Tony Gilroy Indicates ‘Andor’ Episode 7 Deviates From the Arc Structure of the Series
Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has offered insight on the narrative structure audiences can expect from the first season’s remaining episodes. The seventh episode of the series will be a standalone story, while the three episodes following will form the third arc of the season, and the final two will pair as the finale.
So far, Andor has tonally and structurally been a departure from all other Star Wars shows, playing more like an HBO war drama than a Disney Plus offering. The first two sets of three episodes have opted to take their time setting up the world and characters before culminating in a big finish narratively with spectacular, action-driven set pieces. Now it appears there will be a bit of a structural change to the series, as the next episode will be mostly self-contained, while the remaining episodes will form two additional arcs.
Talking to the Empire podcast (hat tip r/StarWarsLeaks), Tony Gilroy indicated that the seventh episode of the series is “very interesting” when compared to the others. Though he wouldn’t go into plot details about what sets the episode apart, he elaborated in a different way by noting that the eighth, ninth, and tenth episodes of the series form the third arc, and the eleventh and twelfth episodes serve as the fourth arc. In other words, the seventh episode appears to be a more self-contained story.
This news is not too surprising on a narrative and structural level, as the creative teams on each of the episodes so far have reflected the various arcs that have been showcased throughout the series. Toby Haynes directed the first, second, and third episodes scripted by Tony Gilroy, covering Cassian’s past, introducing the Pre-Mor Authority and its enforcers, and culminating with Cassian’s escape from Ferrix with Luthen. Susanna White directed the Dan Gilroy-written fourth, fifth, and sixth episodes which gave us Cassian’s first assignment with a rebel cell stealing from the Empire on Aldhani. Toby Haynes and Beau Willimon will serve as the director and writer on the eighth, ninth, and tenth episodes, and Benjamin Caron will direct eleventh and twelfth episodes of the season based off of Tony Gilroy’s scripts.
The seventh episode contrasts with all of these, as it features a screenplay by Stephen Schiff, who did not write any other episodes, with Caron directing. Given that Gilroy pointed out the episode is interesting in some way and excluded it when describing the other arcs, it is likely that the seventh episode will be more of a self-contained tale, but what it might be about remains to be seen. Perhaps we’ll see more of Cassian Andor’s past, or perhaps more of Mon Mothma’s efforts to organize the nascent Rebel Alliance will come into focus. We only have five more days until we find out.
The first six episodes of Andor are available to watch right now, with six more episodes airing weekly on Wednesday nights. A second and final season of another twelve episodes, which will cover a greater period of time and conclude the story in the days leading up to the events of Rogue One, is set to begin filming this November.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
