Andor season 1, episode 6 recap: Victory, tragedy

WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Andor Season 1, Episode 6.

The heist begins. As does the shower of meteorites cultivating in the exact celestial event that is meant to allow said heist to end successfully.

Once Gorn leads the group into the base, Commandant Beehaz’s wife and son are immediately held at gunpoint as the group forces the officer to follow them to the vault. Cassian was right in Rogue One when he said even rebels had to do unspeakable things to grant them their victories. Or something like that.

As expected, the actual act of stealing the credits and loading them into the freighter is tense and chaotic. Gorn goes down, as do several imperials. But everyone else seemingly makes it out of there unscathed. What a nice moment. If only it could last.

The ship takes off, fighters in close pursuit. During takeoff, Nemik is literally crushed by capitalism, but despite the containers of credits smashing into him at full force, he remains alive. Barely.

In one final act of heroism, Nemik guides Cassian through the Eye. The TIE  Fighters explode. Their escape is, technically, successful. But they can’t complete the mission yet. Vel knows of a doctor who might be able to save Nemik.

There may be hope — Vel and the doctor are trying to save one of their own. In a quiet moment between Cassian and Skeen, everything begins to unravel once more.

Skeen never had a brother. The only rebellion he cares about is his own.

Cassian shoots the man, ending his plans to steal half the money for himself and attempting to return inside to a slightly better outcome. There isn’t one. The doctor couldn’t save Nemik. Vel hands Cassian the dead man’s manifesto and he hands her the kyber crystal. He’ll take his cut of the credits and a different ship and go. His job is, supposedly, done.

Mon Mothma’s engaging Senate speech is undermined by whispers throughout the chamber. Something has happened within the Empire — something so alarming and devastating that representatives from all around the galaxy can’t contain their reactions.

Cut to Luthen, and we soon receive confirmation that word of the heist has spread far and wide.

Despite the team having come apart, the majority of them no longer alive (as far as we know), Luthen laughs. The heist was, by his standards, successful. To him, it doesn’t matter whether or not Cassian made it out alive or escaped the aftermath without betraying the living. Perhaps it doesn’t even matter that millions of credits’ worth of payroll were successfully stolen.

Perhaps the ultimate goal all along was to show the Empire it is very much capable of losing everything it built.

New episodes of Andor drop Wednesdays exclusively on Disney+.

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