Posted in: Disney+, Kaitlyn Booth, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: andor, lucasfilm, Review, star wars, tv

Andor Season 1 Ep. 8 Explores Anti-Prison & ACAB In Star Wars: Review

Props to the people at Andor who have managed to sneak in what might be one of the most anti-cop and anti-prison series to come in a franchise like Star Wars in a very long time. It's good that someone is finally exploring the sort of banality but cruelty that comes from fascism and that characters like Dedra or Syril might be right. They are right under rules that are taking away people's rights, stripping entire cultures of their customs, and essentially jailing anyone who even looks at a cop trooper funny. This show is not subtle, and the prison where the prisoners can't even wear shoes because the floor under their feet is weaponized is not at all subtle.

Andor Has So Much To Say About The Justice And Prison Systems

Cassian has continued his no-good-day in Andor by getting shipped off to a prison that looks like The Raft from the Marvel Universe. We are slowly introduced to what the next six years of his life could look like if he doesn't figure out a way to get out, and we watch that slowly sink in throughout a wordless episode. Cassian doesn't say a lot, but Diego Luna speaks volumes with his facial expressions as we see him look around this prison and see how everyone is acting.

We meet characters like Kino Loy (Andy Serkis), a prisoner who has managed to get just a little power over everyone else and isn't using that little power to help his fellow prisoners. He is too busy counting down his days, and it's clear that no one with any power is looking out for anyone. If Cassian finds any allies, it will be among his fellow prisoners, and we know he will have one as Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow) from Rogue One makes an appearance. We know that Melshi becomes a close ally to Cassian as he is one of the Rebels that will eventually head to Scarif and lose his life in the run on the Death Star plans.

We also see that people are communicating in this hellscape through hand gestures, so perhaps there is some sort of riot on the way. We don't see the guards abusing prisoners aside from the floor being used against them when Cassian and his group first arrive, but we do know that punishment is something that happens. If your table performs poorly, you are punished for it, which breeds resentment toward the guards and resentment toward fellow prisoners. It's a breeding ground for the worst things to happen, and it's clear that the Empire isn't in the rehabilitation business. Even Melshi tells Cassian that he shouldn't bother counting down the days because they aren't going to let him go.

These men are also cut off from the world, and we learn that it wasn't just people like Cassian getting arrested that are getting harsher sentences. The people already imprisoned are getting time added to their sentences as well. There is absolutely no sense of justice in this prison, and Andor makes it clear that complacency isn't going to save you. Cassian finds himself complacent and sees a prisoner end his own life instead of continuing on.

ACAB In The Galactic Empire [That Includes You Too, Syril]

Over on the Empire side of things, we are once again seeing various storylines in Andor starting to come together. When it comes to Syril, we find out that he has basically made Cassian his nemesis, which is extra funny because Cassian does not even know Syril exists. The man could not be a bigger dweeb if he tried, but that's also one of the things that makes him one of the most subtly dangerous characters in the show. He is fiercely loyal; he believes he is right and wants to return and do his job again. The man has taken the Galactic Empire Red Pill and embraced it completely. Nothing is more dangerous than someone believing that they are doing the right thing no matter what. We find out from Dedra that he has been making false inquiries trying to find Cassian with his new job, and he practically begs Dedra to take him back. She can see he's a giant dweeb, though, and doesn't.

Dedra is down on Ferrix and causing there as well. Bix trying to reach out to Luthen to find out information about Cassian might be the thing that blows his cover in the end. We see the people of Ferrix using the hitting objects in a certain pattern to send messages again, which Syril thinks is a clue to something bigger. The truth is, the people of Ferrix are looking out for each other, not a massive group of Rebels looking to overthrow the Empire. It's something that they have done to protect each other in a dangerous world, and it's going to backfire on them. The Empire is not above beating people and what appears to be torturing them for information.

There is nothing good about how Dedra and the people around her are pursuing justice. It's probably the closest she has come to being what we think of a true villain, but what she is doing is advanced interrogation. Andor is a show that very much mirrors our own, and its commentary on policing through the ISB storyline could not be less subtle. The show kicked off with them shooting an unarmed civilian; now we've moved on to unnecessarily long prison sentences and the Star Wars equivalent of the cops overstepping.

Failing To Bring People Together Even For The Greater Good

We all know that fighting the Empire is for the greater good, but we see Luthen still trying to cause the Empire to lash out to make more people stand up to fight. He has turned to Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) to try and bring him into the fight, but it seems that not much will change between Andor's events and Rogue One's events. Saw has his way of doing things and his version of the war that he is fighting, and he won't be swayed either way. It was interesting to see Luthen call himself a coward; most of the moves he has made so far have been passive, and with things happening on Ferrix and Bix possibly exposing him, it might be time for Luthen to stop hiding. That might come at a great personal cost, though.

Mon's story is another one where it is becoming clearer and more apparent to her that she will have to reveal her hand soon, and with that, there will be some serious consequences. We find out in this episode that she has been with her husband since they were teenagers, and they got married extremely young due to the customs on Chandrila. However, it's unclear whether this was even a love match, to begin with, and Mon doesn't trust him. By extension, she also can't be truthful with her daughter, and she is losing that connection as well. Mon is also moving toward becoming more and more exposed as the season goes on.

Mon and Luthen's stories remain fascinating because they really show the danger of hiding in plain sight. No one has raised a finger against either of them, but there isn't a moment they are both on Coruscant that we aren't aware of how much danger they are in. Andor is doing an excellent job of balancing that tension and danger. Things are getting tenser in multiple locations as more and more players in the game come together. As usual, Cassian's story seems to be only tangentially related to everyone else. While they are all talking about him a lot, and he is the focus of much of the story points of other characters, what he is actually doing right now isn't really impacting any of the other arcs. If they do decide to go the prison riot route, that will be something Dedra and Syril will have their eyes on, and fleeing to Ferrix would make sense for the final episodes. The layers to this show remain excellent, and it's going to be fascinating to see how they decide to end this season leading into a season two that will be much more sped up in terms of timeline.

Andor Season 1 Episode 8

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Review by Kaitlyn Booth

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9/10

Time to explore ACAB and anti-prison sentiments in the Star Wars universe in the eighth episode of Disney+ & Lucasfilm's Andor. Syril is still a corporate dweeb.

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