TL;DR – Tension starts to ratchet up now that the Empire knows what sort of information might just have leaked

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Andor Review –

So far, each of the mini-arcs has been almost a mini-season in its own right. This week is the first time this season that it felt like I was watching a Part 2 of 3, which leans terribly on that feeling of growing dread that you sense in the back of your mind. When you feel a large wave or a fully stocked Stormtrooper platoon coming,  

So, to set the scene, we start in the moments after Make It Stop, as the Empire tries to work out how one of their highest value prisoners was murdered out from underneath them. Recriminations are coming, and indeed, the people on the ground might be taking more time shielding themselves from that than actually finding out who did it. Knowing time is not on her side, Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) makes a desperate last stab at getting the information out there, because it is do or die, and few people know this more than Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

While this is presented as three separate episodes, you get the feeling that this week, more than the others so far, was meant to be watched in one sitting. Honestly, I don’t mind, because one thing they handled well was the growing dread. You get to see this in smaller character moments, like when Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) starts interrogating Dedra (Denise Gough), and you can see that confidence erodes away from her in each line of the conversation. Look, I might be a bit biased here, but how good is Ben Mendelsohn this season? Every line delivery is just such a delight, and you honestly look forward to every moment.

We also get the growing dread building throughout the episode. From the moment Kleya linked in with Cassian, you knew that some sort of rescue mission, which would likely not be approved by Rebel command, was going to happen. But you also know that the Empire will stop at nothing to hunt Kleya down. Thus, you have a race; who will get to the information first? Even though we kind of already know the outcome of that, thanks to Rogue One and A New Hope, that tension was still there, because the show wisely centred it on one of the characters created for the show. So that feeling of peril is still there in every moment.

One thing that I did want to point out here is the attention to detail that is in every frame of this episode [and also every other]. The safe room tells a story because we have gotten to see it on and off all season. At the start, it felt like it was a lovely house, a bit rough around the edges, but still a good place to call home. But throughout the season, it and the rest of the building have slowly become more deteriorated. This not only shows the passage of time but also feeds into the world they are building. One where a fascist empire is placing all their eggs in a Death Star basket, and all the influential people walk around in crisp white clothes without a blemish. But there is no interest in the upkeep of society. If this is what is happening in the capital, you can only imagine how the rest of the galaxy is faring.       

In the end, do we recommend Andor: Who Else Knows? Yes, we would. It might suffer a bit from being the middle part of the final movie-length episode. But it was still engaging from start to finish and did what a good middle part should do: it made me want to press play on part 3 as soon as the credits rolled. Have you seen Andor yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Andor
Directed by – Alonso Ruizpalacios
Written by – Tom Bissell
Created by – Tony Gilroy
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – LucasFilm & Disney+
Starring – Diego Luna, Denise Gough, Alan Tudyk, Elizabeth Dulau, Muhannad Bhaier, Anton Lesser, Duncan Pow, Alistair Petrie, Jacob James Beswick & Ben Mendelsohn and Jonathan Oldfield, Timothy Bentinck, Jos Slovick, Ella Pellegrini, Terique Jarrett, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Zora Bishop, Louis Martin & Andrew Brooke