Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-7 of Andor.
There has been a recurring visual element in Andor that has helped it tower far above almost everything else in the Star Wars series. Rather than see the world from high above via spacecrafts and cruisers, we are more often placed on the ground looking up. This different perspective has continued to provide a more grounded sense of emotion to the story and, perhaps more importantly, served as a physical representation of its most compelling idea.
As one now departed revolutionary said in the episode prior, “surprise from above is never as shocking as one from below.” This week's episode, "Announcements," proved these words to be prescient in capturing the power this idea has in action. After the successful yet costly heist on Aldhani, the show slows down to continue building its refreshingly expansive world as it explores the details of how the Empire is cracking down on any and all potential hints of rebellion.
The Empire Believes a Show of Force Will Push Everyone Back in Line
In an opening monologue, the ISB announces the official outline of new measures put in place across the galaxy. From the raising of taxes to increased criminalization and the creation of their very own version of the Patriot Act, there is a clear panic that the operation at the Aldhani garrison will only be the beginning of more like it in the future. Those in charge, supposedly including Emperor Palpatine himself, believe that the measures will stifle any potential organizing in the future. The Empire fears that their vulnerability has been made abundantly clear for all to see and that this has the power to embolden more people to take action against them. A show of force like this is what they believe will push everyone back into place. Rather than be successful, it lays bare how truly fragile they are. Even as they posture like they can stop any revolution the moment it starts, there is no way for them to stop everyone. The supposedly all-seeing and powerful government is not nearly as strong as it wants people to think.
That a single operation could rattle them shows that it was not just about what was being stolen in the heist, but something deeper. It was about sending a message that, with all their bluster and bravado, the Empire is perpetually exposed to an attack from below. Even with a steep cost to pay it was a transformative moment. The message the Empire is trying to send back is revealed as one that can only backfire on them. The story doesn’t do so in a showy manner and continues to more subtly uncover how the seeds of rebellion are rapidly taking hold. We see this in action when Cassian (Diego Luna) returns home and tries to get his mother Maarva (Fiona Shaw) to run away to somewhere the Empire won’t find them. Of course, such a place doesn’t really exist anymore. We then see how Maarva, after years of living under repression that has only increased, is going to spend the time she has left fighting it. She is the embodiment of what the Empire needs to fear most. Though they didn’t know they were doing so, Maarva is who they have created through their own callousness.
Don’t let it be mistaken, she doesn’t take this leap lightly. More than almost anyone, Maarva understands how this could be the end for her as it carries immense risk. She has seen what happens to those that cross the Empire. Cassian tries to warn her away from this, telling her that she could die, though she frankly replies “but there’s work that will need doing.” Alone, Maarva will not be able to topple this authoritarian and repressive government by herself. Even though she is committed to the cause and willing to give everything in the fight, there are still very long odds. However, when you have a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand Maarvas, then you begin to have something that can start to tip the scales.
The Empire Wants to Believe They Can Stop More Rebels From Rising Up
The Empire is under the impression that they can stop Maarva and others like her from resisting. They hope that they can put Pandora back in the box, but all they've done is given more throughout the galaxy the motivation to rip it wide open. It shows that the power of a rebellion comes not just from its victories, but also from how it provokes those in power to tell on themselves. They still have their hands on the levers of power and are going to use them to continue to repress those under their control. Most tellingly, their aggressiveness comes as people see that these levers can be wrested free. The Empire does all it can to project strength at every turn, but this shows that there is a weakness in every desperate act of control. All the bureaucrats in the boardroom are trying to delude themselves into believing they are untouchable, but the people now know this is not the case. They have gotten a glimpse of a different future. Every new soldier sent out and measure that is taken in response just reaffirms that those in power are getting nervous.
Of course, such a transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Cassian, for all that he was integral to the operation’s success, still largely underestimates what he has helped to start. After leaving Maarva and his home on Ferrix behind, he goes to the equivalent of a vacation planet where hopes to party away as a tourist. That gets dashed when he is caught up in one of the government’s crackdowns on dissent and sentenced to an astonishing six years in prison — all part of the change of guidelines introduced at the beginning, but a consequence that leaves Cassian completely baffled at how this all happened. How could he, a man just standing and doing nothing near the beach, be deserving of such a sentence?
The Empire clearly believes bringing the hammer down on him and others is what is necessary to maintain order. However, it also shows they fear him, and others like him, more than he ever could have realized. While this is certainly a setback, we know that Cassian will eventually get out of prison and carry that knowledge with him. It is a radicalizing moment on Andor, however, as it reveals that he and anyone with the courage to take the ultimate risk are always capable of bringing the most seemingly invulnerable regimes to their knees. It all begins with that initial spark.