credit: Andor
It feels as though Andor took a long time to build to this current moment, but it stands to reason that the man had to be convinced that there was a reason to fight against the Empire rather than just run and hide from it. Being sent to a labor camp without committing a serious crime appears to have solidified the idea that fighting is a better idea finally, as this episode makes it clear that Cassian is finally going to do what he can to make the Empire tremble just a bit if he can do so.
He might not be the rebel spy that he was in Rogue One yet, but at the very least, this episode shows that he’s on the right track and that his ingenuity and intelligence are great enough to make him a true threat to those who might not take him seriously. It’s already been established once and again that the Rebel Alliance is not a perfect or even cohesive group since many of those who managed to get the ball rolling weren’t exactly on the same page. But at this time, it would appear that a few of them are resolute in their position, while others are finding that the price they’ll have to pay to make certain that the Empire is not allowed to rule unchecked might be a lot higher than they were hoping. One can almost feel sorry for the likes of Mon Mothma, who is currently looking at the option of using her daughter to secure what she needs. It’s not an option that Mon wants by any means, but finding another way to fund the rebellion might be kind of tough.
credit: Andor
Mon Mothma can’t be blamed for trying to circumvent the most difficult choices when it comes to funding the rebellion, but it feels as though she wasn’t prepared for the answer she was going to receive.
How far was Mon Mothma willing to go for the rebellion? This was never really covered in the original trilogy since a lot of people simply assumed that the rebels were the good guys and didn’t need to be questioned when it came to how they managed to amass their resources. Maybe it was also an assumption that the rebels had managed to steal, beg, and borrow for everything they were given. There have been novels written that show the grittier side of the rebellion, but Andor is finally giving us a decent picture of how hard things really were at the beginning and what kind of decisions had to be made in order to thwart the Empire one day.
But Mon’s decision to give her daughter’s hand in an arranged marriage could lead to disaster since it would appear that her relationship with her daughter is a bit tenuous, and the wrong decision could make things harder for the rebellion or ruin a relationship that isn’t perfect, to begin with. One would think that a mother might never make such a compromise, but the truth is that the rebellion, and its leadership, made a lot of hard choices in the early days before the war against the Empire.
Luthen has proven that he’s every bit as ruthless as people might have thought in earlier episodes.
The funny thing about a rebellion is that it means something different to a lot of people, and Luthen proves that in a big way since his willingness to threaten an informant and the man’s family, no less if he decides to quit is proof that the rebels weren’t always the nicest people. Some folks tend to believe in the cause to such a degree that there’s nothing left BUT the cause.
Luthen is the type of guy that might bomb a building full of people just to get at several key characters that the Empire can’t do without, or perhaps something even more sinister and diabolical. For zealots, there’s not a lot that’s out of bounds when it comes to the mission they set for themselves. Luthen might be a problem later on down the line, especially since he’s admitted that there’s nothing left for him but the rebellion, which could easily mean that he’s going to sacrifice everyone he feels that he needs to in order to bring the Empire down. Unfortunately, that could eventually make him every bit as dangerous as his enemies.
credit: Andor
Cassian might not have complete faith in the rebellion, but he’s at least driven to do something to make it known that he’s not going to be cowed.
If there’s one thing that’s kind of obvious at this point, it’s that Cassian is here to fight until the last breath leaves his body. His private bid for dominance with Kino was kind of necessary to make it clear to the other man that their freedom had been taken and was never going to be returned.
The fact that the Empire would kill so many just to keep things working the way they had been was a rough wake-up call for Kino, and it definitely took him a while to realize that fighting for one’s freedom was far better than living with the continual realization that the workers were going to be kept until they were no longer of use.
The idea of the rebels being the protagonists still holds true, but the tarnish that the movement has accrued makes it far more realistic.
Let’s just say it plainly: the rebels aren’t the best people in the universe since they’ll do what it takes to get what they need. But at the end of the day, they’re fighting for the freedoms of everyone, starting with themselves. Plus, they’re not typically trying to enslave anyone, no matter what Luthen is ready to do.
the rebels
