‘Andor’ Recap: ‘Announcement’

10/20/2022

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Andor’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve talked at length about how the Disney+ series, Andor, has done a phenomenal job of taking the Star Wars Universe to new heights from a storytelling perspective. Since this show has provided us with a master class regarding the slow burn style of storytelling and it has of course, explored concepts that few other stories regarding revolutions touch in the slightest. Such as the cost and the difficulties that go into starting one to begin with and well, the series is showing no signs of slowing down regarding such explorations. As evidenced by this week’s tale, which took the time to explore the fallout of the first strike.

For ‘Announcement’ covered every critical corner of the galaxy when it came to the fallout of the Rebel Alliance’s move against an Imperial Garrison, and it turned out… that it had a vastly different impact on each of the critical players in this story. For some were heavily inspired by the rebels’ bold act since it finally pushed Mon Mothma to begin to take action to further fund and push the Alliance forward in fighting the Empire. To the point where she finally initiated contact with an old friend to have him take control of her finances in the hopes of getting much needed funds to this fledging rebellion and she wasn’t the only one inspired by this act, since even Maarva spoke to how this gave her hope in this tale and that she too would stand as needed.

But of course, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and the Empire itself… did not do well with taking a proverbial punch to the nose. Since losing that much money was of course, an utter embarrassment and that led to more stringent policies and procedures across the Galactic Empire, the kind that included higher taxes and harsher laws in the hopes of deterring and punishing the Rebellion. Even though some saw such measures as nothing more than a rallying cry for the Rebellion since such stringent measures would indeed push some to join the fight. Not to mention, there was infighting, and pettiness abound in the ISF following this attack, making it clear that the Rebels accomplished exactly what they intended to. In that, they scared the living hell out of the Empire and that would work to their advantage.

However, what was truly impressive about this tale, is that it found a way to make its hero… begin to understand the importance of the act he took part in. For Cassian returned home and paid off debts before using the rest of his cut to just hang out on a leisure planet, all in the hopes of enjoying a life away from turmoil and the Empire and everything in between. But a chance encounter on a normal day for Cassian, led to his arrest and that arrest brought forth a harsh and horrifying sentence. One that appeared to be poised to rob him of freedom and peace, and while there was no resolution as to how he was going handle that reality since the episode faded to black after his six-year sentence was handed down, it was obvious that this surprise is meant to teach him so much.

Specifically, that there is no escaping the clutches of Emperor Palpatine and his sham of a Galactic Empire and that he has to a choose a side. There’s no more in between in this galaxy, courtesy of his own actions. But while we wait to see how he escapes this mess and how quickly he learns the lesson, we can in fact… offer up applause for another incredible episode from this series. One that continues to lay the groundwork for the Galactic Civil War in a masterful and beautiful manner, so that what Luke Skywalker and others will fight for in a few years… has meaning and gravity and so that Cassian can become the inspiring hero we met in Rogue One, and well… this cliffhanger will make the wait for next week’s episode a difficult one. Since it is clear that we are quite close now to the moment that Cassian Andor picks a side. The one that will change the course of the galaxy for decades to come. Until next time.

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‘Andor’ Recap: ‘Announcement’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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