Andor Gives Star Wars the Riot It Desperately Needed

Every frame of this week's "One Way Out" is powerful. It is great to have you back after we missed you.

The best of recent Star Wars and the best of recent television can be found in this episode.

You know he means business when he says "it's time" Everything comes to a screeching halt when it is chilling. The people in the block express some last-minute hesitation, but they move on. 5,000 are about to find out that it doesn't matter if you finish your sentence, you'll be sent back in until you drop. The character can no longer avoid expressing his feelings thanks to Luna's performance. Andor acts as a conduit to amplify what everyone's feeling and make them realize they're stronger together. He said he would rather take them down than give them what they wanted.

Dedra Meero and Partagaz are looking at the success of their staged strike and the importance of time. A high-ranking Imperial Security Bureau officer, Lonni Jung, steps ahead of Dedra in her moment to suggest they act as usual to not draw any attention to what they know. You feel the anger in Dedra that she is being undermined. I think she is going to torture someone to cope.

At the prison, it is when Kino finally takes charge. He has been the supervisor of the block. They know they are more capable than the guards with their bzz bzz sticks because of how strong they are in their work with this man. When Kino says "it's time" and "to make it look good", it's on. They trust each other more than the Empire gives them credit for, which is a power they have over an organization that is about doing the least to win the most. Let's take a break from Star Wars.

There aren't a lot of moments outside of the main event. We get a glimpse of our girl thinking that Andor's mother is being watched. People are waiting for him to come back. He is a man without Jedi powers who knows how the world works. The show says that there are people like Andor scattered across the galaxy who can radicalize those around them to fight against the Empire. The people need power.

The Chandrillan thug with deep pockets is met with by Mon Mothma. As Davo looks around at the status Mon doesn't have, you can see that he is new money. You can tell he wants it by the way he is looking at it. It was clear that he wasn't going to ask for money from the start, because his opener about how the "indulgence of great wealth is freedom from other people's opinions" had me cringing. Mon wanted the transaction to be financial, so she didn't think it would be that.

Davo assures her that the cost of dodging the Imperial law is challenging, but he doesn't need a fee to help her. Mon can see that it is a personal cost when he references the importance of Chandrillan tradition. Davo would love to bring his son to meet Leida since they are both around the same age. Marrying age is that thing. Davo reminded Mon that their positions made choices for them and that she should think about it. Mon doesn't want Leida to go through what she did.

Kleya delivered a message that one of their contacts would like to meet. She is perturbed by the timing and insists that he let her go do it. Luthen points out that it is surprising that it took someone a year to reach out.

As work continues to be done as if nothing is going to happen, the prisoners are left with no choice but to make a decision. They remind each other that there is only one way out. The perfect storm of events began to unfold as the new prisoner was lowered in; the cuts in this scene were so masterfully assembled that my anxiety was through the roof.

Two men with blasters were overwhelmed by gears and tools. The tools of the oppressors were taken and the Imperial rent-a-cops were afraid. The fire spreads quickly. There is a swell of Nicholas Britell's singular score. They need to go to the command center. The prison guard and his staff realized they were in over their heads and folded quickly. They shut down the prison and held the guards in the command center hostage.

Serkis made Kino one of the most memorable new characters in Star Wars. I was moved to tears when he talked about how they control the facility now, that freedom is within reach, and if they fight half as hard as they have been working, they will get this. Word of mouth in the community is powerful. Chanting "one way out" as they escaped made them feel better. I wanted to wake my neighbors up so they wouldn't scream at the screen as they jumped into the sea. One of the most sad moments in Star Wars is when Kino says he can't swim and Andor isn't able to help him. It is a tragic win that Serkis looked at everyone he freed and accepted his fate.

Lonni is a double agent in the last act of the show. The person who wanted to meet with Luthen was the one who tried to stop Dedra. He would like to leave. Luthen knows that Lonni has a daughter and a family, and because of them there's no way out for him. Luthen doesn't blink an eye at sacrificing lives. The rebellion means different things to different people. Luthen is not quite at the burn it all down level. Luthen doesn't care if Dedra is on the middleman or the thief. Lonni was asked to encourage the search. As he explains why this is his goal, Skarsgrd gives a tour de force. No one can be spared according to him. Lonni's kid will have a dad and he assures her that his double life is worth it. What does Luthen need to win? He lost it all because of his ego, which led him to destroy himself for others to have a future. He won't see the rebellion he's investing in. He told Lonni that he needed all the heroes he could get.

Andor makes his way to the beach with Melshi. The leader used to amplify radicalization against the machine. It is in the people who have lost their peace that we can restore it. It should always come down to the man. It's the best of television on a scale. While freedom will cost bodies and souls, the people will always decide the terms and the future is worth fighting for. That is on a show called Star Wars.

On Disney+, you can stream Wednesdays.

Do you want to know more about io9. What's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, when to see the latest superhero movies, and what to know about James Cameron's "The Way of Water" are just some of the things you can check out.