‘Andor’ Episode 4 Recap: Delicious Star Wars Easter Eggs and References, Explained

Episode 4 of Star Wars sequence Andor hit Disney Plus final Wednesday, revealing Rogue One hero Cassian’s subsequent steps into the supersecret rise up towards the totalitarian Empire, after he deserted his household, associates and residential in the three-episode premiere. The fourth episode additionally introduces a well-known heroic face and a brand new one within the Imperial menace, in addition to a bunch of enjoyable Easter eggs and nods to Star Wars lore.

The fifth episode is coming to Disney Plus on Wednesday.

The present takes place 5 years earlier than 2016 spinoff film Rogue One, which revealed the occasions main into the unique Star Wars movie, A New Hope. Life on this galaxy kinda sucks on this period, when Emperor Palpatine’s forces are increasing their sphere of affect and enveloping peculiar people in a vicelike grip.

On the run from the legislation, Cassian (Diego Luna) escaped with insurgent recruiter Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) for components unknown. Let’s take a look at our hero’s new scenario, see how the seeds of rise up are being planted on the coronary heart of galactic energy and meet our impeccably tailor-made baddies. An Empire of SPOILERS awaits.

The pitch

HYPERSPACE — Luthen continues to be supercool as he convinces Cassian to affix the insurgent trigger, reasoning that he is already earned a dying sentence by stealing from the Empire. The nihilist Cassian reckons preventing the Empire is a waste of time — higher to stay no matter life you may carve out beneath that regime. 

“You may finally die preventing these bastards,” the charismatic recruiter says. “So what I am asking you is that this: Would not you moderately give it to one thing actual, than carve off ineffective items till there’s nothing left?”

It is basically a repeat of Luthen’s speech again on Ferrix, however Skarsgård is so magnetic that I would fortunately watch him riff on this similar level one million other ways.

Luthen reveals that he got here to Ferrix to recruit Cassian to affix a heist on the quarterly payroll for your entire Imperial sector — presumably as a strategy to bankroll the rise up whereas hurting the enemy. 

The fabulously dressed Galactic Empire

CORUSCANT, THE GALACTIC CAPITAL — A bit of this episode takes us to the seat of Palpatine’s Empire and introduces the villains of the Imperial Safety Bureau, or ISB. This legislation enforcement and intelligence company is chargeable for retaining the citizenry firmly beneath the regime’s management, and is mostly scary and nasty.

However rattling, these individuals look wonderful of their white uniforms. You would possibly recall Orson Krennic from Rogue One dressing in an identical outfit; he is a director within the ISB-linked Imperial Army Division of Superior Weapons Analysis and secretly engaged on the Demise Star at this level within the timeline.

Among the many impeccably tailor-made, and doubtless the present’s major Imperial baddy, is Supervisor Dedra Meero (Denise Gough). Listening to in regards to the mess the company safety drive made on Ferrix because it tried to catch Cassian, she turns into intrigued though it is exterior her purview — finally suggesting that it hints at an organized insurgent effort. 

Her snide boss, Main Partagaz (Anton Lesser, whom you would possibly keep in mind enjoying creepy ex-Maester Qyburn in Sport of Thrones), would not assume there’s sufficient proof and is simply too targeted on sustaining forms to take a more in-depth look. He just about tells her to remain in her lane.

The Imperials do loads of sneering at one another as they attempt to climb the ladder — this could possibly be boring, however everyone seems to be so fabulously dressed and the appearing is so good that it is all tremendous participating.

Did I point out how a lot I like their uniforms?

An actor prepares

On the opposite aspect of the coin is Sen. Mon Mothma, whom you would possibly keep in mind from her iconic “Many Bothans died…” speech in Return of the Jedi. Filling the position right here is Genevieve O’Reilly, who portrayed the character in Revenge of the Sith (although most of her scenes have been deleted), Rogue One, and CGI animated sequence Rebels.

She’s secretly spearheading the nascent Insurgent Alliance and mainly the anti-Palpatine. It is superior to see her on this paranoid setting — the Empire is clearly onto her, however she’s too distinguished to eliminate. 

As Luthen returns to Coruscant, he dons a lush curly wig, a superb outfit and foppish demeanor as a part of his cowl — the proprietor of a flowery vintage retailer catering to the capital’s elites. Skarsgård is as soon as once more magnificent on this aspect of the position, and the multilayered efficiency makes his assembly with Mon a delight to look at. Luthen has clearly been finding out house Stanislavski.

They can not belief Mon’s new driver, so he places on an enormous flamboyant present as she enters beneath the guise of getting a gift for her husband. He drops the facade and turns into his intense insurgent self solely after they’re alone. 

She’s struggling to entry funds for the rise up and needs to deliver somebody new into their tightly managed inside circle — a dangerous transfer, and Luthen is not wild about it.

