After weeks of buildup, the Aldhani heist is finally here. In “The Eye,” Andor delivers its most thrilling episode yet as the rebels break into Alkenzi Air Base — but not everyone makes it out alive.
The Calm Before the Storm
It’s the night before the heist and Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther) can’t shake his nerves. A sleepless night has him scribbling in his manifesto about how even mercenaries can change the course of history. It’s clear Cassian/Clem (Diego Luna) has made an impression. Cassian reassures him that everything will be fine and he can rest after the job’s done.
It also happens to be the day of the Eye of Aldhani, a rare meteor shower the Dhanis celebrate every three years. Imperial Commandant Jayhold Beehaz (Stanley Townsend) has other plans. He sees the Dhanis as naïve and ripe for manipulation, using their traditions as a distraction while the Empire expands its grip. Beehaz is eager for a promotion—and a transfer that’ll get his family far away from Aldhani.
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Disguised as Imperial soldiers, Cassian, Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Taramyn (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.), Nemik, and double agent Lieutenant Gorn (Sule Rimi) infiltrate the Alkenzi Air Base, nestled near an Imperial dam.
Meanwhile, Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu) travel underwater, setting up a comms device to jam Imperial signals. But Vel hesitates to start the mission — and nearly jeopardizes everything. The rebels need to fly out during the meteor shower, their only shot at escaping Aldhani undetected.
They capture Commandant Beehaz, his family, and a visiting engineer. Wanting to protect Beehaz’s son, the engineer pulls a blaster on Nemik but Cinta takes him out. Beehaz tries to stall, claiming he doesn’t have vault access. Vel isn’t buying it. “One path. One choice. We win, or everyone dies.” Reluctantly, Beehaz orders his men to cooperate, and the vault is opened.
Meanwhile, a comms officer hears the rebels over the jammed airwaves and launches a counterattack. TIE fighters at Alkenzi Air Command begin preparing for takeoff. As the rebels scramble to load the payroll, chaos erupts. The vault’s security goes on high alert, and a firefight breaks out. Beehaz suffers a medical emergency and collapses. In the chaos, Lieutenant Gorn and Taramyn are killed. Cassian is nearly strangled trying to launch the freighter until Nemik saves him.
But then tragedy strikes: one of the heavy credit pallets slams into Nemik as the freighter takes off, pinning him to the back of the ship. Despite his injuries, Nemik guides Cassian through the Eye of Aldhani, helping the freighter narrowly dodge the pursuing TIE fighters, which are destroyed in the chase.
Meanwhile, the Dhanis remain blissfully unaware, admiring the meteor shower. Cinta stays behind, slipping back into the crowd in full Imperial disguise, hoping to find her own way out.
A Shocking Betrayal
Cassian, Vel, Skeen, and a critically wounded Nemik escape Aldhani. Despite Vel’s protests, Skeen and Cassian decide to take Nemik to a doctor. As the doctor operates on Nemik, Skeen and Cassian wait outside. Skeen suggests that he and Cassian take the credits, splitting them 50/50, and go their separate ways. This is why he recommended taking Nemik to a doctor — so he could get his hands on the credits. As it turns out, Skeen’s backstory was a lie.
“So, no rebellion for you?” Cassian asks him.
“Oh, I’m a rebel,” Skeen says. “It’s just, uh… me against everybody else.”
This also explains why Skeen was so hostile towards Cassian — he was a loose end, a wrench thrown into Skeen’s plans. Cassian kills him without hesitation.
Cassian enters the hut where the doctor was working on Nemik, who died on the operating table. Blaster in hand, Cassian tells Vel he wants out. He doesn’t want anything to do with the rebellion now that he’s witnessed corruption. Cassian tells Vel about Skeen, but she doesn’t want to believe he’d betray her. Disgusted, Cassian says he’s taking the amount promised to him and gives Vel the sky kyber necklace Luthen gave him as collateral. Before he leaves, Vel hands him Nemik’s manifesto. “He insisted.”
News Travels Fast
News of the Aldhani heist spreads across Coruscant. Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser) locks down the Imperial Security Bureau to hold emergency meetings. No one is allowed to leave and retaliation plans must be ready before midnight. Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) addresses the Senate about protecting the Ghormans, but the news of the heist distracts the few politicians that are present.
As for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), he learns about the heist from a customer at his antique shop. He goes into the back room so he can laugh with relief.
You can stream the first season of Andor in its entirety on Disney+. The second season premieres on April 22, 2025.
Changelog
- April 19, 2025: Rewrote sections and updated the subheadings to improve flow. Also added links to stream the entire first season on Disney+.
- April 13, 2024: Updated formatting for better clarity, added subheadings, and included a short summary of the article.
- October 17, 2022: Original article published along with a link to stream the episode on Disney+.
