Created by Tony Gilroy
1.06 “The Eye”
Written by Dan Gilroy
Directed by Susana White
Starring Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O'Reilly, Faye Marsay
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by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Early in this episode, Commandant Jayhold Beehaz (Stanley Townsend) speaks derisively of the Dhani, the Aldhani natives, saying they are vulnerable to manipulation. He talks of the ways the Empire has exploited their pride in order to maximize control and profits—and plans to continue it. Even on a relatively undeveloped world, the Empire dominates everything, and operates only to benefit and enrich itself. But what struck me about this was the way it echoed Cassian’s (Diego Luna) words about the Empire in episode 3. “They’re so proud of themselves,” he tells Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård).

The night before The Eye heist, Cassian and Karis Nemik (Alex Lawther) are talking about the latter’s manifesto. Cassian’s presence and aid on this mission has given an insomniatic Nemik the inspiration to add a section on mercenaries to his writings. Cassian reminds him that the Empire doesn’t play by the rules, and if the Rebellion wants to be successful, they can’t assume there are any rules. And in this episode, we see both of these points of view come to fruition.

Thanks to the inside information from Lt. Gorn (Sule Rimi) the Rebel cell is easily able to infiltrate the garrison, take Jayhold, his family, and most of the officers hostage. The first phase of their heist goes almost perfectly, so we know things will go wrong. But until then, the inside information and observation pays off. The Imperials never suspect the Rebels are imposters until it’s too late, their complacency working against them. While it does go wrong in the end, the plan is ultimately successful.

The heist itself is a thrilling sequence, and one of the best extended action sequences I can remember on any series. The Eye is a beautifully rendered celestial event, and provides a stunning backdrop to the Rebels’ escape from Aldhani. The colors swirling around the cargo ship and TIEs signals hope, even while Nemik struggles for his life while injured during takeoff. Andor as a whole is excelling at showing juxtapositions, and this episode is maybe the high point so far.

Each phase of it adds to the tension, and the firefight that breaks out is almost a relief. We know this won’t work perfectly, but the cost seems high even for such a large score. The amount of characters killed off in this episode is a reminder for how many lives are spent fighting the Empire, and also to the four act structure of this season. Cassian seems to be back on his own, especially after Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) reveals himself to be the kind of person the cell feared Cassian would turn out to be. While his struggle is relatable, it’s another dead body on Cassian’s path from mercenary to freedom fighter.

Meanwhile on Coruscant, we see Mon Mothma speaking to a largely empty Senate chamber. We’ve never seen it this far forward in the timeline, and we know that in A New Hope, the Emperor has dissolved the body completely. So I’m not sure if it is empty because of the breaking news related to the Aldhani heist, or if the body is even more ineffectual and ceremonial than it was when we saw it during the Republic era, to the point where the members are not even keeping up appearances. We also check in on Luthen, who reminds a customer that a dead language can mean whatever you want it to say. History is written by the survivors, the ones who live on to tell their own stories. We know how this story will eventually play out, but we are learning more and more of the cost along the way, by both individuals and larger groups. This thread is my favorite thing in the show, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming in the second half!