Andor continued this week with Announcement, which unlike the previous six episodes will not be a part of a three-part story. Even with this change to Andor’s narrative delivery structure, episode seven proved to be another worthy example of what Star Wars can look and feel like when a focus is put on dialogue to build worlds and characters, versus action and general exposition.
Head on down below to check out the full review, and make sure to also check out our Easter egg breakdown for Andor Season 1 Episode 7.
Script
Tony Gilroy Teased that Andor episode 7 would be very interesting and not part of a 3-episode story arc like the previous 6 episodes, and you know what, he wasn’t wrong, which shouldn’t surprise anyone that knows anything about Lord Gilroy.
Announcement was another masterclass in how to craft both world and character building through dialogue and tension versus action and exposition. From start to finish, every scene featured excellent writing that not only further fleshed out the main cast, but also the politics of the galaxy itself.
The episode offered stark contrasts to how the factions of the galaxy are dealing with the fallout from the Aldhani mission with the Empire going over the top with its response, while the free thinkers of space have a renewed sense of fight in them. One that will clearly carry into the formation of the Rebel Alliance, and the ultimate downfall of the Imperial oppressors.
Then you have Cassian who is caught in the middle of it all. You have to love that while he is directly responsible for a sense of hope in the galaxy, he still is unwilling to accept his fate as a rebel hero. This dynamic adds a very interesting, and at times frustrating aspect to this character. You know who he becomes, but he keeps refusing to accept his fate even though he’s already a hero in the eyes of rebels across the galaxy. It’s hard not to yell at your screen as he leaves Maarva, someone clearly moved by his actions on Aldhani, because you know it’s his destiny and would make her happy, but Cassian just isn’t ready to accept his destiny.
This is why this show, and episodes like this are so damn good. We as the audience know the ultimate outcome, but thanks to the focus on dialogue, character, and world building, it’s impossible to not experience feelings of tension, dread, happiness, and wonder. The team has really done a great job at giving us some meaty Star Wars plots to chew on, and things will only get beefier from here.
And now for the top moments.
This episode’s top moments all have a theme in that they featured meetings that yielded very important, if not enlightening conversations, and we will start with Yularen’s opening brief to the ISB.
Once again Tony’s team has given us some of the best pompous and overly aggressive Imperial leadership dialogue in all of Star Wars. Scenes like this are masterful in selling how awful and oppressive the Imperials are, while also providing some great fan service with Yularen himself, and his palatine drops.
As Meero reminds us after this meeting, it is also another great example of the Empire’s inability to grasp the rebel movement that ultimately succeeds in taking them down. For some reason Meero, and no one else, is able to see the true rebel plot, which helps to highlight how far up their own ass the Empire was at this point in time, which is why it was ultimately defeated by a rag tag crew of freedom fighters.
The next meeting of note was the Luthen and Mon meetup, which firmly established Luthen as the head of the Rebellion at this point in time, at least when Kleya allows him to be, but more on that later. I just love when these two speak and how authoritative Luthen is towards the future leader of the Rebellion. It’s another great contrast of those who choose to rebel. Luthen is seeming more in line with Saw’s partisans and is willing to get pretty dark for the cause, while Mon is more for political maneuvering and less casualties. Now it seems like Luthen’s vision is the way forward, but we all know that Mon will be the one to guide the full Rebel Alliance, so it will be interesting to see how they resolve their differences.
Kleya meeting with Vel might have seen like a mostly throw away conversation besides learning that they intend to kill Cassian because he knows about Luthen, but if you paid close attention to the lead up, and the way Kleya handles her business, I think it offered deeper insights into the rebellion as a whole, and what other factions they may be in league with.
If you noticed the circle symbol and Kleya’s red hoodie, like me you may have gotten some Crimson Dawn vibes, which if you’ve been reading the current Star Wars comics, isn’t as far as a stretch as you may think. It has been confirmed in canon that Crimson Dawn had spies in the rebel alliance, and that the faction was responsible for informing the Rebels about the construction of Death Star 2, so there’s some meat to CD potentially being involved with the formation of the Rebellion this early on.
Plus, Kleya seems like a boss, someone who may even be Luthen’s equal, or actual boss. She just seems to know a lot, and also seems to be involved in the deeper workings of the rebellion network. She’s even more callous than Luthen, so yeah, I get crime syndicate vibes, but that’s just one theory.
The symbol we saw was a circle after all, which could simply just be a reference to the organization Luthen and Mon talked about in Episode 4 when she wanted to add someone to the Circle. But one could also argue that the Circle itself is connected to the underworld in some capacity, so CD could still be tangentially involved. Your thoughts?
The Tay Kolman meeting was another top moment in Announcement, mostly because it showed Mon taking charge and getting a little more into the weeds of planning a full scale rebellion. The way she maneuvered their conversation and made it seem like they were just reminiscing was brilliant, and the dance of words they exchanged showed why she too is a key figure to the rebellion. Her risk should reap some new monetary rewards to keep the now hope fueled rebellion moving forward at a quicker pace, so it was interesting to see her expand her spy craft beyond Luthen Rael. There are no more rules after all.
The heavy hitter of this episode is definitely Cassian and Maarva’s goodbye. My goodness, who else teared up a bit hearing her plead her case to her stepson? It was both beautiful and tragic, but more importantly it showed the type of person Maarva truly is. She’s a freedom fighter through and through, and so desperately wants Cassian to realize he is of the same breed, but he is still reluctant to accept his fate. I think the most intriguing aspect of this conversation is the fact that she won’t leave with him because she’s now more empowered than ever to rebel due to his actions on Aldhani, yet he can’t see that right in front of his face. He’s still more concerned with himself than true freedom, which made it a sad scene to watch. I do think he is this way because of what he saw happen to his Dad Clem, who also didn’t want to rebel and paid dearly for it, but he’s going to have to get over it and I hope Maarva is the one to finally push him over the edge.
Finally, you have to appreciate our girl Meero getting a win with Patagaz and upstaging Blevins in the process. Since the beginning she’s been the only one to figure out what is truly happening around the galaxy, and now that she made a power move things are going to get harder for Cassian and the rebels, because the Empire finally has someone able to think like them, and not like a stuffed, happy, ignorant, pig.
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Nick and I will talk more about Announcement on next week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
