Warning: this article contains spoilers from episode six of Andor, “The Eye.”
Episode six of Andor, entitled “The Eye,” was the heart-thumping conclusion to the second plot arc of this season. Thanks to the masterful buildup of the two preceding episodes, “The Eye” is absolutely rife with tension through and through. From one moment to the next, viewers can never quite be sure if our now-beloved Aldhani rebels will make it out of their daring heist alive. And when they start going down… it hurts. You placed your bets; now, here’s a full list of those who gave it all for the future of the Rebellion.
Andor’s ambitious heist goes sideways
Things start really heating up when the team makes it to the vault inside the garrison. Everything goes according to plan until a group of Imperials intercept the Rebel comms and invade the vault. The commandant suffers a heart attack, a firefight breaks out, and the casualties begin.
1. Lieutenant Gorn
The first to go down is Imperial defector Lieutenant Gorn. As the Imperials press into the vault area, he takes a blaster bolt from above and immediately collapses. The chaos of the episode moves on from this loss pretty fast… we don’t get any sort of follow up shot to confirm his death. This is Star Wars, so maybe we haven’t truly seen the last of him. It’s possible that he lived, and we’ll see him answer for his crimes against the Empire as threatened by the commandant: “You’ll hang for this.”
In that case, maybe it’s better that he went quickly in the firefight.
2. Tamaryn Barcona
Our team of rebels has the payload. Now, they have to make it into the freighter for their grand escape. Unfortunately, fellow defector Tamaryn Barcona is pinned down across from the entrance to the cargo bay of the craft. He calls upon Arvel Skeen for cover fire as he makes a break for it, but it’s not enough. He catches a blaster bolt and goes down. The show makes it pretty clear that he’s gone, as the camera lingers on his lifeless body from Nemik’s point-of-view while the young rebel visionary takes an all too brief moment to mourn.
The ship’s doors close and the launch commences, leading to our next casualty.
3. Karis Nemik
As the getaway vessel rapidly accelerates up the launch rail, the passengers are flung to the back of the cargo bay. In a twist that absolutely blindsided me and made me literally recoil in sympathetic pain, a trolley full of credits rolls full speed into Nemik, breaking his spine. Vel administers a med-stick, which allows Nemik to stay conscious long enough to calculate their escape trajectory. Cassian takes him to a contingency medic, but in spite of Dr. Quadpaw’s best efforts, Nemik passes on. Before he died, he told Vel to give his unfinished manifesto to Cassian. It’s clear that this will play a large part in our titular character’s growth and willingness to get involved in the galactic struggle.
4. Arvel Skeen
So, yeah—all of that “those who gave it all for the future of the Rebellion” stuff… that doesn’t include this guy. Turns out Arvel Skeen was a dirtbag that was planning on stealing the entire payload. He even went so far as to invent a fake traumatic backstory as a cover for the rebel group. When he proposes his getaway plan to Cassian and offers a pretty generous split, something clicks in our protagonist.
In a way, Skeen becomes a reflection of some of Cassian’s ugliest survival instincts: take what you can and run far away. And perhaps Skeen’s manipulative story about losing a sibling, something that is a very real and present hurt for Cassian, removes his inhibitions just enough to impulsively pull out his pistol and murder Skeen. This weighty action contains so many layers of character that it deserves its own article. While Skeen became a favorite of mine in episode five (largely due to Ebon Moss-Bachrach‘s excellent performance), his true colors made it pretty easy to let him go. If only Nemik’s ideology had actually made it through to him.
In this episode, Tony and Dan Gilroy make it clear that this show is truly about the galactic struggle as a whole—not just Cassian Andor. In war, casualties abound, and Andor doesn’t shy away from that dark reality. We can only hope that more of the characters that we’re growing fond of with each passing episode make it out of the series alive.
Stay tuned to Dork Side of the Force for more Andor opinions and breakdowns, and may the Force be with you!