Take Three: Andor

Andor: Season 1, Episode 3 “Reckoning” (B-)

The last line of my review of the previous episode turned out to be very true, that this is just a series of near-misses with Karn hot on Andor’s trail and likely to keep almost catching him while he just manages to get away. It definitely says something that Andor chose not to kill him and instead to leave him to be found by his soldiers, though that was also part of his misdirect since it allowed him to get away separately since they were focused on an entirely different vehicle. That act of mercy will likely not endear him to his pursuers, and now he’s only going to become a more coveted target. These Star Wars shows do know how to cast their enigmatic characters, and Emmy nominee Stellan Skarsgård is no exception, enhancing Luthen Rael and making him much more interesting than he might otherwise be. It’s hard to know who to trust in this world, and opting to rely on him was definitely a risk. But that’s also what leads to survival, and I have a feeling that Karn might end up switching sides by the time this show wraps up its narrative since he’s so mission-driven but may be more idealistic than the Empire would give him credit for, not willing to merely follow every one of his orders if there’s something about them that doesn’t make sense and, more crucially, if Andor doesn’t appear to be quite the threat he’s been positioned as thus far.