REVIEW: Andor – Season 1, Episode 8, “Narkina 5”

Television Reviews

**Spoilers**

“Narkina 5” finds Cassian being shuttled off to prison. Dedra comes to the Bureau of Standards to meet with Syril and find out what happened on Ferrix. Dedra presents her findings to Partagaz, the other supervisors, and Colonel Yularen, head of the ISB. Syril presses Dedra for consideration in light of his service. Mon Mothma’s friend Taye returns with bad news. Luthen and Clea shut down the Ferrix comm line. Imperial troops come after Bix. Luthen seeks to recruit Saw Gerrera. Bix is detained and questioned by Dedra as one of Cassian’s fellow inmates takes his own life. 

A lot happens in “Narkina 5,” and we learn a lot about the characters. Dedra finally encounters Syril, as I expected, but their conversation proceeds differently than I thought. I feel Syril made a mistake in his approach; if I wanted a job, I’m not sure I’d lead with, “What happened with my previous position wasn’t fair, and I didn’t deserve it.” This is all true, and I think Syril would do well within the ISB, but it comes off as whiny. I can imagine how his mom would scold him for this display. However, Dedra is also short-sighted for not enlisting him. He’s right about Andor, and she knows it; that’s why she came down to the BoS to see him. She seems to think herself too good to accept help from someone like Syril, but she already is. I doubt this is the last these two have seen of one another, and I’ll be shocked if Syril doesn’t work directly for the ISB in the end. 

“Narkina 5” may be the darkest episode yet, and that’s saying something. We have a prisoner committing suicide, the revelation that Mon Mothma was a child bride, and the inevitable Saw Gerrera dilemma. Forest Whitaker reprises his Rebels and Rogue One role, as teased in the trailers, and it’s not at all what I expected. This scene is essentially a cameo. It’s a great scene; the two veteran actors (Whitaker and Stellan Skarsgard) breathe new life into the age-old debate of how far to go in war. The differing tactics and ethical boundaries espoused by various Rebel cells have been explored before in Rebels and Rogue One. In The Clone Wars, Saw and Ahsoka Tano worked together to liberate his homeworld of Onderon. He saw firsthand how playing by the rules doesn’t always work, and he lost his sister Steela in the process. Over the years, in various stories, Gerrera has become increasingly paranoid, combative, and ruthless. This scene is tastefully done and avoids some of the decadent fanservice Boba Fett and Kenobi were guilty of. Tony Gilroy said Andor won’t have any fanservice, and I think this really depends on your definition of the term. You could call this scene fanservice because some fans (like me) love to see the stories connect in ways that make sense. Despite appearing in multiple shows, Jedi: Fallen Order, and Rogue One, Saw hasn’t become oversaturated in the canon because he appears in logical situations. If Luthen wants to bring these cells together to form a greater Rebellion, it follows that he would go to Saw. The latter’s rejection of the notion is perfectly in character as well. I hope and imagine we will see him again in the series, but either way, this scene is subtle, well-acted, and satisfying. 

Another element of “Narkina 5” that surprised me was Andy Serkis as Cassian’s supervisor in prison. He’s also a prisoner, and his reviews depend on how well his underlings perform their duties. The prisoners on Narkina 5 are treated as slave labor, putting together parts and heaving cargo 12 hours a day, every day. Serkis is great here, as he always is. He’s a demanding boss who expects his inmates to care as much about their productivity as he does. Their reward for winning the level’s productivity award is having flavored food instead of plain. I wouldn’t have guessed Serkis would appear here, partly because he was already in Star Wars, playing Snoke in the sequel trilogy. I’m glad he got to be in something worthy of his talents, and he’s another addition to an increasingly impressive cast. I like that the prison facility doesn’t seem so bad at first. It’s clean, the guards are unarmed, and it looks like any other building from the outside. But once Andor is inside, he learns that the guards don’t have guns because they can tase the inmates at any time with little effort. While the prisoners aren’t whipped or humiliated, the monotonous labor and lack of freedom are enough to make a man kill himself. Personally, I don’t feel sorry for Cassian at all. Were it not for his presence in Rogue One, he could rot on Narkina 5 for all I care. But the worldbuilding here is superb, and seeing the place from his perspective makes it all the more unsettling. 

The tensions in Mon Mothma’s marriage continue to ride in “Narkina 5.” As I mentioned, we learn that she and Perrin were 15 when they got married, according to Chandrilan custom. I don’t know Mon’s exact age, but she looks middle-aged, so they’ve been married for a long time. Was this marriage arranged, or did they choose each other? If it’s the former, it could explain a lot of the mutual antipathy and arguing. However, if they were in love at one time, it would make the present situation even sadder. And if they do eventually split up (I think it’s definitely coming), what will become of their daughter Leda? She certainly favors Perrin over her mother, asking him to take her places and listening primarily to him. Taye also informs Mon that accessing her funds will be more difficult than he anticipated, but we don’t learn exactly how bad it is before he leaves the party. 

Then, we have Bix and Cassian’s friend Brasso watching over Marva. Bix tells the anxious Brasso that Marva isn’t his mother, indicating that he doesn’t have to take care of her. He responds that she isn’t hers either, which brings to mind just what Cassian’s done. This woman raised him, but he leaves her to be watched by anyone who can. Obviously, we know he had to go after his actions on Aldhani, but wow. This is really crappy. We also learn through a back-handed comment from Cinta that Vel is running away from her wealthy family. This isn’t shocking after we saw Vel dolled up on Coruscant, but it is interesting character work nonetheless. Vel wants to be with Cinta above all else, but the latter reminds her that the Rebellion must come first as she volunteers to stay on Ferrix. There’s a transition from Vel on a transport to Cinta looking out of her new apartment that’s just gorgeous; you can feel how they miss one another. 

What can I say? “Narkina 5” is another hole-in-one for a season that won’t stop improving. So far, this is the best arc opener by a lot. It moves faster than “Kassa” or “Aldhani” for sure, as the show is essentially a well-oiled machine by now. I can’t wait to see what happens next.