‘Andor’ Recap: ‘Narkina 5’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Truly one of the greatest accomplishments of the Star Wars Universe… was how it managed to establish the sheer evil nature of the Galactic Empire, without ever really giving us in depth insight as to what made it so evil. A feat that A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi accomplished by giving us the personification of evil (at the time) in Darth Vader and by introducing us to Emperor Palpatine. Since their physical and emotional qualities made it clear that the Galactic Empire wasn’t all that friendly toward anyone that enjoyed freedom and of course its vast army and resources also backed that reality up.
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But what’s equally as impressive, is that even the multitude of stories that followed that trilogy, kept the true reality of what life under the Galactic Empire was actually like but thankfully… that is starting to change. For Andor continues to be a series that wishes to explore every facet of that dark era in the Galaxy’s history and really for the first time ever… we finally came to understand just how ugly and terrifying life under the rule of Emperor Palpatine truly was during that time period. For ‘Narkina 5’ just let loose and showed us the dark side of the dark side. By having the people of Ferrix suffer greatly under Imperial rule since Cassian’s mother wasn’t doing well health wise under the new rules, and Bix even found herself under fire for trying to check in on Cassian via long range communication with Luthen. 

But truly the centerpiece of this exploration took place with Cassian. Simply because he arrived at the penal colony on Narkina 5 and quickly found himself in a hopeless and horrible situation. Where the living conditions were meager and frightening and where his only joy would be found in tiny rewards within the prison for hard labor done well. Making it clear that being under the Empire’s true rule, was nothing short of hopeless and horrifying. Wherein there would be no purpose or direction in life and perhaps this… is what will finally make Cassian a true hero. Because what he went through here was no way to live in the slightest, and it truly hammered home how the Empire rules through fear and intimidation and pain, and how frightening that can be. 

However, while those elements could have carried this episode from beginning to end since they were so impactful and educational, this episode took its explorations of life in this era a touch further by also revealing to the audience, just how difficult it was for the Rebel Alliance to even find the power it did. Since Mon Mothma found herself struggling to move funds because of the Empire’s new banking restrictions and an off-world visit to Saw Gerrera allowed for Luthen and the audience to learn how fractured the Rebellion was in its early days and how little was accomplished because of that. Which again, leaves us wondering what it took to unify it and how much of a role Cassian would eventually play in that unity. 

Either way, this was just another fascinating episode for certain. One that once again took us deep into this universe in ways we haven’t experienced before, and it truly put the cruelty of the Empire on display and helped us to understand its relentless ruthlessness as well. Courtesy of the storyline involving Syril and Dedra. Since we came to learn how quickly they could move resources in this tale and how the hate they created inspired others to join the cause and well, all this episode does, is once again leave us eager for more. Since we simply must know how Cassian gets out of jail and how of course, the Rebellion finds unity and legs at a time when the Emperor is trying to crack down upon it and thankfully… we still have four more episodes left in season one of this magnificent series to explore just that. Until next time.

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