Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-8 of Andor.Over the course of an ever-growing number of shows and films, we have seen many terrifying corners of the Star Wars universe. From enormous creatures that can swallow you whole to the clone of a space wizard who can shoot lightning from his fingers, there is much to be afraid of in this world. However, all of this pales in comparison to what we saw in the most recent episode of Andor, written by Beau Willimon and directed by Toby Haynes, which remains the best entry the series has seen in a long while.
Titled “Narkina 5,” which refers to the planet where much of the episode is set, we follow Cassian (Diego Luna) who has been sentenced to six years in prison on bogus charges. Everything is suffocating from the brief yet grim journey to the moment he arrives there where one of his fellow inmates says “breathe deep brother, this may be the last fresh air we ever taste” before they are all taken into the windowless facility. When they all are made to remove their shoes, none seems to understand why. That is, until one of the guards gives a sickening speech before sending shocks of pain through all their bodies. Essentially, the entire floor of the facility is a weapon that can kill any of those held there in the blink of an eye. The message is clear: step out of line for even a second and that will be the last decision you ever make.
As we are taken deeper into the stark facility, everything just gets increasingly bleak. There are no quips or moments of levity as the situation is captured with an emphasis on how cold it all is. The guards will inflict punishment without a moment of hesitation and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. More terrifying is how they don’t even need to be present and merely “come to pick up the dead and bring the replacements.” This is one of the first things that Cassian hears when he arrives on the floor where he will spend most of his days. It is told to him by the gruff Kino Loy, played by an understated Andy Serkis in a surprise role, who is a manager though also a prisoner himself who believes he will be out in 249 days. He gives Cassian the rundown on how the inmates are all competing against each other while he is competing against all the other rooms. He closes this speedy yet sinister introduction with a haunting final line: “Losing hope, your mind, keep it to yourself. Don't ever slow up my line.”
The Prison Not Only Punishes the Inmates But Turns Them Against Each Other
We are then left with only the whirring of the machines, an occasional message from a robotic voice, and the desperate discussions among the laboring men that punctuate the room. They have all been pitted against each other as to fall behind is to be punished with pain and to rise to the top is to be given a small reward of flavor in the food. It is psychological warfare on top of the physical punishment that is presented with hardly any sense of hope to cling to. We don’t see the punishment Cassian and his new team get given though we can witness it in the horror on their faces when they then march out through a tunnel. This is made even more horrifying as we then get a look out the window where there are countless other prisoners being put through this same existence of suffering. They have all been made into cogs in a machine where they will work themselves to the bone in grueling 12-hour shifts and then get cast aside without a second thought. There is a countdown of how many days Cassian has left, though this is merely a formality as another prisoner rightly informs him they’ll be in as long as those in power keep them. Their labor is valuable though their humanity is not.
It was a devastating episode that showed how, with death just a step away even when you are sleeping, some will take their own life rather than choose to carry on with suffering. It showed how the prison as an institution will always both dehumanize and demoralize those who live there until there is basically nothing left of who you once were when you entered. They are even made to face more punishment and stricter resentencing as part of the Empire’s revealing crackdown on all it holds within its grasp. This is all built in the small details from the fleeting lines of conversation to the grim way Cassian, living under a fake name once more, is forced to adapt to his new state of existence in order to survive.
There is never a moment of relief as the series immerses us completely in the most terrifying aspect of the world the series has been willing to grapple with to date. The mundanity of it only makes it all the more menacing as we can feel the smothering force of being trapped in the glaring white rooms and the toll it takes on all who are confined there. For every moment they get focused on the work, there is the unending sense that all are on the edge of falling apart. No person will ever be strong enough to endure such crushing confinement and escape unscathed.
Though it is a fictional facility with its own tools of control, it is merely a reflection of how prisons are built upon the complete and utter destruction of those being held there. It is a work of science fiction that, even with all its fantastical technology, proves to be painfully and surprisingly apt at portraying an all-too-familiar terror. Star Wars has been no stranger to making political observations, but my goodness this season has been the sharpest the series has ever been. The manner in which it explores the way power crushes those underfoot strikes more fear than even the greatest creature in the galaxy because of how real it is all rendered. Even with the knowledge that Cassian will eventually escape, most of those held there with him may not be so lucky. Sure, we have begun to see cracks and vulnerabilities as well as hints of a potential rebellion happening within the confines of the prison. However, there is no escaping the way a place like this can rip the life out of you. The final shot of the episode where the camera pulls back to see Cassian and the prisoners all relentlessly working to beat the others is subtle yet soul-crushing. It speaks to how, even with small gasps of hope, there will always be a perpetual and often losing battle to prevent it from being smothered out.