Eric Geller

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Bear with me as I indulge in my unabashed Luthen fanboying, because my god, the scene in which he escapes from the Imperial Arrestor cruiser is so amazing. You go from worrying about Luthen to marveling at his creativity and calmness under pressure. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Despite being more controlled than Saw, Luthen understands him well enough to make a persuasive case for sacrificing Kreegyr. It basically boils down to: "We don't want them to be as careful and vigilant as you’re being with me right now." Luthen is such a savvy operator. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Luthen has to take drastic measures to get Saw’s attention. Tricking Two-Tubes into approaching so he can take his blaster is a gutsy move, but Luthen doesn't break a sweat. He's cool as a cucumber. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Saw starts to spiral as he realizes Luthen has sources everywhere. What if he's spying on Saw? You can tell this frustrates Luthen. Saw's wasting time. Luthen needs him to focus. Their exchange is such a great illustration of the different temperaments in the nascent Rebellion. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Luthen sacrificing Kreegyr only heightens Saw's paranoia. Even after Luthen explains why he’d never betray Saw, the latter is clearly unconvinced. As Luthen speaks, you get the sense that he knows he’s walking on thin ice. Dealing with Saw means playing a dangerous game. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Every Luthen/Saw scene in this show is such a gift. I love watching Luthen cautiously navigate Saw's temperamental, paranoid nature. As he tells Saw, "I don’t know what you’ll do." Saw's a loose cannon, and Luthen, always so careful and controlled, hates dealing with that. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

As the scene ends, Mon looks like she's on the verge of tears watching Vel greet Leida. It’s like she's watching the last vestiges of her daughter's freedom drain away in front of her eyes. But she has to hold it together. Even here, at home, she can't slip up. Heartbreaking. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

It's worth noting that Mon’s description of moving money around isn’t boring. The prequels’ political & financial talk fell flat b/c of bad writing, but Andor presents these topics in a compelling way. Mon’s use of the water-running-downhill simile helps add a dramatic flourish. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Another side note: It’s interesting that Vel didn’t know how much money Mon was giving Luthen. This again shows how Luthen keeps information on a strict need-to-know basis, even between Mon and Vel. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Side note: Vel looks away when Mon says that her problems ramped up after Aldhani. Does Vel feel a bit bad about how her operation has hurt her cousin, even if she knows it was the right thing to do? — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Mon's voice wavers and her face quivers as she tells Vel about the depth of her financial problem. She’s rattled. She's barely holding herself together. This is not the Mon Mothma we’re used to seeing, and I can't wait to see how she gets out of this on her path toward RO Mon. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

“I’m in so much trouble, Vel.” Mon's candid chat with Vel gives us a stark glimpse into her state of mind and her sense of being trapped. This feeling must only intensify her disappointment with her daughter’s decision to voluntarily relinquish freedom from tradition. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

And indeed, there’s something a bit disturbing about the flat-toned, ritualistic Chandrilan oath that Leida & the other children recite in this scene. Given the common SW lore image of Chandrila as an advanced, stylish, egalitarian world, this hint of backwardness is intriguing. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Leida flashes a look of annoyance at Mon during the ritual. She hates that Mon doesn’t understand why she wants to do this — that Mon hovers nearby, radiating disappointment. But she’s determined to push onward. Is this all about defying Mon? That would be so sad. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Mon is visibly sad that Leida wants to embrace whatever retrogade Chandrilan ritual she's practicing. Why is this so important? B/c Mon cherishes freedom from the chains of tradition. She’s mystified and distraught that Leida would voluntarily embrace this backward custom. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

After B2 grappling with Maarva's death, the saddest scenes in this ep involve Mon telling Vel about the trouble she's in, and the Faustian bargain she's about to make to escape it. This show continues to excel at showing us another, deeper side to the normally stoic Mon Mothma. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Speaking of Kleya, in the later scene with Luthen, we get another reminder that she's the cautious one in their partnership, as she urges him to return to Coruscant before pursuing Cassian on Ferrix. You can imagine her running scenarios and fearing the outcomes of rushed ops. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Kleya comes out of the scene looking supremely in charge. Still, Vel's tip re: Maarva’s death resonates w/ her, though she maintains an illusion of bored annoyance as she gestures for Vel to leave. Vel seems to recognize the tip's significance as she offers curt parting words. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

1. Kleya's a more constant support to Luthen (“I don’t have lately. I have always.”) 2. Her role is complex than Vel’s ("a constant blur of plates spinning and knives on the floor") 3. Vel's just “one of many” “panicked faces” seeking Luthen's time, not someone special — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Vel thinks she’s one-upped Kleya with “I gave him Aldhani, what have you done lately?” Impressive indeed! We remember how tough that was. But then Kleya reminds us of all the ways in which she has a much harder job than Vel. To wit... — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Even though Kleya and Vel are alone, Kleya still spends a few minutes maintaining the illusion of business as usual. Even after Vel essentially says "you can drop the act," Kleya maintains it. This is her way of protesting Vel’s decision to show up unannounced like that. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Kleya and Vel are both strong-willed rebel operatives willing to do anything for the cause, but in this scene, we see that Kleya’s discipline puts her at odds with Vel’s impulsiveness, a quality that we're not used to seeing in her. As Kleya tells Vel, “You’re off the rails.” — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Vel has a bunch of great scenes in this episode. Let's start with her encounter with Kleya. This isn't a relationship that we've dwelt on — they've only had one brief scene before — so I was excited to see how they engaged with each other. And boy, were there layers here. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

All of that said, the Narkina 5 prison poisoning the surrounding community’s water is another good bit of world-building, showing how Imperial oppression corrupts everything around it, even the things it’s not explicitly trying to subjugate. Careless brutality has ripple effects. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Also, the aliens' switch from ignoring Cassian and Melshi’s pleas to releasing them made no sense. C & M didn't convince them to have mercy. They just talked thru their frustration w/ the Empire & then, even though nothing had changed, released C & M. Felt like a waste of time. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Tony Gilroy and the writers have talked about how they're keeping aliens in the background because this is a show about human drama. That's fine, I guess. But when it's time to put some aliens front and center, they shouldn't feel this...half-baked. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

But Cassian and Melshi's escape also leads me to the one scene that I found really unimpressive: their encounter with the Narkina 5 aliens. These guys were just...underwhelming. Their speech was almost laughably primitive, and their design was, well, boring. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

It’s fitting that Cassian is standing on a beach, looking at the faint glow of the sun, during this key moment in the process of his radicalization. As we know, his path will lead him to a noble death in an almost identical setting. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

When Cassian agrees with Melshi that they can't just forget about Narkina 5 and move on, you can tell that his imprisonment — combined with his anger over Maarva's death, which is partly due to another instance of Imperial oppression — has planted a seed of purpose inside him. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

In that final scene, Melshi anxiously wonders what it'll mean if only he & Cassian escaped Narkina 5. When he tells Cassian their survival is essential b/c "somebody's got to tell people what's happening back there," it really seems to land w/ Cassian. Another spark of defiance. — PolitiTweet.org