Over the course of the last couple episodes of the Disney+ series, one hell of a payoff has been provided to the robbery that has been going on. One of the greatest hours of Star Wars committed to screen is the one titled "The Eye". The Diego Luna-led, rebellion-era tale has set itself apart and we are only halfway through it. The episode opens with a brief exchange of ideologies, as Nemik chooses to believe in the person he knows as "Clem" even though he can't believe in himself. There is a quiet moment before the tension of the rest of the episode when the purity of Nemik can be seen. He wants to know how an insurgency can use the means of mercenaries. He wouldn't be there if some part of him wasn't willing to fight. A sense of assurance washes over the kid as he confides in the other that he wonders when he'll get to sleep. When it's done, "You'll sleep when it's done," is the response, and we can tell that the young man he used to be is still alive. We knew it was going to set us up for some sort of pain, even as we hoped the kid would get through to our hero. Commander Jayhold is talking to Colonel Petigar about how he has destroyed the spirits of the Dhanis so that they won't go to the sacred valley to see the shower. They take advantage of their refusal to accept free things out of pride and lose money. Accommodations or good old capitalism are both not ideal options, but the only ones on the table to lure the Dhanis away from their land and make the trek less doable. The trip isn't worth it if you put up stops with drinks and rest stops. Petigar asked Jayhold if they knew it would be their last year at the sacred temple, and Jayhold told him that their expansion would go as planned so the Empire could pillage the highlands. It is foolish to put a price on faith. The rebels break up into teams, which are Echo One, which are the guys, and team Valley One, which are the girls. Tameryn, a stormtrooper who has since defected, comes naturally to Andor because he was once a stormtrooper. There is no time for doubt as you see more information disseminated by Skeen at just the right moment. Jayhold and his family were escort by team echo to a traditional trading of furs to mark the beginning of celebration. The Dhani pilgrims and Jayhold don't get the true message from the Dhanis, so they use a translator to communicate with each other. When Jayhold walks away, they throw the fur he gave them into the fire. When they return to the base, they take Jay hold of his family and reveal themselves to him. Vel points out that only the Empire does things like that. If Jay hold helps them secure the payroll and get their men to cooperate in the vault, he and his family will be free. The stress of this moment, where we and our rebels alike just have to assume Jay hold will cooperate, is gut-wrenchingly tense, a feeling that barely leaves the episode from this moment on. The Dhani chants are almost as if they invoke divine vengeance, as the rebels enter the Imperial depot, and as the meteorites strike across the sky. There is a stunning, heady mix of tension and hope as the plan seems to start to look like it will go off... until, eventually, Kimzi intercepts the interfered comms between the rebels, making out that they are in the vaults. Everything is building, the rush as the team screams at their Imperial captives to load the payroll data quicker, Jayhold's realization of the scope of betrayal he faces when Gorn arrives not to stop them, but to join in. When Kimzi and his men show up, it is released. The tension was too much and hell broke out. Every shot increases our anxiety. As the rebels scramble to make it to the ship, Gorn goes down almost immediately as the rebels scramble to make it to the ship, and sadly, poor Tameryn is shot and killed, leaving the rebel contingent down to three. The rest of the team and the payroll stacks will fly when the rest of the rebels are inside. When Vel and Skeen drag him out, it's only worse because he can't feel his legs. In spite of seeming success, "The Eye" never loosened its tension. If that wasn't enough sound and fury, three TIEs shrieked into action. Every TIE Fighter on the tail gets stricken down by the grace of the Dhani's ceremony. It is not clear if the Dhanians were aware of the situation or not, but they felt it in the air. As we know our rebels have succeeded, there is something spiritual about their quiet awe looking up at the spectacle.
The victory is short-lived. Skeen tells Andor that Vel is going to sacrifice the boy for the good of the mission because he doesn't want to go to a back-up doctor. It seems that Skeen was taken to the doctor's safe house by a group of people who voted against her. Skeen and Cassian wait outside, while Vel waits with Nemik as he goes into surgery. Skeen thinks that he can be the same mercenary as his friend. He wants to cut the payroll data's value by 80 million credits. Skeen thinks he's found someone like himself in a man who came from where he came from and knows how to climb over others.
There is a moment of relief when you think things could get worse. He isn't a hero because he was willing to stop Skeen and Vel from messing with each other. Cassian went to Vel to get a cut and a way off-world, only to realize that he didn't make it. He told Vel that he was leaving with his cut and instructing her to give Luthen his jewel. The man is out. He protects the cause despite letting another loss get to him. Vel is said to have given the final request to take the document. The last act of twists and reveals is so fast that you don't have time to breathe or absorb the randomness of Nemik's death. There is a lot to take in, and a lot to be done. No matter how scared he is of them, some of them lived.
Things continue to move back on Coruscant. At the ISB, Dedra and her fellow officers are collected for an emergency meeting held by Major Partagaz, who demands every star sector and planetary emergency retaliation plan in the building ready for presentation. As Mon Mothma pleads for a proposal to aid the Ghormans, something happens as her fellow senators turn away. In Luthen's den of antiquities, a rich couple ask if he has any Aldhani pieces jokingly, referring to the news, and we end the tension over, on his sheer joy, laughing in the back room as he realized his plan worked. The rebellion has just begun and we can finally breathe.
We need to give him some milk. He was told to climb by Andor and K-2SO's.
Vel and Cinta are together. We are relieved and hope to see them again. They might get their own spin-off series.
The beauty and brutality of The Eye made it the best Star Wars spectacle I have ever seen.
Skeen cursed his sad background and awesome lines. I hope nobody got that tattooed on them. I don't know what to say.
There was a real culture through the pilgrims in contrast to the Imperial uniforms and regalia.
What will Dedra do when she starts her mess?
Andor is on Disney+.
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