Warning: This article may contain spoilers from Andor Episode 8
On the heels of the release of its next animated anthology series Tales of the Jedi, Andor released a new episode this week titled “Narkina 5.” This marks the first time that Lucasfilm and Disney+ have released two different narrative-based Star Wars projects on the same day, opening the door to the pattern to continue later this year when both The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian Season 3 and/or Ahsoka drop on the streamer. Luckily, we’re here to confirm that both releases were fantastic. Let’s dive into the review.
“Narkina 5” picks up where Episode 7, “Announcement,” left off, with Cassian (Diego Luna) being sentenced and transfer to prison, from which the episode gets its name. The penitentiary is not unlike the Raft from the Marvel universe, a largely underwater detention center. Here, prisoners are sent to work on machine parts in groups of seven, largely unsupervised as the floors are made of Tungstoid steel, which when triggered, send debilitating, and sometimes deadly, vibrations through the body.
Cassian spends the entirety of the episode getting adjusted to his new life as an inmate and learning more about his new group, which includes Melshi (Duncan Pow), who reprises his role from Rogue One. His entire floor is under the supervision of fellow prisoner Kino Loy, who is played by Andy Serkis in a surprise cameo. Serkis returns to the Star Wars universe after previously playing Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy.
Meanwhile, the episode continues to pick up on threads of different characters we’ve met throughout the entire series including what’s occurring on Ferrix with Maarva (Fiona Shaw), Bix (Adria Arjona), and Brasso (Joplin Sibtain). The town continues to fall under siege as all of our characters are continuing to verge, with now Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu) now on the planet looking for leads to Cassian, with both parties trying to contact Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård), who has gone off to try and rally the rebel cells, including Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) who wants no help or part of a larger unit.
On Coruscant, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) continues to try and play coy politics with fellow partygoers at her home. Discussions get hot regarding Emperor Palpatine and the ramifications of P.O.R.D., the “Public Order Resentencing Directive.” This new law is a direct result of Cassian’s work on Aldanhi, the reason why he has received such a long sentence, and why his fellow inmates’ sentences have been doubled or tripled.
In the not too distant ISB facility, Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) finally come face-to-face, as the former requests the latter’s presence to clarify elements of the report on the Ferrix attack. While Syril appears to be little-to-no help, his persistance and drive impress Dedra, and I have no doubt he will be stationed with her on Ferrix by the time the finale comes around.
Andor continues to do what it does best, be great. While we continue to rave about the series week in and week out, it’s really hard to find fault in series that has such a clear directive and goal, and executes it perfectly. Overall, it was a great week for Star Wars fans and I cannot wait to see what comes from this prison arc, including the inevitable prison break!
What did you think of Episode 8 of Andor? What’re you most anticipating? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media pages.
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