WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Andor Season 1, Episode 5.
On Aldhani, things are a bit weird.
Even though Vel’s group of rebels are moving forward with their plans to steal money — a lot of money — from the Imperials, not everyone trusts Cassian (“Clem”). He’s the newcomer. The outsider. And not knowing who he is, where he came from or why he joined the effort so suddenly and secretively has left a few crew members on edge.
Arvel Skeen is especially peeved to have this new guy around. So much so that, knife to Cassian’s throat, he unveils the kyber crystal Luthen gave the newcomer and demands to know why he’s hiding it.
Cassian confesses to the group that he’s being paid to partake in the mission, and that the “cause” wouldn’t be worth it to him otherwise. But he miraculously assures them anyway that he’ll do whatever it takes to make the mission a success.
(He’s going to be the only one who survives this ordeal, isn’t he? Ugh.)
Once Vel forces the two apart and tells everyone to stand down and get back to camp, Skeen reveals to Cassian that the Empire killed his brother. They took over his tree farm, and he couldn’t fight back alone. Skeen’s hatred for the Empire runs deeper than he lets on, and the two end the episode better understanding what they’re fighting for.
Cassian also bonds with Karis Nemik, who announces he’s writing a political manifesto to expose the Empire’s dark deeds. As much as we’d love him to survive, there’s no way Tony Gilroy is giving this precious soul a get-out-of-death-free card. RIP in advance.
Cut to Syril Karn, who no longer has a job because, you know. Ferrix. He’s back home on Coruscant with his tirelessly disappointed mom. He glares menacingly at his hologram of Cassian. He’s probably not done with this fight yet — and neither is Dedra Meero, who’s busy gathering evidence to convince her boss the rebellion isn’t just a scattered group of cells chipping away at the Empire all by themselves.
And finally, Mon Mothma is yet another character in this episode having a seriously rough go of it. Her daughter seems to feel her mother is too distant and only cares about her own political agenda. Leading a double life will give off that vibe. Also, parenting a teenager, especially with a husband like that, wouldn’t be easy even if you weren’t secretly running and funding an organized rebellion against the Empire.
New episodes of Andor drop Wednesdays exclusively on Disney+.
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