Created by Tony Gilroy
1.10 “One Way Out”
Written by Beau Willimon
Directed by Toby Haynes
Starring Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O'Reilly, Faye Marsay, Denise Gough
New episodes Wednesdays on Disney+

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

The tenth episode of Andor brings the themes of the season even more into focus as our main characters try to break out of their cages from the last two episodes. There is a thrilling prison breakout and two tense meetings, but the heart of this episode is two monologues.

With the death of Ulaf (Christopher Fairbank) last episode, we saw Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) finally start to crack. The revelation that “there is no out,” that the Empire just cycles prisoners through, with the term of a sentence just one more form of control. Good behavior doesn’t matter. Seeing him finally coming alive, reminded by Cassian (Diego Luna) not to “die until you put up a fight,” is genuinely moving and inspiring. Whether by design or by happenstance, Cassian lets Kino be the ‘face’ of the insurrection, and the older man’s pent up rage fuels the take over of the prison. While the logistics of the breakout are clever and fun, what landed with me was the energy and fervor of it.

Andy Serkis is the secret weapon of this Andor arc. Best known for his motion capture roles, he’s just as good when he is animating his own face and body. From his scene-stealing work in Topsy Turvy to his two appearances as Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther, he has a perfect control of range. Demonstrated here as Kino goes from “first man on the bottom rung of the ladder” to prison break leader. His impassioned monologue calling for the other inmates to rally and take their freedom back is moving and inspiring.

So far, Andor is showing us more of what life is like under the Empire for regular people. While animated shows like The Bad Batch and Rebels have shown characters actively on the run, this spy show is showing more of the effect of the totalitarian regime on the psyche of the populace. Although many viewers likely will come away thinking that the facility on Narkina 5 is more barbaric than real world prisons, the sad truth is the opposite. But showing the link between justice for the incarcerated and justice for all is a firm nod in the direction of Star Wars’s political allegory, that goes back to George Lucas’ original concept.

On Coruscant, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) meets with Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane) and learns the price of needing to work in secrets and shady money dealings. Davo treats living under Imperial rule like a game. He seems to enjoy how the rules change and how he finds ways to stay one step ahead. For him, this is just another angle to the game, but one that he can actually benefit from. In a real Game of Thrones-type move, he proposes an arranged marriage between his son and Mon’s daughter, Leida (Bronte Carmichael). On top of her personal feelings about Davo, this also throws a sledgehammer at the fragile boundary between Mon’s public life and her rebellious activities.

The other big development in this episode is with Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård). Lonni (Robbert Emms) turns out to be one of Luthen’s informants within the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB). He tries to warn Luthen about Dedra (Denise Gough) and her search for “Axis,” as well as inform Luthen he no longer wants to be a spy (or work for the ISB). Lonni is cracking under the pressure, but Luthen admonishes him. Skarsgård gives the second great monologue of this episode. It’s as close as Andor has to a manifesto so far. “I speak to ghosts,” Luthen says, “I’m condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.” The monologue is moving and emotional, and delivered on a sort of industrial bridge. Luthen stands where he has chosen to stand, living a double or triple life because he can’t let fascism run rampant.

We also learn that Anto Kreegyr’s operation at Spellhaus has been discovered. It’s the one Luthen was trying to get Saw (Forest Whitaker) to join before, but now we know that the ISB is well aware of the plan. Luthen indicates that he will let the operation fail. All of this reminded me of the real world parallel with the way the Allies ran intelligence efforts during World War II. In order to not let the Germans know that we had broken their codes, the Allies chose to let certain operations fail in order to preserve the fiction about what was known from German communications. There are a lot of echoes here of the French Resistance as well, as the tools of the oppressor are the only ways to truly fight back. Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows is an incredible film partially based on Melville’s own experiences during the occupation, and it is one of the darkest and most moving works of art I have ever watched. Highly recommended if you’re enjoying Andor so far (probably also The Americans, but I haven’t seen it). I can’t wait to see what happens next.