In this week’s episode of Andor, “Narkina 5,” Cassian is sentenced to work in an Imperial factory facility, Syril Karn meets Dedra Meero, Mon Mothma continues to try to pull strings behind the scenes, and Luthen meets with the one and only Saw Gerrera.
Narkina 5
Cassian and several other newly sentenced prisoners find themselves restrained on a transport ship headed for Narkina 5. As they exit the ship, feet bare and hands behind their heads, they learn that they’ve been assigned to work at an Imperial factory facility. After making a comment about how they’re able to stand in front of the prisoners without weapons, the Imperial officer holds up a device, and Cassian and the others collapse to the ground in pain. The shock is delivered through the floors, which is why none of the prisoners can wear shoes.
As Cassian is taken to the work floor, the sterile facility and the obedience instilled within the prisoners creates a chilling scene. He’s assigned to Unit 5-2-D, where he meets the unit manager, Kino Loy. As he gives him a brief, no-nonsense introduction to the room, Kino explains how important productivity is. Cassian, still going by “Keef,” meets the table he’s assigned to, but then an announcement comes over the loudspeaker claiming that their unit has unacceptable productivity levels. Following a sprint segment, the least productive table will be disciplined.
Hot floors, cold feet
Later, Cassian gets his first look at the small pods that the prisoners sleep in, which include toilets and tubes for food (the shift winners get taste with their food!). It’s difficult to get news within the facility, so the men eagerly gather around to ask him about what’s going on elsewhere, because clearly, they’re feeling the effects of the Empire tightening its grip after what happened on Aldhani. However, Cassian has nothing to share with them. While they sleep, the floors are activated to ensure the men don’t stray from their pods. We then fast forward to 30 shifts later and see that Cassian has now fallen into the groove of his posting. However, one evening, a prisoner purposely steps out onto the hot floor, no longer able to handle his sentence any longer.
Syril Karn meets Dedra Meero
At work, Syril Karn is nervous as he’s called in for a meeting. Supervisor Meero walks in and tells him that she was planning on meeting with him at some point to fill in some gaps on the Ferrix incident report. However, that’s been pushed up since he’s been repeatedly submitting false inquiries to the Bureau of Standards Data Center to look for Cassian Andor. When she asks him what might be missing from Lieutenant Blevin’s report that she should know about, he quietly tells her that he’s never seen the report. He was forced to sign it.
During an ISB meeting, Dedra shows off the stolen Starpath unit that Cassian lost on Ferrix. She explains that they don’t know when it was stolen from the Steergard Naval yard, because they were afraid to disclose its theft — this is something that’s become a galaxy-wide problem for the Empire. They know that Cassian was in possession of it on Ferrix and in the process of transferring it to someone they’re referring to as Axis (who we know is Luthen). Now, she wants to drill down and find him.
Syril, having finished reading through the Ferrix report while Dedra was in her meeting, exclaims how much of the incident has not been accurately recorded. She tries to pry further for more information about Axis, but Syril can’t remember much else. Though Dedra dismisses him, Syril quickly stands and shouts that he was a good Deputy Inspector and proceeds to defend his actions.
Careful politics
Mon Mothma and her husband host another party, and she tells him that her agenda for the evening is to attempt to garner votes to stall the Emperor’s latest overreach. However, once Tay Kolma arrives, the two get to business discussing more secretive matters. Tay tells her that the new banking regulations have made things difficult. As Mon mingles, the partygoers debate the merits of the Emperor’s decisions.
Back on Ferrix
Back on Ferrix, Bix and Brasso are at Maarva’s place, and they’re concerned about her. She fell recently, because she was trying to pry open the old Rix floodgate in an attempt to create a path for the Rebels. Later, Bix sneaks off to send a secret message.
We also see that Vel and Cinta have arrived on the planet in search of Cassian, and Vel is upset that after all they’ve been through, there still isn’t time for them to be together. The Rebellion comes first.
Vulnerability is inevitable
At Luthen’s shop, Kleya receives the message, and she tells him that Bix is trying to find Cassian, because his mother is ill. Luthen and Kleya argue about whether or not to answer, because she doesn’t think it’s safe. She wants to close off their connections to Ferrix completely. Luthen is concerned that Cassian is still at large, and while he wants to take advantage of what Bix may or may not know, he ultimately tells Kleya to shut it down.
Caught
Bix finds a crowd of people gathered, and Brasso tells her that the Empire detained Paak. One of the officers sees Bix in the crowd and calls out for her by name, but she takes off running. Once they catch her, she’s brought in for questioning with Dedra, and Bix is horrified to see what they’ve done to Paak.
Oppression breeds rebellion
Luthen heads to Segra Milo, where he meets with Saw Gerrera. He keeps his cards close to his chest as he asks Saw if he was responsible for the incident on Aldhani. In exchange for an assortment of stolen Imperial items, Luthen asks Saw to meet with Anto Kreegyr. After probing the Imperial power station at Spellhaus, he found a weakness in the defenses. Saw is hesitant, because he normally works alone. While anarchy is a seductive concept, Luthen tells Saw that it’s a bit of a luxury for a man hiding in cold caves and begging for spare parts.
“We die for nothing if we don’t put aside our petty differences.” – Luthen Rael
Episode 8 of Andor is now streaming exclusively on Disney+. Episode 9 will premiere on Wednesday, November 2. Stay tuned for all of our coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more.
