IN REVIEW: STAR WARS: ANDOR (S1 – EP6) The Eye

Synopsis: In The Eye, With cover from a spectacular local festival, the Aldhani mission reaches a point of no return.

The Story

Having made all the preparations and addressed some trust issues in last week’s episode. The mission on Aldhani reaches the point of no return as Cassian and the rebels who are led by Vel Sartha infiltrate the Imperial base and move ahead with the mission. Having locked down the base and severed the communications systems.  Andor and the team seem to have free reign to steal the gold credits from the base. However, the plan hits a snag when a small group of imperial grunts realizes that something is wrong when they spot that one of the communications systems is still active. As the rebels execute the final stage of the mission and load the gold onto their ship. They come under fire from a small band of imperials, which hinders their escape. 

Acting

Diego Luna gets a little more to do this week as the narrative plays more to the strengths and gets on with some action as opposed to the slow plodding drama of last week’s episode. We see Andor take command and pretty much lead his part of the mission. However, it is a scene later on after they have gotten away that demonstrates how cold and calculating Andor is when he shoots Arvel Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) for suggesting that they split the gold and leave. Bachrach does a great job with his performance as Skeen and manages to elevate Luna’s performance. 

We also get strong supporting performances from Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha as she leads the mission. The scene at the end where she passes Andor Karis Nemik’s (Alex Lawther) manifesto was well handled and could prove to be a turning point for Andor and his future as a rebel fighter. 

Overall

The Eye has plenty of action as we see the mission take place, however, I did feel a little cheated by the sudden death of Karis Nemik, which happens when Andor, Vel, and Skeen make their escape with the credits. I don’t think we were shown enough of Nemik’s developing friendship with Andor to make us care. As so much time was spent on establishing Skeen’s mistrust of Andor. So when Nemik died. It just felt like another rebel biting the dust. As we hadn’t really gotten to know too much about him. It felt too much like throwing away a character for the sake of just moving the plot forward.

Aside from that. This episode manages to convey the darker side and the heavy costs of life during war. But it fails to properly convey any camaraderie between characters and chooses instead to present us with dysfunctional relationships and a general sense of hopelessness. It ultimately fails to give us the camaraderie that we saw in the Rogue One movie.

On the upside, we do get a few thrilling action scenes, and the chase when Andor, Vel, and Skeen make their escape was a bit of a thrill ride.