Andor - Episode 5 - Review

It has been a few weeks since I saw the fourth episode of Andor and I was left hanging for the heist to begin, so going into this episode, part of me was worried that it was going to focus on the build up and I was going to be left hanging once more. That was the case, but there was also some growth in other arears that helped keep things moving, albeit at a glacial pace. Given we are approaching the half way point for the season, is the show ready for more?

With Cassian being given a new identity for the heist, there was always the complication that someone would discover he wasn't who he said he was, and that laid a foundation of tension to every interaction he had throughout the episode. Having the crew all have a moment with Cassian was interesting, not because it gave all of these characters a chance to explain themselves, but rather it gave Cassian a chance to understand just what he was getting in for. There is the true believer, who thinks that an evil like the Empire cannot truly win, the leader who seeks to do whatever the mission calls for and of course the one out for revenge. Even though the previous episode did out layout their basic personalities, it was quite interesting to see everything come together in a more completed fashion, rather than just relying on being stereotypical.

Where the episode fell apart though is that it jumped back to Coruscant, which wouldn't be an issue except the scenes that we got didn't really fit in with the vibe of the episode. Discovering that Mon Mothma had a husband last week, ok it was a bit strange, but it still made sense, discovering this week that she also has a teenage daughter who has a clear distaste for her mother, ok then, but why? I'm struggling to get my head around just what this new character does for the show, we already know Mon Mothma is rebelling, if ever so slowly, so why introduce a new character. Luthen barely made an appearance and while I get his inclusion at the end for story purposes, I feel it would have worked better at the start of the next episode, because it didn't add anything, instead if felt like it subtracted from everything that we had experienced with Cassian.

It was quite interesting seeing how the inside man was going about his day, doing everything by the book but also undermining the Empire at every turn. It also gave us probably our best ever look into how the Empire actually functions, not just a bunch of faceless Stormtroopers shooting up a place, but rather soldiers attempting to complete the jobs that they're given. Even having the two squad leaders speak freely to basically state morale would be better if they got to do this one thing, helped put more compassion into the Empires camp, than almost anything else that's ever been done for Star Wars. I'm not saying that the Empire is now a misunderstood creature, it is still the Empire, but it shows that not all the gears in the machine are bad, just a nice simple touch.

Simple also defines the visuals for the episode, we spent the majority of it around the camp that Cassian and the heist crew were calling home. There was one particular scene that convinced me this was a volume set, not to discount the visuals but it did put a check on my belief, now I won't point out what it was because if you haven’t noticed it, then you're fine. The scene with the Tie Fighter was perhaps the most action-packed scene the episode portrayed and it was quite a clever little touch, it not only emphasized the power of the Empire, but also gave our resident rebellion devotee, a reason to utter a corny line. From a visual standpoint however it was a spectacular shot, if only because we have never seen a Tie Fighter fly that low in any show or movie, and had the camera on the ground beneath it.

Coming into the episode I was worried that it would spend all of it explaining the heist in detail and for the most part they did focus on that, however the fact they managed to sprinkle in amongst it a growing sense of character friction, was something I enjoyed. The problem is we're now five episodes in and Cassian still really hasn't found his ground, yes, he's here because he's getting paid but that doesn't really make for a watchable character. With the heist surely having to happen in the next episode things may finally kick into gear, I just hope that when things inevitably go wrong, it puts the show back on the right path.

The Score

7.0

The Pros

+Discovering more about the heist crew was welcome, leaving behind their one note personalities we got before

+The Tie Fighter shot was amazing and showed the power of those machines

The Cons

-The overall pace was a little too slow

-Everything on Coruscant felt a little out of place, given the tension happening around the heist crew