Star Wars: Andor has become one of my all-time favorite Star Wars properties. And each week, it just gets better and better. (As if that were somehow possible!) As we’re getting to the latter half of the Disney+ series’ first season, we’re seeing a bit more of how all of the Rebel forces and characters we’ve come to love in later storylines come together, and in episode 8 titled “Narkina,” we get to see a lot of moving parts all starting to converge.
The episode takes Cassian to his new “assignment” in prison. Episode 7 left us with Cassian being thrown in jail because a Shore Trooper decided that he was up to something for simply looking around while on the way to the store. It landed him with a six-year sentence in an Imperial prison, and episode 8 took us to his new home for the next “six” years. (I say “six” because we know that he’s getting out of jail because we know what happens to Cassian.)
But what episode 8, “Narkina,” did was give us a lot of set up for the last four episodes of the season, and oh my god are we in for a wonderful ride with Andor.
Andy Serkis as actual Andy Serkis
Look, this character means little to the grand scheme of Star Wars unless he’s the reason that Cassian gets out of prison, but Kino Loy is just the foreman in the room that Cassian is assigned in prison. What was so shocking to me was that it was Andy Serkis’ face. He’s no stranger to being a part of the world of fantasy. In fact he was already part of Star Wars as Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. The difference between Serkis’ past roles and this is that it was actually Andy Serkis’ face.
Yes, we’ve seen his face before in things like Black Panther, but Serkis has become known for his creation of characters that are typically computer generated. He does all the work for them and brings them to life, but they are rarely seen as Serkis himself. He’s the Doug Jones of CGI creatures, if you will.
So seeing Andy Serkis bright and early this morning was a shock for me and one that I think I will be screaming about for quite a while.
It’s nice to see old friends named Saw Gerrera
Saw! We knew that eventually Saw Gerrera was going to show up, but I was never really sure how he’d connect with the overall Rebel Alliance. But knowing that him and Luthen Rael are friends? That’s wonderful! Saw Gerrera is, yet again, on a planet he doesn’t really want to be on, and Luthen is planting the seeds to make it seem as if he had nothing to do with Aldhani. He goes there and asks Saw if he was behind it, and Saw points out that if he had the money that was stolen from the Imperial base and their payroll, he wouldn’t be on that planet.
But it’s fun to see how Saw is already connected to the Rebels. Right now, they’re all fractioned away from each other and only checking in when it is safe to do so. Everyone is sort of in this fight for themselves, and while they’re all fighting for the common good, they’re not yet the connective Rebels we know and love. But hopefully Luthen connecting with Saw gets us some more of Forest Whittaker’s Saw in the world of Andor.
We’re in the endgame now
Every episode has felt better than the last, but “Narkina” was the first to feel like we’re heading towards the end of season 1. I don’t love knowing that there are only four more episodes of Andor for me to scream about because I have loved every single moment back with my favorite boy. But I do love what it is setting up for the future. We have Mon Mothma at an impasse, Luthen trying to cover his own tracks, the Rebels still spread out but now with the Empire watching them, and Cassian stuck in a prison with no means of escape.
Pair that with what is happening on Ferrix now that Dedra Meero is onto Cassian, and the water is boiling and everyone is about to get burned. Despite knowing what eventually happens with most of the characters we’re seeing, Andor has managed to keep us all on the edge of our seats, and I can’t wait to see what they have planned for the rest of this season and into season 2.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
