Andor Episode 9 Review: The Star Wars Series Prepares For The Grand Finale

Stars: Diego Luna, Alex Ferns, Genevieve O’Reilly

Director: Toby Haynes

Streaming Platform: Disney+

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Star Wars: Andor represents, in some ways, a unicum in the serial panorama of Star Wars: at present, it is one of the most ambitious products in terms of design, with the merit of developing a story without the aid of easy connections to the canon of reference or the abuse of fanservice, as instead have tried to do other series but missing the target. The work manages to be an excellent bridge with the brilliant film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but at the same time maintains a solid and rigorous identity. A product, therefore, genuinely original that demonstrates how much writing is fundamental in the world of entertainment, especially in the titles of the small screen that must keep the public’s attention high for the duration of entire seasons.

And it is precisely the management of worldbuilding and the development of the long-term history of the key elements of episode 9 of Andor, after an eighth episode which, despite having excellent ideas, with some storylines was running a bit ‘in vain (to this extent, By the way, we recommend the Andor Episode 8 review). There are only three weeks left until the final closure of the first season and it seems that one step at a time, the foundations are being laid for the finale, this time going straight to the point with all the narrative lines present, without looking back, but building a refined and brilliant overall picture.

Andor Episode 9 Review: The Story Plot

The ninth episode of Andor resumes from the finale of the last episode when we remained at the beginning of the interrogation of Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) in the hands of Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), an imperial officer who is precisely reconstructing the entire infrastructure behind the Galactic Rebellion. The woman manages to achieve her goal, with a cruel and destructive system. Meanwhile, the protagonist continues his work in the prison camp of Narkina 5 where, however, apparently, a new window of escape opens up. Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) is also finding several obstacles in her funding plan and she meets an unexpected character as the Empire is planning more and more a subtle tactic, but effective in flushing out every single rebel.

This time around, except for the absence of Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) who for the most part is still shrouded in mystery, all the storylines are progressing, not all at the same speed, actually, but they seem to be heading towards a common goal. Surely, the most surprising elements that are noticed in every single subplot are the narrative details that are placed as a means of deepening the background and future development of Andor. Knowing the torture practices of the Imperials is necessary and helps to characterize more and more of the ruthless and strategically fearsome antagonists, while delving deeply into the psychology of Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) tells us a lot about the rigidity and bureaucratic setting of the Empire.

Never before in this episode, the attention is turned to the bad guys and their point of view, while, in parallel, we prepare for an imminent escape of Cassian with a masterful management of tension. The only drawback seems to be once again the storyline of the senator, who, if it is true that this time it does not get stuck, continues, among other things, revealing a fundamental point of the story, but does not yet express its maximum potential.

Andor Episode 9 Review and Analysis

Andor, however, with the ninth episode, does not rely only on single details, effectively creating a small universe in continuous expansion, but also repeatedly expresses narrative solidity. In fact, in a similar product, it is essential to keep the various subplots standing not only and only to close them independently, but also to give them a choral meaning, directing them towards a univocal and common solution.

And we realize, even if minimally and implicitly, that the show is already looking after the first season, with the storylines that are gradually intersecting more and more, sowing points that will surely have considerable weight in the following episodes. To accelerate this process of uniformity and coherence, a direction always careful to frame on the one hand the interiority and psychology of the characters, on the other hand, continuing to work on the importance of the settings which, as underlined last week, have a value important in creating the plot.

Brilliant management of the setting, in fact, subtly hides the ability to work on a broader level, however, highlighting the individual elements that make up that particular place, a vitally important ability for the realization of the finale. When all the nodes come to a head, it will be necessary to move on two levels, one that will take into account the details and the individual components of this plot, the other that, on the other hand, more broadly, will involve the entire structure. narrative to keep the ranks of the whole series. With this episode, Andor once again demonstrates the many qualities that have distinguished this work, going further this time to prepare for the final resolution of the first season.

We’ve been complaining about Mon Mothma’s plot for a couple of weeks now and finally, there’s an interesting twist to it. Vel Sartha is revealed to be the Chandrila senator’s cousin. Not that the revelation adds much, beyond the usual relationship that Mon Mothma, Vel and Luthen Rael share. We will see how Vel plays that double life beyond the Chandrilana embassy on Coruscant. Dedra Meero takes her ruthless side out for a walk again during Bix Caleen’s interrogation, and she seems to be getting results, though much of it takes place off-camera.

As we anticipated last week, Syril Karn continues with his obsession with style, and as a gift, he has become a stalker, although he has not chosen his target particularly well… has he? Oh, if that shot of the interrogation, with the door closing, and the guard walking down the hall, didn’t transport you to the Death Star in the original film. We end up in Narkina 5, where things seem to be getting complicated, though through no fault of Andor. The sectors of the factory prison that have given some problems seem to be being “purged”, and we have those flashes of The Island again, with the hope of getting out, only to end very badly.

Andor ends its ninth episode with the prospect that an escape is brewing, with the characters of Andy Serkis and Diego Luna convinced that staying there will not end well for them. Let’s not forget what we discussed the other day: Kino Loy (Serkis) smells like pine, especially now that he has allied himself with Cassian. For an alleged block closure, this episode of Andor is a bit weak. It has great moments and some very interesting revelations, but the complete absence of action weighs it down somewhat.

Andor Episode 9 Review: The Last Words

After a transition episode, Andor Episode 9 proceeds quickly, helping to settle the effective narrative structure of the series in a small and wide range. All the storylines this time proceed (even if the subplot of Mon Mothma still struggles to find its place) and turn to a common solution, in preparation, of course, for the season finale, which will arrive in 3 weeks. Realistically speaking, the attention is placed on the characters, especially their psychology, with a particular focus on the settings, and control of the camera that demonstrates a skill not to be underestimated, that is the ability to manage the story uniformly, always watching but to the details of the background.