Recap and Review of Andor Episode 7: Announcement

Last time, we saw the heist finally happen and the chaos that ensued from it as the plan didn’t go exactly as hoped. But the end result is the same: the funds were raided, even if it cost several crew members.

But Cassian walked away, taking only his agreed upon amount of the funds. So what will be the ramifications? Will that level of financial loss really get the attention of the Empire? And if so, what happens next?

Recap of Andor Episode 7: Announcement

This episode really break down into a few key storylines. First up, what is happening with Cassian? He returns to Ferrix to collect Maarva and B2EMO and get off world, as he has enough credits to do so. However, he discovers a couple of things.

First, that Maarva doesn’t want to leave, as she has been inspired by the recent heist. She clearly thinks that even in her older age and with the mobility issues that she has, there is a rebellion coming. And we understand why she feels that way, as we get some flashback scenes to what has been alluded to earlier: her partner Clem was killed by stormtroopers and hung in the town square as an example, even though we discover from the flashback that he was desperately trying to keep the peace and not have an incident.

The second thing that Cassian discovers is that he is now hated on Ferrix. The people there know that he has brought down an unprecedented level of the Empire being involved in their lives. If he hadn’t gone off world and killed those men, then none of the occupation would happen. Cassian seems to feel lost when he gets this news. But he seems to move forward with his plan of moving to a warm place and living off his portion of the heist, staying away from and out of control of the Empire.

But what is the Empire’s response to the heist on Aldhani? Well, the security council led by Major Partagaz has taken the proverbial nuclear option. They aren’t just enacting a punishment on Aldhani and any people that they can catch that were involved there; they are punishing ALL of the planets and worlds.

In addition to mentioning increased taxes and shutting down local customs and events, you just get the sense that if the Empire is the hand on the neck of all the people, it is closing its fist.

However, one member of the council disagrees, as Dedra Meero thinks this is a mistake, calling the heist not just a robbery but rather as an announcement, which is where the episode’s title comes from. And if the heist is an announcement of a rebellion, she wants to be involved in squashing it. So, she goes around the protocols and gathers information to prove her theory: the Rebellion is real and they have been preparing for awhile.

When her plan is called out by her security council rival, against all expectations, Major Partagaz sides with Meero, giving her more autonomy and power, seeming to buy into her argument that a rebellion would ignore the borders of the Empire’s sectors and quadrants, which are constructs of the Empire, as they go about their work.

But he does warn her in a hallway conversation afterwards to watch her back.

Finally, what about the architects of the Rebellion? Well, we are able to determine that Luthen and Mon Mothma are not on the same page at all. While she seems to have been wanting to primarily engage in humanitarian aid and figure out how to do a small, quiet political revolution.

But Luthen has upped the ante with the heist on Aldhani. Mothma had no idea about it and when she confronts him, he points out that in order to do and have a rebellion it needed funds. Since she was unable to provide that, he created another way.

That comes into play later when Mothma entertains her old friend, Tay, who is a banker from her home world. He seems skeptical, seeing her as having taken on the aristocracy and rich life of Coruscant. But when she confesses that she is, at heart, just as much behind the rebellion as he is emotionally and politically, it appears that he may help her in a crucial way, by establishing a charity that she can use her family’s funds to essentially launder money to the rebellion without drawing suspicion.

She seems to have taken to heart the words of Luthen and is ready to act.

And that would be it. Except that Cassian soon learns the realities now: he cannot escape the Empire. While on his vacation world, he is sent out to collect some things by the lady he is with and he stumbles into some kind of issue with the Empire.

He is pretty quickly arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to 6 years, with the judge making a note that before the heist, the sentence would have been much less severe. So, what happens to Cassian from here?

Thoughts on Andor Episode 7: Announcement

This episode felt like a deep exhale and inhale all at once, as they pull back the tension of the heist, while setting up what comes after it. That the heist is a major event is a good thing for the show; imagine if the Empire had just written it off an accounting loss.

Cassian dealing with the fallout from both his previous bounty on Ferrix and the aftermath of the heist is interesting. When Maarva discusses the heist and how it has inspired her, you can tell that he really wants to share with her that he was a major part of it but he keeps it to himself.

When Bix explains how everyone on Ferrix hates him because of what his actions have brought to the people there, you can see he feels stuck. In the end, all he seems to want to do is get away from the Empire, yet the scenes at the end show the truth: There is no escaping them.

The discussions between Luthen and Mothma were well done. You get people who are ultimately in alignment and yet, they see the approach to what they want in completely different lights. It was a great example of storytelling in a world that could easily be painted in black and white to find there are some shades of grey between the rebellion and the Empire.

And, even though it makes little sense, somehow, I am cheering for Dedra Meero. Right now, if she got her wish, it would be crushing the rebellion and, obviously, that isn’t good for the show or story. Yet, with all the hurdles in front of her, it is hard to not want to see her succeed against all the odds in front of her. Will she come around to the rebellion? It may in some ways be an easy out but it wouldn’t be the worst plotline in a Star Wars related media.

So, how is Cassian going to get out of this sentence? And will it be worse? Will they identify him for who he really is? And does anyone know about him and his involvement with the heist? They have definitely set-up some hooks for the rest of this season is this episode.