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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-8 of Andor.
After the completion of the series’ two first arcs, Andor is now gearing up to bring its third one to a close in the eighth episode, “Narkina 5.” Our hero-in-the-making, Cassian (Diego Luna) is brought to an Imperial forced labor facility to serve his six-year sentence for, well, looking suspicious. Meanwhile, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) continues to articulate the funding of the Rebellion on Coruscant, and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgårrd) travels to the planet Segra Milo to try and win over the Partisans of Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) to the larger movement. As the plot thickens, the show’s connections to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are starting to become clearer.
The first season of Andor is set five years before the events depicted in Rogue One, so it’s only natural that the galaxy be at a very different state compared to the one we saw at that movie. Cassian’s awareness of the state of things under the authoritarian regime of the Empire grows in parallel to the Rebellion itself. At that point in time, the movement is still divided, with many smaller cells doing their own thing, and many of the core players we came to know are only now becoming the important figures they will be in a few years’ time. In that sense, the series’ latest episode is the first to show us this bigger puzzle slowly coming together.
Axis and the Partisans
By now, Mon Mothma is already a well-known character for Star Wars fans. Since her introduction as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi, she has also appeared in many other projects, such as Star Wars Rebels, Revenge of the Sith and even Rogue One itself. While Andor is diving into her character and exploring her journey from insecure Senator to the iron-willed leader of the Rebellion, it has also shown us that, in fact, she wasn’t always the leader.
Before Mon Mothma, there was Luthen Rael. So far, we have seen his interactions with the Chandrillan Senator and the two lines of thought they represent in their opposition to the Empire. But “Narkina 5” introduces another layer to this duality, as the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) now identifies him — under codename Axis — as the focal point of all the recent thefts of Imperial military equipment and the attack to the Aldhani Imperial garrison. And Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) has found the loose end that can lead to him: Cassian.
Luthen’s efforts were also an important plot in the episode, as he is the one who’s indeed trying to unify the multiple rebel cells scattered around the galaxy. During his trip to Segra Milo, he meets with Saw Gerrera, who we know is an unstable link in the rebel chain, but, if swayed, can be a powerful ally. Both of these leaders are aligned in terms of what they are willing to do and sacrifice to bring the Empire down. But despite Luthen’s “ruthless rebellion” approach to the fight, he has trouble getting through to Saw, as the latter doesn’t see value in joining the unified movement if he’s fighting alongside people who don’t think like him. He shows respect for Luthen, but makes his point clear, stating that he’s “the only one who has clarity of purpose.”
From the trailers, we know this is not Luthen and Saw’s last interaction in the first season, and we know from Rebels and Rogue One that the latter’s relations with the Alliance are not good. But perhaps, for a brief moment, Luthen can make Saw take part in at least a few missions before heading to Jedha, where he will ultimately meet his end.
The People of the Rebellion
As interesting as it is talking about the ideals and leaders of the Rebellion, a political movement is only as good as the people who are part of it, and we meet someone who will be an integral part of it in “Narkina 5.” Although it’s Kino Loy (Andy Serkis), the order-barking boss of Unit 5-2-D, who is in our face most of the time during the scenes in the prison, it’s a quiet one who we need to pay attention to: Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow).
The name might not ring any bells, but we have seen him before. He’s the rebel soldier who leads the team that rescues Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) from the Imperial labor camp in Wobani during Rogue One‘s first act, as well as the leader of the rebel military unit that joins the Rogue One crew in the attack on the Imperial base in Scarif in the third act. There, his mission was to create diversions in the beaches and landing pads of the base, buying time for Cassian, Jyn and K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) to infiltrate the facilities and steal the Death Star plans. You might recall Cassian’s instructions, perhaps, as he tells Melshi to “make ten men feel like a hundred.”
In Andor, though, we meet Melshi in a much different context. As part of Table Five in Unit-5-2-D, he is introduced to “Keef Girgo,” the alias Cassian was using to protect his identity after the Aldhani mission. While most people try to be optimistic about their work there, Melshi is aware of what’s really going on outside, even being curious about the Public Order Resentencing Decree issued by the Empire. He tells Cassian – or “Keef” – to not care about his score as part of the team, as it doesn’t make a difference since the Empire wants to keep the inmates there for as long as they are useful.
There’s still no way of knowing how Melshi’s relationship with Cassian will develop, but he and Taga (Tom Reed) seem to be part of a network of rebellious inmates inside the Narkina 5 facility. The two of them are the ones to ask Cassian about the PORD, and Melshi is the only one to call Cassian by his “name” when he arrives at Table 5 — maybe trying to establish a comradery bond. Taga is also seen making gestures at inmates in other units, so it might be that the prison is, in fact, a time bomb waiting to blow up. And, if we know Cassian at all, he will likely be a key element in this explosion.
