the ones that I found!

Echo-One

When communicating with Vel, Taramyn uses the codename Echo-One, this might be the origin of the term that would be repeatedly used by the Rebel Alliance. The Echo Base on Hoth and Echo Squadron are some examples of it.

Climb!

After Nemik is crushed, he manages to guide Cassian through “the Eye”. Nemik tells him to “climb” in order to escape. This was the same thing that K-2S0 told him in Rogue One seconds before “dying” at the hands of the Stormtroopers.

Ghormans

This is the second time that Mon Mothma has mentioned the Ghorman people, she’s actively fighting to give them basic rights, but her efforts will be in vain. In Star Wars Rebels, she mentions how the Ghorman massacre was the ultimate cause for her to leave the Imperial Senate.

Devaron

In the last scene, Luthen is showing an item from the planet Devaron. Devaron is the homeworld of the Devaronians, a humanoid species with a devil-like appearance. A Devaronian can be spotted in the Chalmun’s Cantina in Episode IV. If you have played Star Wars: The Old Republic, you might remember getting a Devaronian companion named Gault Rennow when playing the Bounty Hunter class story.

This episode was incredible, with beautiful shots, plot twists, and lots of action after a very good build-up. I managed to care for some of the characters which made their deaths more meaningful, so far this has been my favorite episode but we’re just halfway through, I’m sure the next episodes will top this one.

The Empire is going to retaliate in ways that we may have not yet experienced on the screen. I wonder if and how the showrunners are going to explore the cruel side of the Galactic Empire.

What are your thoughts about this episode? How do you think the Empire is going to retaliate?

Star Wars Andor Season 1 Episode Reviews and Breakdown

This is a collection of individual reviews and a breakdown of all events, secrets, references and easter eggs in the first season of the Star Wars series Andor available on Disney Plus. Adrian goes beep behind the plots of each episode to discover what the world od Star Wars was like when the Rebellion was born!

Please note that every single one of the reviews contains heavy spoilers from the episode it analyzes. It's better to watch the episode and then read the articles.

Also, each review starts with a recap of the events leading up to this episode, so you will never be lost with where things pick up from last week.