What are we fighting for? This question is often repeated in the sixth chapter. Andor, from Disney+. Why are we facing enemies who have all the resources to win? This is the question that formulates Cassian, ready to deal a crushing blow to the bureaucratic machine of the Empire. The same question is being asked by the same officials of a totalitarian regime ruling a galaxy far, far away. What makes the humble, uprooted in all latitudes, feel the need to fight?
There is no obvious answer. Either way, they all seem equally relevant amid the urgency of facing a control monster with hundreds of different heads. Cassian, revealed in the previous chapter as a man under the care of Luten Rael, has no choice but to hope that the attack on the Empire’s machines will be effective. “It’s either this or nothing!” shouted the angry character. But in the end, in the silence of a desert field, trust in someone else is crucial. Especially since what awaits you in an apparently clumsy maneuver can be deadly.
Soon the festival of Dhani, the famous Eye, will come. Of the 15,000 visitors of previous years, only a few hundred stories are visited, which is more than enough for the regime. “Control,” one of the officials explains with satisfaction. “After all, if you need a labor force, you will have it,” he adds again, turning the inhabitants into part of a mechanism that dehumanizes and brutalizes.
Nevertheless, the Empire knows that even a celestial event of great importance maintains a precarious peace in the area. So they are preparing with thirty of Alkenzie’s guards to protect what is to come. “Everything has to be perfect,” insists the guard with the biggest features again. “This is the only way to ensure that everything stays the same.”
Andor is a new phenomenon in the Star Wars universe and is available exclusively on Disney+
An idealist and a mercenary meet in the center of danger.
Andor, spends most of its sixth chapter thinking about how the Empire maintains unity and control. The galaxy is divided and destroyed by violence. So much so that every step is necessary to maintain the precarious order established by force.
Thus, the Dhani festival, despite its semi-religious nature, is a way to clarify the meaning of total domination. The pilgrims are watched, they are allowed to pass through the lands that previously belonged to them. They are looked upon with suspicion.
One of the highest points Andor a feature of the plot has always been the use of contrasts – tone and rhythm – in its plot. This time the resource is even more efficient. While the pilgrims go to see the famous Heavenly Eye and its thousand-year-old fires, the officials dress up.
They try to integrate, but due to the arrogance of the imposed observer, with no further relationship other than policing and enforced discipline. But even so, the Tony Gilroy series struggles to analyze its characters. A family in the midst of a garrison, a seemingly unimportant private conversation.
Andor he insists on playing with the small in order to support something more complex and hard to come by. After all, the Empire is held together by a struggle between equal men and women divided by a rift of support—or not—for the horrors of totalitarianism.
The inevitable is about to happen in Andor
The clever use of tension balances the feeling that the series analyzes its plot with unusual calmness. The most mature and sober of the Star Wars series, it addresses the vision of a military structure supported by anonymous individuals. Soldiers, servile, nameless, reserve detachments. So much so that Cassian and his people can be confused with each other.
Gradually, the plot effectively creates tension in events that seem simple. For members of the Empire, it’s a different day. For men waiting to be attacked, this is the decisive moment. Contrast, again, is the means used by the production to create an increasingly dense atmosphere. It succeeds to the point where it becomes clear that whatever happens – whether Vela’s people defeat the war machine or not – will be a milestone. One that will open the doors of The Rebellion to something more complex and hard to understand.
This group of opponents against a huge and ruthless war machine has something to lose. Hence the merit of attacking in the worst conditions, in the most improvised way and with an advantage. Even Vel, who until now was a responsible leader, hesitates. “Give the order,” Varada Sethu insists beside him. Finally, the figurehead of the sabotage group accepts the inevitable. “Come on,” he mutters.
Seizure at night with half fear
Finally, the attack begins. The abduction of high-ranking officers and members of their families is carried out quickly, at best quickly. But it soon becomes clear that it won’t be easy and what started as payroll theft will grow into something more. Little by little, the rebels manage to capture the Aldani base, which seems to be a precise hit. However, it is clear that it will not. “They can’t get out of here, they don’t understand,” insists Jayhold, whose family is being held hostage during the attack. “If you can’t, no one will come out,” Vel threatens.
However, the plan has its drawbacks. Too many seem to be overly dependent on chance. Step by step, the series intensifies the sense of urgency, the obviousness that one mistake can lead to disaster. However, the attack continues. The rebel manages to take control of the central base and now, together with the commander, goes to the most difficult layers of the strategy.
Humanize their characters, was that Andor are carefully used to create the idea that every face in the series carries a story. A detail that becomes more apparent in the sixth chapter. As Aldhani’s frame advances, the camera follows the playing soldiers, the relaxed atmosphere in the vaults, and everyday places. Men no different from those who attack, this time for the ideal. Why is the opposition fighting for power? Andor asks himself again in his capacity as a discreet thriller with moments of powerful drama.
At the end of Andor, pain, willpower, the thought of the inevitable
But, despite efforts, the error takes off. A message caught by mistake puts the Empire on the alert of what’s going on. At Alkenzie Air Force Base, they respond immediately. And the appearance of the Eye, praised by generations as a model of beauty, begins a counterattack.
Through unexpected help and strategic betrayal, La Rebellon wins a partial victory. There are wounded, dead, but also a first look at what an organized group can do against the authorities. Arguably the most polished, well-written and well-executed production of Star Wars, Andor Chapter Six is a neat piece of narrative art. Even with the inclusion of creatures and fantasy nods to pure space opera, Andor is a celebration of a deeper language.
In the end, Cassian survives. Noble, all in his darkness. Like a series that tells its own story, a mystery that is about to be revealed. Perhaps the strongest side of the series, based on the power of ideals. What are we fighting for? Gilroy’s argument is again questioned. Perhaps there is no answer to this. But something is clear, La Rebelión knows that while the reasons are not entirely clear yet, they have a long way to go towards a greater ideal.
