Andor – Narkina 5 Review

There are few things I enjoy more than when a series pulls together an episode that allows us to see just how a seemingly disparate group of characters – scattered around a country, planet, galaxy – are all interconnected in ways you wouldn’t have anticipated when the series begin. “Narkina 5” was that episode for Andor, which continues to churn out excellent slices of story each week as we slowly see the overall season arc come into focus. On the surface, “Narkina 5” can be read as an episode taking stock of the various characters we’ve come to know over the last seven episodes – checking in on where they are, what they know, and what their current mission is. But while it’s setting the table for the final push of the season, it’s also showing us the key failings of our two groups – the rebels and the Empire – and making us wonder just how Cassian is going to get off Narkina 5 and back out into the world (I have a thought on that a bit later).

As I wondered about last week, it appears the series found a quick and easy way to get Dedra and Syril into the same room. It turns out our boy Syril has been filing false claims in an attempt to get the Empire to care about the whereabouts of one Cassian Andor. Well, Dedra cares, but only in so much as it can lead her to Luthen (or Axis, as she has dubbed the mysterious man at the heart of this particular Rebel cell). It was fascinating to watch Syril’s desperation in trying to convince Dedra not only that Cassian is the key – and that he deserves to pay for the murder of the two guards, something that matters a great deal to the law and order-focused Syril but not at all to the Empire as a whole – but that Syril is the man to help her out. What Syril is failing to learn is that while his doggedness is admirable, that’s not how the Empire functions. They don’t want operatives willing to throw everything into the fire in pursuit of a single person. No, they want people who can see the big picture and are willing to do whatever it takes to go for the throat of the beast. Syril can’t see the forest for the trees, so he’s never going to get what he wants. Could that change? I suspect his path will still somehow intersect with Cassian’s before all is said and done, but I don’t know if Syril is going to be able to mold himself into the perfect Imperial soldier.

Much of this week’s action was focused on Ferrix, the last place Dedra knows Luthen was. For all of the Empire’s ineptitude and bureaucratic red tape, Dedra is remarkably efficient. She’s got Bix in custody, the one person on Ferrix who knows both Cassian and Luthen, even if she has no clue how to find either, which is more than anyone has been able to do thus far. Dedra is the most terrifying of villains – not only does she have the means to enact her will and desires (and the goals of the Empire), but she also has the brains to put the pieces together and then find a way to ensure her superiors accept her view of the truth. Just think: If more Imperial officers had this combination, would the Rebels have been as successful? So much of the Empire’s failures came from a lack of effective communication, a lack of a central focus, and a belief that they had the upper hand, no matter what. They got sloppy and lazy assuming greater firepower and strength in numbers would override the Rebels. Dedra doesn’t strike me as a person to assume that at all. Although, as with all great villains, she’ll only be effective so long as she has the ability and power to enact her will. Something to watch out for in future episodes – how long with the Empire allow her to search for Luthen before they decide enough is enough?

The most interesting – and likely most crucial – element of the episode wasn’t a specific plot point or reveal (although it did coincide with the introduction of Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera, leader of The Partisans anarchist faction). Rather, it was a discussion about the fractured nature of the rebellion. This isn’t the united front from A New Hope. Instead, there are multiple separatist groups, each with their own goals and agendas, not willing to work with one another despite the benefits of such collaborations. We know, from Rebels and Rogue One, that Saw has a very clear picture of just what he wants to gain from his actions, but to see that he’s willing to forgo key supplies that would help his own fight because of his unwillingness to take on the plans of another, oof. We know that he will eventually warm up (a bit) to allowing others to work with him, but this is not great for the burgeoning rebellion, to have key power players – who have the means and knowledge to deal decisive blows to the Empire – willing to sit out and refuse to participate. Considering Dedra is starting to close in on Luthen, well, one would have hoped to find a more open and trusting team out there in the galaxy.

So now that noose tightening around Luthen. He’s cut off contact with Ferrix, but not before accepting that final message – which piqued his interest and led to him discussing traveling there to talk to Marva about Cassian. So, does he risk life and limb to travel into the heart of Dedra’s investigation (because you know Bix will, eventually, break, and it will be awful to see) for a scrap of information, or does he stay out of the fray and hope Cinta (who, sadly, broke poor Vel’s heart this week) can get the info for him? My bet? Cassian needs to get out of prison somehow, and what better way than having Dedra figure out who he really is and bringing him back to Ferrix. Which means he has a choice: Spill all her knows about Luthen or watch someone he loves die (my money is on Marva, because, well, that’s what they’re setting up with her being sick and scoping out key ways to escape/destroy the hotel – all important things to remember moving forward). Now, I can’t seen Luthen making it out of the series alive – largely because Mon Mothma (who is dealing with her own issues over on Coruscant, perhaps most importantly a nosy daughter who seems like she’s wary of the people her mother is spending a lot of time with) is the sole head of the Rebels in hiding and Luthen doesn’t seem to exist at all – but the question is, does he sacrifice himself to allow Cassian a chance to grow into a leader himself? Or is it a flat-out betrayal?

I assume someone like Vel will believe it to be the betrayal, regardless of the evidence (another good use of the Cinta-Vel relationship moving forward would be Cinta insisting Cassian was acting on Luthen’s orders and Vel refusing to believe it, setting up a divide in their faction of the rebellion, but I’m just spit-balling here), but we’re entering the final stretch episodes of this first season, and with it being structured so much like a film rather than a television series, we’re bound to start getting some big reveals sooner rather than later. One thing is certain: Cassian has to get out of prison. It makes sense for his release to hinge on the fates of several of our remaining characters. And it just so happens that a lot of them are on Ferrix with a smart, focused Imperial agent who has started to put together the key pieces of the puzzle. It’s the perfect place for one final tete-a-tete before the season ends. Can the rebellion put aside its siloed nature and rise up together? Well, in order to do that, it needs a charismatic face of the underground. And who better than Cassian Andor?