In episode 4 of Andor, Luthen continues his efforts to recruit Cassian to his cause, which is experiencing a few complications. Syril faces the consequences of his decision to go after Cassian.
Luthen Makes Cassian an Offer
Now that they’ve escaped Ferrix, Luthen gives Cassian (Diego Luna) two options:
- Join the rebels and help him with something important.
- Have Luthen drop him off somewhere, so he can hide from authorities.
Cassian begins to realize Luthen is part of the rebellion, but he isn’t sold on the cause after all he’s seen and experienced over the years. To him, it’s better to live whatever life you can under the regime.
Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) isn’t having it and admits he didn’t come to Ferrix to buy the unit — he came for Cassian. The high risk mission will take five days. If Cassian delivers and survives, Luthen will pay him 200,000 credits. So what is this big, critical mission? Stealing the quarterly payroll for an entire Imperial sector.
New Imperial Order
On Coruscant, the capital of the galaxy, we’re introduced to the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB). On the surface, ISB appears to be an intelligence and law enforcement agency, but its true purpose is much more sinister. “Security is an illusion.” says Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser). “We are health care providers. We treat sickness. We identify symptoms. We locate germs whether they arise from within or have come from outside. The longer we wait to identify a disorder, the harder it is to treat the disease.” In other words, their goal is to keep citizens under Palpatine’s control and annihilate the rebels.
Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin (Ben Bailey Smith) berates Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) for his disastrous raid on Ferrix. He fired Syril and Chief Inspector Hyne (Rupert Vansittart), even though he had nothing to do with the fiasco. As a direct result of Syril’s actions, the Morlana system is under permanent Imperial authority — a move Hyne was hoping to avoid. Thanks a lot, Syril! Having lost everything, Syril packs his bags and goes back home, where his mother slaps, then hugs him.
The ISB found the stolen Starpath unit Cassian was trying to sell. The unit was from Steerguard, which is Supervisor Dedra Meero’s (Denise Gough), jurisdiction. Convinced the stolen unit is linked to the growing rebellion, she wants all the reports related to the Ferrix incident. Blevin, however, refuses to give her the reports because Ferrix is his sector. The two bring the matter before their supervisor, Major Partagaz. He doesn’t believe there’s enough evidence to support Dedra’s suspicions and denies her request.
Joining the Rebels
Having agreed to join the mission, Luthen drops Cassian off on the planet of Aldhani. Cassian decides to go by the alias Clem, after his late adoptive father, who was hung by the Imperials. As a down payment, Luthen gives him a Kuati Signet. The necklace is a kyber crystal, which Luthen says “celebrates the uprising against the Rakatan invaders”. The leader of the heist Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) is hostile towards adding “Clem” three days before the heist. Luthen makes it clear Vel has no choice but to accept Cassian/Clem, unless she wants to call off the mission. Failure is not an option.
Vel introduces Cassian to her small group of rebels, with Imperial Lieutenant Gorn (Sule Rimi) working as their contact. The plan: sneak into the massive, heavily guarded Aldhani garrison, break into a vault, so they can grab the payroll, and escape in a freighter. Cassian begins to doubt whether this team of seven (including himself) can pull it off, but the rebels are confident. They’ve planned this heist around a celestial event that occurs once every three years as a cover for their escape. Everything should go according to plan…assuming Cassian can catch up in time.
Dangerous Games
Luthen travels to Coruscant, disguised as an owner of an antique shop. Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) pays him a visit in his shop, under the guise of looking for a birthday gift for her husband. Luthen doesn’t trust her new driver, so he takes the Senator to the back of the store where they can be alone. Mon has been funneling money to the Rebel Alliance, but there are too many spies now. She has a new driver, everybody at the bank is new — it’s clear the Empire is onto her. She wants to bring somebody new to their tight inner circle to help. Luthen isn’t thrilled with the idea, but what else can she do? “It’s a daring choice, but I trust you’ll have the courage to turn back if it should be a bit much,” he says as he slips back into character.
Episode 5 of Andor will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, October 5th.
