As season 2 of Andor shows how the rebellion has been affecting everybody involved, the series has been shifting its focus to the planet Ghorman. For episodes 4–6, the Ghormans form a resistance to Empire’s presence on their planet, unaware they’re being manipulated by the ISB.
Things Are Not Looking Good for Ghorman
The Empire continues its extraction of calcite on Ghorman, all while keeping it a secret from the population. Only a select number of Imperial Security Bureau officers like Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser) and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) know why the Empire is fixated on Ghorman as they’re leading operation.
The Ministry of Enlightenment has launched a smear campaign demonizing the Ghormans to rest of the galaxy, despite their reputation as a peaceful planet that’s famous for their twill. Meanwhile, Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) tries to pass a bill to repeal the Public Order Resentencing Directive (PORD), using Ghorman’s plight to garner support. But too many senators are terrified of retaliation from Empire to offer their support, leading to the bill’s failure.
Introducing the Ghorman Front
Rumors begin to spread amongst the Ghomans that the Empire is building an armory on their planet. It isn’t long until people form a resistance movement called the Ghorman Front led by Governor Carro Rylanz and his daughter Enza.
When ISB mole Lonnie Jung (Robert Emms) alerts Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) to the ISB’s operation on Ghorman, he sends Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to the planet to speak with Rylanz and assess the local resistance. Disguised as a Coruscanti fashion designer named Varian Skye, Rylanz tells Cassian about the Front’s plan to steal weapons from an Imperial shipment then use it to expose the Empire’s actions to everyone.
However, Cassian feels the Ghorman Front are too inexperienced, too impulsive for a heist on this scale and wants nothing to do with the nascent rebel cell. He also points out to Enza that the Front is vulnerable to infiltration from the Imperials, which is proven by the spy the Front has recruited for their cause…
Syril Karn, Imperial Spy
Yes, out of all the people the Front could have chosen to be their mole, they decide to set their sights on Syril (Kyle Soller) and invites him to a community meeting. Unfortunately for them, Syril is working for the ISB to gather intelligence for his girlfriend Dedra. The ISB wants the Ghormans to fight back which they’ll use to justify their presence and as ammo for their propaganda.
He pretends to be a regular Bureau of Standards officer who was transferred to Ghorman for a promotion. He feigns sympathy for the Ghormans and fakes his disgust with the Empire’s treatment of them. The Front falls for Syril’s act, oblivious to the fact that they’ve jeopardized their rebellion.
A Mission Gone Awry
Determined to help the Ghorman Front push back against the Empire, Luthen ignores Cassian’s warnings and sends Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) to meet help with the heist. Vel’s estranged girlfriend Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu) meets with her at a cafe, where she reveals she was injured the previous year, which Luthen kept secret from Vel. The incident seems to have softened Cinta’s hard edges, which allows her and Vel to rekindle their relationship.
As Vel and Cinta helps the Front prepare for the heist, they make it painfully clear that the rebels have to follow all of their orders. They specifically ban members of the Front from bringing a blaster with them. One member of the Front, Samm is especially pissed at this order and decides to bring one with him anyway.
Vel, Cinta and the Front successfully steal the the shipment of weapons and make their escape. One of the Ghormans from the community meeting, Lezine arrives looking for trouble. Instead of calmly talking Lezine down and explain what’s going on, Samm whips out his blaster and threatens him. The two men get into a fight which causes Samm’s blaster to go off. The stray blast kills Cinta, leaving Vel devastated.
As the rebels escape, Vel confronts a crying Samm with a blistering speech:
“Are you crying? Are you? Look at me. Look. At. Me! There’s no place to hide, look at me! I’m not going to say “remember this” because I don’t have to. This is on you, now. This is like skin. You’re taking her with you wherever you go for the rest of your useless life. Don’t you look away from me!”
“I’m sorry!” Samm cries. “I’m so sorry-,”
“She was a warrior,” Vel continues without skipping a beat. “She was everything that you have daydreamed about. She was a blooded, fearless warrior, whose loss will be mourned in ways that you will never understand. She was a miracle. And you? To die like this, because of you? Some whining, simpering, foolish child! Don’t you dare cry. You’ll make up for this forever.”
To make matters worse, Syril has been watching the heist unfold and shares every detail with Dedra and Major Partagaz. Since the next trio of episodes will be set in the year 2 BBY, it’ll be interesting to see how the events from this week will influence the show moving forward.
New episodes of Andor air every Tuesday on Disney+.
