Spoiler Free Review Of ‘Star Wars: Andor’ Episode 8 ‘Narkina 5’

Star Wars

Oct 26

This week's episode of Star Wars: Andor continues the slow pacing seen throughout the series. However, fans will see this episode's characters are more akin to set pieces to introduce higher concepts into the Star Wars universe. Through these characters, the viewers are introduced to a wide array of varying ideologies throughout the show. Narkina 5 pits them against one another in a way that feels all too real.

In some scenes, a senator sympathetic to the Rebellion continues to struggle with finding a safe way to fund the alliance as the grip of the Empire tightens around the financial sector. This senator wants to ensure they can still aid the people writ large by serving in the senate as a bulwark against Palpatine's rubber stamps. Although, now the senator must rely on a sympathetic financier to hide her dealings from new Imperial auditors.

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On the other hand, a handful of Rebel cells are looking to find ways to join together to begin working against the Empire more aggressively. But, the problem appears to be with one particular leader of a Rebel group believing that they have the only correct path forward. Despite the small-scale success of that leader, they feel that working with a larger group would taint their ideology. One of the other leaders remarks about his political affiliation as being a coward; they feel afraid of being too late to stop the Empire and recognize the only way forward is a unified front instead of factionalism.

Also of note were the differences in places like Coruscant, the Imperial core, and Ferrix, a backwater planet. In Coruscant, the general feeling is one of security. While the Empire passes more and more authoritarian policies, the people are more than willing to give away their freedoms under the guise of security. While worlds further away from the Imperial core are subject to the true Empire, one of abject cruelty in the name of order. These instances range from people being incarcerated with overly long mandatory sentencing to police forces brutally oppressing the native populations of planets.

Tony Gilroy continues to deliver one of the year’s best television shows with Andor. Instead of taking the easy route of showing the Rebels as good guys with a clear common cause, we see just how hard it can be to build a revolutionary movement. On the other hand, fans of Star Wars can see why the Empire was given a long mandate to rule despite the strong opposition to their methods. With only four episodes left Star Wars: Andor has the potential to tee up an incredible action-packed and thought-provoking second season.