Andor Season 2 Episode 6 Gives A Gripping Successor To The First Season’s Greatest Second

This text comprises spoilers for “Andor.”

When George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” was launched in 1977, it gave generations of kids desires of becoming a member of the Insurgent Alliance and preventing the forces of the evil Empire. By advantage of the truth that it was a two-hour film, the notion that one may be a part of the Rebels appeared pretty easy, and thus the fantasies they sparked have been equally unadorned. Because the franchise has continued over the a long time, this “good guys vs. unhealthy guys” idea has continued to be developed, subverted, examined, and altogether deepened by quite a few filmmakers, not the least of which was Lucas himself. As these generations of followers have grown up (properly, as most of them have grown up, anyway), they, together with “Star Wars” itself, have come to appreciate that becoming a member of and/or beginning a rebel isn’t any easy process.

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That is why the monologue delivered by Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgǎrd) in season 1, episode 10 of Disney+’s “Andor” is among the most vibrant and important of the whole “Star Wars” franchise. It is not simply that Skarsgård’s efficiency is electrical, neither is it that Rael’s dialogue (written by Beau Willimon) is nearly as good as something Obi-Wan Kenobi or Yoda has ever mentioned. It is that Rael, one of many architects of the Riot working tirelessly behind the scenes, is explaining to the viewers by way of a Insurgent spy inside the Empire, Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), precisely what true political and ethical conviction means. To sum up: it is not straightforward, it is not easy, it is not variety, and it has no reward. It is a monologue in regards to the nature of sacrifice on the whole, but it additionally brilliantly spells out one of many hardest truths: So as to really make a greater future, you should be keen to simply accept and perceive the truth that you’ll by no means see it.

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Because of the monologue being so properly obtained, journalists have requested Skarsgård through the lead-up to “Andor” season 2 whether or not there is perhaps a brand new monologue that Luthen will ship, and the actor has fairly bluntly mentioned that there won’t be. Whereas it is true that “Andor” doesn’t tempt destiny by attempting to one-up that monologue, there’s a second within the new season which actively remembers it, and it is no shock that it is among the best scenes within the present.

Within the sixth episode of “Andor” season 2 (titled “What a Festive Night” and likewise written by Willimon), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) confronts Luthen on the latter’s vintage store entrance. Andor is livid that Luthen was beforehand making an attempt to suss out if Bix (Adria Arjona) is perhaps match to tackle a mission for The Trigger (as Disney+’s subtitles discuss with the nascent Riot) regardless of her fragile psychological state and burgeoning drug dependancy. Though Andor is in love with Bix, his fury additionally stems from Luthen’s fanatical devotion to his work above all else. When confronted with this, Luthen throws Andor’s former ultimatum of “Kill me or take me in” in his face and takes the chance to teach Andor on the laborious realities of committing to a trigger in comparable style to how he defined himself to Jung within the earlier season.

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Though Luthen’s rejoinder to Andor would not come within the type of a monologue however slightly a heated dialogue between the 2 males, there is not any query that this scene is a reprise of the second from season 1, because it doubles down on Luthen’s beliefs and additional enlightens the extra pragmatic and idealistic Andor. Though Andor has undeniably been by means of some laborious occasions and suffered nice loss, his assertion that he has given Luthen “the whole lot” doesn’t impress a person who mentioned “I burn my life to make a dawn that I do know I am going to by no means see.” To be honest, the scene is not fairly the show-stopping second that Luthen’s monologue was, however it’s a key scene of the season (particularly on reflection of the season as an entire), and it offers Skarsgård some extra splendidly wealthy Willimon dialogue to chew on. In response to Andor’s naive remark that these beneath Luthen’s make use of “will not be droids,” the chilly, seen-it-all elder spy matter-of-factly replies, “We aren’t who we have been after we began.”

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The scene occurring when it does — across the midpoint of the season — additional underlines its standing as a crux second of the present. Though “Andor” is basically an ensemble sequence, its title is just not a misnomer, as the vast majority of the present is centered round not simply Andor himself but additionally his ideological transformation from a scrappy thief into a person actually and figuratively keen to die for The Trigger in “Rogue One.” Luthen is Andor’s mentor determine, and whereas he is however one of many many in “Star Wars,” such characters are usually inflexible of their beliefs in order to higher move on their data to their apprentices. (Consider Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Sidious, Rey and Luke, and so forth.) It is inside this irritating rigidity that the emotionally torn apprentices discover their very own paths. Not coincidentally, it is a metaphor for folks and their youngsters, too. Most of us wrestle in opposition to our mother and father in our youth, and despite the fact that we do satirically develop as much as be much like them, we differentiate ourselves from them sufficient to in the end turn out to be our personal individual.

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So many individuals who adore “Andor” confess some variation of the sentiment that the present is making them love “Star Wars” once more. The rationale for that is that the writers and showrunners behind the sequence have a deep understanding of what “Star Wars” is about at its core, and the aforementioned Luthen scene is a sterling instance of this understanding. As I mentioned earlier, most younger of us begin out having fun with “Star Wars” for its surface-level attributes, and there is nothing flawed with that. But, beneath all of the area battles and pulp fiction-inspired thrills lies a recurring morality play, one which Lucas cheekily codified with speak of a “gentle aspect” and “darkish aspect” solely to blur these traces in a while. 

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“Star Wars” is a parable that continuously milks drama from underdog characters being compelled to reckon with not possible obstacles, whether or not they’re literal or ideological. Most of the Rebels in “Andor” come to the belief that they want Luthen, and it is ironic that “Andor” and “Star Wars” itself wants a Luthen in the identical style — a personality whose morality is debatable however who has nonetheless dedicated himself to a path. The way in which that this scene galvanizes each Andor and Luthen to react can already be seen in the remainder of the episode itself, and it will proceed to resonate all through the remainder of the sequence. It will not be as showy as a monologue, however the scene is nice drama, and it is nice “Star Wars.”

New episodes of “Andor” premiere Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Disney+.