Andor shows us the quiet before the storm in its best episode yet

So far I’ve been pretty critical of Andor’s title character. Yes, Diego Luna is a delight, but Andor himself has felt thinly-sketched, even by the standards of someone still figuring their shit out. “The Axe Forgets” is, in many ways, the quietest Andor installment yet. In other ways, it’s the show’s most revealing and tightly-plotted, and Andor himself shines in the center of a very good episode of television which asks: Who are we without a true cause?

Truth is the theme of the week, subtly but excellently highlighted by the continuing strife within the Mothma family. Mon and Perrin’s daughter, Leida (Bronte Carmichael), comes into the fold this week. Star Wars has never dealt with childhood angst particularly well (lookin’ at you, prequels) but the heartbreaking thing here, as Leida favors her glad-handing, publicly apolitical father and questions her mother’s commitment to anything other than outside appearances, is that she’s sort of right! As is her mother. Mon is in an impossible position in trying to look like just another politician, and that requires a lot of work and not much “picking up from school.” Of course this is a necessary front for her vital participation in the rebellion. But is a noble goal any better than actually being a staunch careerist, when the effect on her alienated daughter is the same?

Over on Aldhani, “Clem” is quickly ingratiating himself with the hardline rebels. He makes headway with Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who has had like four breakout roles this year alone). Skeen’s a direct victim of the Empire’s cruelty, disclosing the tattoos he got under Imperial captivity. What’s more, his brother died by suicide after an Imperial Prefect flooded his land and killed his farm. We get a little backstory to the rest of the clan, too. Nemik (Alex Lawther) is a “true believer” who likes to futz with old, pre-Imperial tech. Cinta is “stone cold” and, Skeen is quick to tell him, “she’s already sharing a blanket.” Clem’s nervous that plenty of this risky plan hinges on the loyalties of Lieutenant Gorn, who apparently lost his taste for the Empire after he took an Aldhani lover, whom he promptly “lost.” (Fill in the gaps here yourself.) “Everyone has their own rebellion,” Skeen tells Andor who, for the first time, starts to truly understand why these people have foraged and planned for years at the cost of, well, everything else.

Someone still trying to work out their own rebellion is delightful sadsack Syril Karn. Kyle Soller has already been wonderful as a high-minded villain, and his gear-switch into “sore loser living with his mom” has just the right level of pathos and levity to make for a genuinely fascinating longterm story. Will his festering self-pity turn into something uglier? His mom, Eedy (Kathryn Hunter), doesn’t help much. She chides him for slouching as he nurses what looks like the saddest bowl of space cereal of all time. “You might as well wear a sign that says ‘I promise to disappoint you,’” she says matter-of-factly. She decides to call in the “family favor” to one Uncle Harlo (apologies if he’s been mentioned before but I have no idea who this is) to find Syril a new purpose. That might be hard, given that Syril stays up at night fixating on a hologram of Cassian Andor, the one that got away.

Andor, meanwhile, has impressed on Aldhani. He’s helpful, observant, and points out a few key details which may very well help the plan run a little more smoothly. Skeen throws a brief spanner in the works by discovering Cassian’s Kyber Crystal, wondering angrily why someone would bring treasure to a heist. Now truly wanting to be a part of the mission, Cassian comes clean: He’s being paid to be here, and they can either deal with it or he can leave them to it. He’s already gone a long way to earning Vel’s respect by adapting quickly to the conditions and spikily insisting on flying the freighter during their escape. It’s the first time Cassian’s shown true anger and commitment, and I’m excited about where he goes from here.

And just like that, it’s the night of the heist. The rebels have one final drink together and make for the supply hub, which is being guarded by a skeleton crew after Gorn grants the other officers permission to see “the eye,” That one-of-a-kind celestial event we’ve heard so much about. Even better, Gorn tricked the officers into thinking it was their idea to leave essential staff only in the hub. I respect this man’s wiles! I called last week’s episode a “table-setting” installment and, quicker than I expected, the robbery is moments away. Next week, it’s time to sit down and eat.

Stray observations

• No Maarva or Bix yet again, but with Blevin overseeing the Imperial occupation of Ferrix, it’s only a matter of time before we get back to everyone’s new favorite desert/scrap metal planet.
• Even Luthen gets shunted to the sidelines this week, appearing only briefly at the end of the episode while he nervously waits on news from Aldhani.
• That’s a “Krayt Head” tattoo on Skeen, not to be confused with Crait, the cool-ass salt planet from Episode VIII.
• I shouted this out last week but, god, TIE fighters hit different this close to the ground. They swoop down like wailing banshees. A true threat and the furthest thing from the cannon fodder we’ve gotten used to them being in the films. Later on, we get a show of the iconic three-winged Imperial Shuttle gliding across Aldhani’s horizon. It’s intimate and sinister all at once.
• Luthen hinted there may be someone in the rebel cell not to be trusted. Any bets for next week?