I sound like a broken record at this point, but Andor really is the best thing that Star Wars has given us—because of the way this show has broken down the Empire and the horrors of it. The last few episodes, we’ve seen what happens to those who are deemed “less” than by the Empire. We’ve witnessed the Empire’s eagerness to assert their power and show everyone in the Galaxy that they’re willing to throw anyone in prison for the hell of it.
As Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) served his sentence on Narkina 5, he slowly began to realize that he couldn’t stay there. In Episode 9, things came to a head when the entire prison hears a rumor about a floor being killed off. Throughout the episode, Cassian keeps asking Kino how many officers are on each floor because he’s trying to find a way for them all to escape.
Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) is almost done with his sentence, so he doesn’t want to disrupt the process, but as the episode goes on and Cassian keeps asking, we can see how Kino’s trust in the system he’s dedicated his sentence to breaking. Slowly, he’s starting to see how he’s been lied to and what is going on around him.
So at the end of the episode, when Cassian asks him one last time how many officers there are in the midst of everything falling apart around them, Kino responds with “Never more than 12” and let me tell you, I cheered.
As more and more fans watch the episode, it’s clear that many, many of us have become obsessed with the way this line hits.
Never more than 12
The line is something that works because of Cassian’s understanding of the situation the prisoners are in mixed with Serkis’ exceptional delivery. We’re seeing two men desperate to find a way out. Kino’s plan was to just serve his sentence and go and Cassian knew that that wasn’t going to be an option for him. So when Kino is finally on Cassian’s side and we hear it finally come to fruition with “Never more than 12”? That’s how we know things are going to get interesting for the two of them.
What’s been so great about this line in particular online is that so many of us had the same sort of reaction. The general mood is that the minute that Kino answered Cassian, we all started cheering. It didn’t really have a big action piece or the typical fanfare of media trying to achieve a “moment.” But there was just something about the delivery of “never more than 12” and the entire build up in the episode that just works so incredibly well.
Did I cheer on my couch first thing in the morning when this happened? Yes, yes I did. Because come on, this ruled! Not only do we get to have actual Andy Serkis in his human form in Andor but now he has one of the best lines in recent Star Wars? What a time to be a fan of this franchise.
(image: Lucasfilm)
