What I’m Watching: Andor

Andor: Season 1, Episode 8 “Narkina 5” (B)

There’s an interesting darkness to this show as it progresses, with Andor’s time in prison feeling particularly harsh and not nearly as PG-rated as most Star Wars fare has been up to this point. Though Andor did commit a pretty major crime, he got arrested for something completely different that he didn’t do, and though he’s not facing physical brutality, there’s an intensity to the way in which they’re being forced to work and complete their assignments. The “30 Shifts Later” title card was indicative of how mindless the machine is meant to be, and how he’s become so accustomed to it in a relatively short time. Syril’s fervor meant that Meero took notice of his efforts to find Andor and brought it to her superiors, and though she has absolutely no idea where he is, she managed to find Bix and her fate likely isn’t going to be a good one. This episode brought one new cast member in the form of Andy Serkis, best known for voicing Gollum and also some terrific performances in projects like “Longford,” as Kino Loy, and the return of Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera, a character he played before in “Rogue One.” His conversation with Luthen was entertaining and playful at the start, with both of them trying to assert that the other was responsible for the heist, and Saw then taking the conversation in a more serious direction where he made it clear that he wasn’t prepared to get himself into any real trouble.