In episode 11 of Andor, Cassian and Melshi finally escape Narkina 5. Luthen is nearly captured by the Empire. The hole Mon Mothma is in grows a little deeper, and one character’s death sets the stage for the season finale.
Escape from Narkina 5
Escaping the Empire-run island prison was one thing. Now, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Melshi (Duncan Pow) have to find a way off Narkina 5. The episode starts with the duo clinging to the side of a cliff to evade an Imperial aircraft. They’re covered in dirt, and their hands and feet are in bad shape from climbing and walking around barefoot. Once they climb to the top, they notice two Narkinians and decide to steal their ship. As they make a run for it, Narkinians Dewi Pamular (Matt Lydons) and his brother Freedi (Liam Cook) catch them in a set of restrictive nets. The aliens plan to turn them for a bounty until they mention how their water has been polluted by the prison, killing their food source. Not only do they let Cassian and Melshi go, they even give them a ride to Niamos — the beautiful beach world Cassian fled to when he was arrested. Upon their arrival, Cassian breaks into the hotel room he was staying in to retrieve his case filled with credits, his blaster, and Nemik’s manifesto.
A Tragic Loss
Back on Ferrix, we learn that Cassian’s adoptive mother Maarva passed away (off-screen) from her mystery illness. Family android B2EMO (Dave Chapman) takes her death especially hard. “I don’t want to be alone. I want Maarva,” Bee says. Family friend Brasso (Joplin Sibtain) offers to let Bee stay at his place, but agrees to spend the night in Maarva’s house with B2EMO who refuses to leave.
News of Maarva’s death spreads throughout and beyond the town. Rebel Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu) and undercover ISB agent Corv (Noof Ousellam) watch as her body is removed from her home. Corv informs Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) of this new development, and we learn about the Ferrix tradition of “bricking”. It’s when someone’s ashes are mixed with local stone dust and mortar to create a brick. Then it’s inserted into a wall, which means the buildings are made from the ashes of dead people? Corv mentions the Daughters of Ferrix will request a permit to close Rix Road for Maarva’s funeral, since she was a prominent resident. Dedra wants the officers to approve the permit, with the hope of Cassian returning to Ferrix for the funeral.
Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) tells fellow Rebel Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) about Maarva’s death, so she can inform Luthen in a tense standoff.
Sergeant Linus Mosk (Alex Ferns) tells his ex-colleague Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and his mother Eedy (Kathryn Hunter) about Maarva’s funeral. Unfortunately for Syril, the reception is horrible, and the call ends before Mosk could tell him when the funeral is. Later on, when Syril’s mother steps out, he breaks into his mother’s safe and steals some credits. Looks like Syril is planning a return trip to Ferrix.
Cassian is the last to learn about his mother’s death. He risks a call to Xan to pass a message to Maarva — that he’s okay, he’s thinking about her, and he’ll be back soon — only to have Xan tell him she’s dead.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Vel stops by her cousin Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) apartment before she heads back to Ferrix. They watch as Mon’s 13-year-old daughter Leida (Bronte Carmichael) learns about the old-fashioned traditions of their home world, Chandrila. Judging from the side eye Leida keeps giving to her mother, it implies her traditionalism is an act of rebellion. It’s also very random considering she’s never shown this side up until now. “It’s the only thing she shows up on time for. It’s mad,” Mon says.
In a separate room, Mon finally reveals to Vel the financial trouble she’s in. Last year, she was able to pull money from her family trust in Chandrila with no problem. A few months ago, a banker warned Mon that Imperial inspectors would conduct an audit on Chandrilan bank accounts. While she was able to pull the money into her main account, she still has one ledger that’s off-balance. Now thanks to the Aldhani, everything is frozen and Mon is missing 400,000 credits. She doesn’t mention Davo Sculdun and his offer to arrange a marriage between Leida and his 14-year-old son, but it doesn’t look like she has much of a choice.
Catch Me If You Can
Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) pays another visit to Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). He decided he will participate in the upcoming raid on Spellhaus. When Luthen says the Imperial Security Bureau is aware of the raid, Saw becomes suspicious and enraged. He realizes Luthen never told Anton Kreegyr. It’s clear Luthen is warning Saw to protect himself — if Kreegyr goes down, he can’t expose Luthen’s identity to the ISB.
Saw is feared amongst the other Rebels. He doesn’t like Kreegyr, and he’s shaken by Luthen’s willingness to sacrifice Kreegyr and his men. Even Luthen is questioning his decision, but if they warn Kreegyr, and he pulls out of the raid, they’ll risk losing a source in the ISB that’s taken years to cultivate. The tension in their conversation reaches a boiling point when Luthen points his blaster at Saw. Eventually, both men agree that sacrificing Kreegyr and his men is the best call to make for the Rebellion.
Speaking of Kreegyr we finally get a glimpse of what he looks like.
ISB agents project a holographic image of him to Bix (Adria Arjona), who’s still in Imperial custody. They ask if Kreegyr is the man she introduced to Cassian. She doesn’t answer — still traumatized from her interrogation with Dedra, she breaks down and cries.
Meanwhile, Luthen’s ship is stopped by an Imperial Arrestor Cruiser as he’s leaving Saw’s base in Serga Milo. He gives them a fake Alderaan ID. Instead of letting him go, the Imperials activate their tractor beam while they prepare to board his ship. Luthen’s Fondor isn’t strong enough to resist the pull of the tractor beam. He manages to shoot the beacon and destroy it.
TIE fighters are sent after Luthen, but his ship’s countermeasures allow him to gain the upper hand and blow some of them up. Using some sweet spinning maneuvers and a pair of supercharged laser beams, he takes down the last TIE fighters before launching into hyperspace.
Goodbye for Now
Cassian rejoins Melshi on the beach after making his call to Xan.
“It’s okay?” Melshi asks him.
“Yeah — everything okay,” Cassian says, masking his pain.
Watching the waves, Melshi wonders if the other prisoners made it out of that prison alive. What if him and Cassian are the only ones who survived? He suggests they split up to double their chances of warning people of what’s really going on inside the Empire-run prisons.
The season 1 finale of Andor will premiere on Disney+ on Wednesday, November 23. In the meantime, episodes 1 through 10 are available to stream.
