Andor’s prison break finds more power in Star Wars than the Jedi

The tenth season of Andor It is Star Wars’ greatest episode. One of the show’s more action-packed episodes, it pays off tiny moments of setup from previous episodes and is chock-full of catharsis.

Narkina 5’s climax episode of its three-episode story arc is a good example of one of the key driving forces that drives the series. Andor such a compelling Star Wars tale: By breaking free of the constraints of the Force and the Jedi Order, there’s more room to maneuver, and more stories to tell.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for episode 10 of Andor.]

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There’s no Darth Vader on Narkina 5, and there are no Sith Lords. But that doesn’t make the prison there any less terrifying — if anything, the lack of magic-adjacent Star Wars stuff helps make the prison feel more real and more scary.

Ever since we were introduced to Narkina 5, I’ve been excited for the eventual prison break. The events of Rogue One We can be sure that Melshi, Cassian and Melshi will all make it together. Tony Gilroy will not introduce us to space jail without a spectacular prison escape sequence.

It delivers an intense adrenaline rush and sheer excitement, along with a feeling of catharsis. Cassian, Melshi and other prisoners make use of the tools they have been oppressed to break free. The electrified tungsten floor allows them freedom of movement. And crucially the weapons they use in their fight for freedom are the tools they used to build in the prison — wrenches, pipes, and even their own bodies. When the guards shout “on program” to the prisoners for the final, fateful time, director Toby Haynes shows us how many of the prisoners are hiding these tools behind their backs while holding their hands up behind their heads.

Importantly, no prisoners have any supernatural powers or are Jedi. It is a team effort because it has to be, and the prisoners on Narkina 5 have to use every single tool at their disposal — including people they may not have previously thought of as allies. As they take control of the tools they’ve been using, they also retake control of their own bodies and their relationships with each other. Andor production designer Luke Hull told Polygon the Empire considers prisoners simply “disposable parts of the machine.” In the climactic prison break, they are reclaiming their humanity as well as their freedom.

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Andy Serkis’ Kino Loy character is key here, especially for how Andor Thinks about rebellion and oppression. Over the course of these three episodes, he goes from abettor of the Empire’s agenda for his own benefit to stubborn resistor of facts to eventual leader of the prison’s rebellion. Cassian tries to convince Kino about the terrible truth of their circumstances. Andor is reminiscent of John Carpenter’s masterful They are aliveRoddy Piper attempts convincing Keith David that the horrendous truths of that story are true. Like Keith David’s character in that movie, Kino is stubbornly and violently resistant to the truth because of how terrible it is, before eventually and wholeheartedly giving into it. Only one way out.

When Cassian and Kino Loy make it to the prison’s control room, it’s their turn to bark orders at the guards. Kino Loy, previously responsible for keeping his prisoners productive and on track, now has to give a new kind of order. It’s one he struggles with, and Serkis’ remarkable performance reaches another height in this moment as he seems to be physically incapable of speaking the words he needs to. It’s only after Cassian encourages Kino and tells him how necessary he is that the words can come out. You can read the rest of this article. Andor, there are no singular heroes — it takes everyone doing their part.

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It leads to one the most cathartic moments of an extraordinarily cathartic episode. Two security guards are still in the control area, anxious for what’s next. Cassian barks “ON PROGRAM!” at them, as they jolt with fright. Diego Luna delights in the opportunity to turn the tables and puts his entire body into this command. A few minutes later, another group of guards is seen hiding in fear at the door while prisoners sprint joyfully towards their freedom.

Using the Empire against itself is a running theme throughout the show — in Andor’s Excellent heist plot. The caper crew disguised themselves as sheepherders in order to blend in and take advantage of the Empire’s ignorance about ordinary people to complete the Aldhani mission. And it’s Luthen’s entire deal on the show, purposefully goading the Empire into overreacting in order to foment an organized rebellion (and in this episode, Luthen even gets to deliver an eerie monologue in an ominous meeting in the dark on a bridge, dressed like a dang Sith Lord in a flowing black cape).

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Narkina 5 has prisoners that outnumber guards. It’s something Cassian has suspected from the beginning, and that we learn for certain in the explosive closing line from Kino in episode 9. We finally get to see the effect in the tenth season. If the multitude is too scared to fight, the few will be able rule over them all. You are not. AndorThis means that you must use all tools and means of survival. Be sure to use the tools you have.

Imagine a Jedi as the protagonist in this version of escape. What would a prison escape feel like? How weightless and without stakes? How could a rebellion ever work if it’s so reliant on the abilities of a select few? Instead, Andor shows us the simple truth: There’s only one way out, and it’s together.