‘Andor’ Episode 6 Review: ‘The Eye’ Is the Best Episode of the Show So Far
Unsurprisingly, Andor episode 6, titled The Eye, revolves entirely around Cassian Andor and the rebels’ big heist, which has been planned for the last couple of episodes. This is all that matters during its roughly 50-minute runtime, the longest episode so far, and as a result, many other characters barely get a look in.
It’s just as well the heist itself makes for an utterly compelling viewing. The first half of the episode continues the slow build-up, putting the last pieces in place before the operation can really begin. Dovetailing the plan with The Eye, Aldhani’s natural phenomena, was a masterstroke. The early stages of the event begin as soon as the teams take their positions, slowly increasing with every step of the plan.
The closer they get to success, the further the occurrence progresses; a few initial sparks are soon lighting a fire in the sky. The various stages of The Eye also act as a ticking clock for our protagonists. We know The Eye itself only provides a short window to get everything done, so the stakes and the tension get ramped up throughout the episode as time begins to run out.
It allows the sixth episode of Andor to reach a breathtaking climax that you can’t peel your eyes away from, desperately wishing that everyone makes it out okay. When the dust settles, you wonder just how the galaxy will react.
Spoilers ahead…
The heist actually went a lot more smoothly than I expected. I was bracing myself for everything to go wrong, but aside from a dicey escape, the plan was sound. In the end, Gorn and Taramyn were the only ones who died before they escaped, with Karis getting paralyzed from the waist down after being crushed by a pallet full of credits.
The cinematography and special effects looked incredible. I particularly enjoyed seeing Vel and Cinta abseiling down the dam after planting the jammer, a shot that could have been plucked straight out of a Jason Bourne movie. The Eye event was spectacular too. I wasn’t sure what we were going to see when the first meteorite flew through the sky — it was so cloudy that it was difficult to tell what time of day it was, so I wondered if it would all take place during daylight — but when it really started, it was just beautiful. Just like everything else in Andor, even that felt real. It’s easy to believe there are planets out there with an aurora borealis that also have red, orange, and purple meteorites streaking through the sky.
As I mentioned earlier, using The Eye to set the timeframe for the heist was a genius move. Having the episode cut back to the Aldhanians ramping up their celebrations each time we checked in with them amped up the tension, as we knew the team were already running late and nearly out of time.
Everything goes surprisingly well until the corporal in the comms tower (played by the excellent Nick Blood, who some might recognize from Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD) starts picking up the team’s comms channel and decides to head down to the hangar with backup to investigate for himself. It’s a testament to the plan’s strength that this was the rebels’ first real challenge.
Unfortunately, the commandant — who we see struggling to clip his belt together in a nice bit of foreshadowing earlier in the episode — experiences heart failure and botches what little disguise they maintained. Gorn and Taramyn are killed in the subsequent firefight, while Cinta is left behind.
Their heart-pounding escape through the meteor shower provides the perfect climax to the heist, with an injured Karis screaming instructions to Cassian on where to fly the ship. Sadly, he doesn’t survive and passes away in a doctor’s care on a nearby moon. However, something about Skeen’s characterization puzzles me in the episode’s final moments. He bristles at the mere thought that Vel might skip the doctor and consign Karis to death, but then — while waiting for the outcome of the surgery — he proposes that he and Cassian simply abscond with the money divided equally between them.
Now, it is possible that Skeen wanted Karis to survive while also wanting no further part of the rebellion, but it seems uncharacteristically cold of him to just abandon everyone at the end of it all considering he was so invested in Karis’ health. I’m not sure I buy it, but then again, these people are complicated, and we do know Skeen was primarily motivated by revenge. Perhaps getting a win against them and becoming rich in the process was enough for him. I think that’s what we’re supposed to believe.
Not that it matters much now, because Cassian shoots him dead for suggesting it. Skeen makes the clichéd observation that the two of them are quite similar, which seems to offend Cassian. This is the first clear example of the writing marking his growth; he might be a mercenary out for himself, but unlike Skeen, he isn’t willing to screw over good people to get what he wants. Vel doesn’t believe his story that Skeen wanted to betray them — I wouldn’t either if I was her — but gives him Karis’ manifest, another sign that Cassian Andor will one day begin to believe in the rebel cause.
It was somewhat predictable that Karis would die and bequeath his manifest to Cassian, but I appreciate that Andor is taking these first steps now, halfway into the season.
The rest of the episode covers the fallout of the heist, finally showing us the other characters as they react to the news of the successful heist. Dedra Meero gives us insight into the reaction of the ISB, with Major Partagaz ordering everyone to stay late and bring up every operation and process they can find so they can begin to react to an attack on one of their sites.
It’s clear that this is the first time an Imperial facility has been attacked by an organized group. I’d wager that Aldhani has never made the galactic news before, but the reveal that someone actually successfully raided an Imperial facility is huge news at this point in the Empire’s reign. Mon Mothma is giving an impassioned speech in a noticeably empty Senate when she realizes the other senators are feverishly chatting amongst themselves and leaving the room. Luthen is working in his shop when a customer breaks the news to him, so he heads to the back room and celebrates in private. Sadly, Syril does not appear in this episode.
Cinta escapes the facility to join up with the Aldhanians, and I’m not sure what will become of her. I expect the next episode will continue to focus on the fallout of the heist, with Cassian and Vel getting the ship to the rendezvous point and Luthen planning his next move. The rebel movement now has enough funds that they don’t need to rely solely on Mon Mothma to bankroll them, so it will be interesting to know what he’s thinking. The ISB will likely begin investigating the Aldhani facility, starting with the surviving Imperials, and probably connecting the dots to the events that transpired on Ferrix.
Of course, the next episode might just skip ahead a bit so we don’t see the direct fallout of the heist. There’s a lot of time to cover if Andor season 1 is going to span a full year, and only six more episodes (two three-episode arcs) remain. Regardless, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Make sure to also check out Lacey Gilleran’s instant reaction to the episode here:
If you are looking for more Andor spoiler discussion, you are in luck! The Resistance Broadcast will be live tonight to discuss episode 6 in full detail at 9pm EST on our YouTube channel.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
