Chris Connor reviews the sixth episode of Star Wars: Andor…
Andor’s sixth episode ‘The Eye’ is far and away its most action packed to date, focusing almost entirely on the raid the group has been planning for the past two weeks. It’s 45 minutes that must rank amongst the most impressive Star Wars content put to screen on Disney + so far (in an already standout series) and shows the strength of Tony Gilroy as a showrunner and his brother, Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy, as a writer of this episode.
The build-up to the heist with the backdrop of a local festival is thrillingly done; of course we know that Cassian survives this series unscathed but this doesn’t stop the show from putting him through the wringer and bringing a sense of jeopardy and stakes that other Disney + projects have been missing. You get a sense of the desperation of the crew to succeed and what even a small victory like this will mean to morale in the wider fight against the Empire.
Again this episode really paints the Empire here as complacent and almost inefficient, cutting corners and content in themselves, never expecting a fightback, a far cry from the authoritarian regime depicted in Rogue One and Episodes IV-VI.
With the revelation that Taramyn is a former stormtrooper, the show has continued a trend started in The Force Awakens of blurring the lines of good and bad in the Star Wars universe. Cassian as a character also encapsulates this – he’s certainly not afraid to shoot allies if they get in his way.
The whole episode, directed expertly by Susanna White, makes for some thrilling television as the group manage to get from one scrape to another. All the more impressive is that it manages to maintain attention while holding off the blaster fights until its tail end.
As has become custom on this show there are plenty of stunning shots that really make this series one of the most visually impressive entries in the Star Wars universe. Nicholas Brittel’s propulsive score, slowly builds throughout the episode before a full orchestra kicks into gear for the climatic action sequences, further cementing his impressive work across the whole series.
If only brief, the climatic sequences of the Imperial response to the raid and that of the fledgling rebellion go lengths to showing its significance in the wider conflict and setting up the mood and shift in tone for the remainder of the series as we segue closer to the Rebel Alliance of Rogue One.
Building the episode in its entirety around the heist ensures this is one of the most thrilling episodes in Star Wars television to date and makes the mini three episode arc all the more rewarding showing the ultimate pay off and impact the events will have. This is an action packed thrill ride, chock full of strong performances with plenty of added subtext to the wider conflict and some glorious visuals and sharp direction.
As we hit the halfway point in the first season, lets hope Andor’s second half can match the narrative swings of the first. If so, we may come away with a contender for strongest Star Wars series to date.
Chris Connor
