Andor Andor Episode 2.08 Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Don't worry, I didn't need him killed.

 

I couldn’t tell you his name either but he’s still one of my favorite characters from the show. His name’s not what’s important about him, it’s his actions.

 

Thank the Maker. I just can’t fathom him not being considered a memorable actor, though. Especially in that initial scene with Cassian last week. Small part, but heartbreaking performance. This kid has an extraordinary ability to make you empathize with him in just a few moments.

 

Maybe this is how I feel about the Force healer. To each their own.

 

She was also great.

 

Is 10,000 an option?

 

https://screenrant.com/star-wars-andor-season-2-highest-rating/

 

Also, Cassian expanding his Bryar pistol into a sniper rifle is a huge lore in-joke for old-school LucasArts nerds like me, since that gun first appeared as Kyle Katarn's Bryar pistol in Dark Forces, and the backstory was that it was actually a rifle that Kyle had cut down into a pistol.

 

Syril's moment of realisation that he has spent the last however many years devoted to finding and hunting down Cassian, all this energy and hatred and Cassian doesn't even know/care who he is. That realisation that his entire life's purpose of serving an Empire that doesn't care about him, pursuing people who don't even know he exists, and in that moment realising how pointless his life has been, so devoid of meaning, is so cruelly perfect for him. And then his mother, who has basically told him she hates him, sheds tears and mourns him only AFTER he's gone. It's just so heartbreaking.

 

Star Wars - hell, television in general - hasn't given me emotions like this in a long time. Perfection.
10/10

 

I'm sure someone somewhere trying to be edgy will say this was terrible and they will just simply be laughed at. This is as close to perfection as you will ever get.

I had to sit through the credits just to calm down. This episode, my goodness, words cannot describe it. We are watching what Star Wars can be at its very best.

 

10/10/10.... Its soo great i love every moment of this episode. Its soo brutal and devestating. The cruelty of The Empire knows no bounds

 

The best hour of television I’ve ever seen. Sorry, but it just ain’t hyperbole when it’s this good, AND it’s Star Wars.

 

Syril thought giving the Ghorman Front opportunity to strike against the Empire would draw in outside agitators, the REAL rebels that are actually a threat to the Empire. He is devastated by the truth for two reasons. First, he didn't know that the Ghormans (all of them, not just the rebels) are the TARGETS and not the bait. He believed that the Saws and Luthens would show up and be entrapped, but it turns out the Empire was targeting the local population from the start. The second part is that he thought the Empire had benevolent motivations - to stop the anarchists and terrorists, but the mining equipment reveals that Ghorman was targeted just as an excuse to steal resources. This revelation makes the cause no longer just, in his mind. YES - I do believe that he develops genuine empathy for the people of Ghorman. It is the reason he tries to get his contact to give up the intel on the outside rebel groups assisting them, believing there was still a path to help the locals.

 

I don't think it's remotely weird or embarrassing that a guy you're hunting down doesn't know who you are personally. It usually doesn't benefit the person on the run to know more than "this group or organization is after me". I don't think even Syril would expect Cassian to remember his face after a brief interaction years ago where he never learned his name and he's not wearing the uniform, nor do I think he would care. Earlier in the season he even expressed the idea of "there are no small jobs" and I don't think he was expecting that newbie to become famous or anything, he knows he was just one of many people hunting him down. At best he thought capturing Cassian himself would let him gain status, respect and reaffirm his purpose among imperial society, not that he needs to hunt Cassian because he already was a big deal.

Cassian wasn't asking who he was specifically, but something along the lines of "why are you, a random unarmed man in civilian clothes, attacking me like it's the fight of your life?" Who are you? Is really primarily a question of who he's working for, or what does he have against Cassian, and Syril didn't really know anymore. Cassian was important because the Empire said he was, and he just choked an Imperial and is witnessing them commit genocide. He truly had no purpose going after Cassian anymore, he wasn't an earnest imp and no longer believed in the cause and the status he would get for capturing Andor wasn't worth the approval of the people who'd give it to him.

 

In such an incredible episode, my personal interest usually comes from seeing how the antagonists are being portrayed. It´s amazing, I believe. Syril naive to a fault, true, but also idealistic, with strong values. Even when given the chance to murder Cassian, he stays true to those ideals. Not saying he is an heroic person, but this show doesn't settle with saying "he is evil" or "he is dumb". His behavior in the whole series is so understandable, it´s fantastic.

Dedra, on the other hand, is presented as this cold person unable to see Ghorman beyond a career opportunity... but even then, I think Denise Gough shines in the scene of her learning of Syril´s passing. She struggles physically and tries to open her collar, in what I feel is a reflection of a better person (a feeling person) buried deep inside that terrible persona she has built for herself. Suffocated, literally, by her role as an agent of the Empire (quite the parallel with Ep. VI in that regard, I feel).

And finally, a personal crusade of mine makes me feel so grateful with this show. I have long lamented the treatment of Stormtroopers in recent Star Wars media; well, Andor portrays them exactly as I've long hoped to see them. They are terrifying, as the personification of the Empire itself. They are not infalible, but they are a lot more than a dumb joke. In fact, I think the mask reflects exactly how they are: in contrast to the Army troopers, the Stormtroopers simply don´t seem to care. They "do not hesitate, show no mercy" to a fault. They seem defined by a profound lack of empathy, and a fanaticism beyond almost every other imperial around, as if they feel free by following orders, giving up responsibility and hiding behind that mask that makes them the face of power. Having them portrayed as this kind of evil makes the necessity to fight them and their Empire very difficult to question, morally.

 

The massacre was an incredibly intense scene and well directed, unfortunately it was rather undermined by Disney+ deciding to insert a trailer for Lilo & Stitch smack bang in the middle of it !

 

Then you haven't watched a lot of TV

 

Please stop.

 

What a completely needless comment. We get it, you’re really edgy and thought it was only ‘okay’. But have an actual discussion with people’s points rather than make daft comments like that

 

I will never understand the point of comments like this, ones that have no purpose beyond bullying or putting someone down unprovoked. This is loser behavior.

 

Why am I thinking of swtheory right now. Someone who should be made to watch some of the finest star wars ever made. With matchsticks and no agenda

 

Right, best case I would rank it somewhere between King Viserys entering the throne room and Hector Salamanca ringing a bell on a booby trapped wheelchair.

 

"Then you haven't watched a lot of TV"

Bor Mullet was speaking for Bor Mullet, not some objective truth.

People here rated TBOBF finale a 10/10, which I find to be crazy, but I don't recall anyone digging those people for having an opinion.