“It is a daring selection, however I belief you may have the braveness to show again if it ought to be a bit a lot,” he says, reassuming his persona and hitting us with some tasty subtext.

Assembly the partner

At Mon’s beautiful condo, we meet her beforehand unseen husband Perrin Fertha (Alastair Mackenzie). He comes throughout as a hedonistic jerk, and might be the right cowl for her actions (although she’s clearly annoyed with him). It is doable that is simply one other act and Perrin is in on the rise up, however we do not get any sense of that right here.

He is organized a flowery dinner for his outdated military buddy, and Mon notices two excessive stage Imperials among the many company:

• Ars Dangor is considered one of Palpatine’s major advisors, and certain one of many guys in humorous hats seen in his throne room in Return of the Jedi.
• Sly Moore is the bald, pale-skinned lady seen by Palpatine’s aspect in Assault of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. She’s one of many few individuals who know his true id as Sith Lord Darth Sidious. And her first title suggests she’s to not be trusted.

She additionally mentions the planet Ghorman’s delivery lanes being reduce off, probably dooming individuals to hunger. The Empire will finally slaughter harmless protesters on this world, pushing Mon to publicly blame Palpatine and declare open rise up round three years after this level within the timeline. 

Principally, Mon Mothma is surrounded by enemies, cannot belief anybody and all of it sounds moderately traumatic. It is fairly wonderful to look at, and I actually hope we this entire dinner play out in a future episode.

A crew of rebels

ALDHANI — Earlier than his journey to Coruscant, Luthen drops Cassian off on this sparsely populated (however moderately inexperienced and luxurious) world. The Empire took it over to be used as a distribution level in its galactic conquest, messing up the natives’ historic lifestyle beneath the guise of employment alternatives.

We’re additionally launched to the suspicious insurgent crew of all-new characters led by Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay), with Imperial Lt. Gorn (Sule Rimi) as their man on the within. They’re principally fairly darn sad with having Cassian be a part of the group simply days earlier than their heist goes down.

Their goal is an enormous, fortified Imperial garrison they usually have to interrupt right into a vault so as to get their fingers on the payroll earlier than escaping in a freighter. They’re going to use a celestial occasion as cowl, but it surely’s all fairly darn harmful.

Cassian is beneath stress to catch up in time for the heist and has to drag all-nighters, which jogs my memory how I used to deal with project deadlines in my school days, however with manner greater stakes right here.

Rogue ideas, unanswered questions and Easter eggs

• This present is so grounded and plausible that it is simple to neglect that the galaxy is run by a cackling house wizard who shoots lightning from his fingers and as soon as shouted “Uuuuunlimited powerrrrr” as he did so.
• The music that performs over the opening titles is wildly thrilling; composer Nicholas Britell (Moonlight and Succession) provides a complete layer of depth to this present.
• The attention-catching helmet in the back of Luthen’s vintage store appears to be like precisely just like the “Darkish Lord’s Armor” worn by Galen Marek (aka Starkiller) in The Drive Unleashed. The character adopted this search for the 2008 recreation’s darkish aspect alternate storyline. It is not canon, but it surely nonetheless appears to be like cool as heck.
• Additionally seen within the store — which is an Easter egg treasure trove — are a Mandalorian armor set, a Twi’lek Kalikori, tablets with fingers linked to The World Between Worlds, what seems to be an Indiana Jones whip encased in carbonite, and doable Sith and Jedi holocrons, amongst different cool gadgets.
• Cassian mentions being compelled to battle for the Empire on unpleasantly muddy world Mimban when he acquired out of jail at 16, and it sounds so much just like the chaotic battle seen in Solo. Cassian could have crossed paths with our boy Han.
• Luthen provides Cassian a fairly superior necklace as a down cost for his work with the rebels — a necklace with a kyber crystal. These uncommon stones are attuned to the Drive and an important a part of a lightsaber, in addition to the Demise Star’s planet-destroying superlaser.  
• The crystal “celebrates the rebellion towards the Rakatan invaders,” in keeping with Luthen. This species was first seen in noncanon 2003 online game Knights of the Previous Republic, so this enjoyable reference brings them again into the continuity.
• Cassian makes use of the alias Clem, after the late adoptive father we met in the earlier episode’s flashbacks.
• The ISB assembly features a point out of Ryloth, the Twi’lek homeworld seen in CGI animated sequence The Clone Wars and Rebels.
• The Empire is seemingly mining on the distant world Arvala-6. Arvala-7 is the planet the place Mando finds Grogu in the primary episode of The Mandalorian, which takes place a couple of years after Return of the Jedi.
• The Empire makes use of the Ferrix fiasco as an excuse to grab management of the Morlana system — basic colonialism. The Company Safety guys are concerned, together with our pal Syril Karn (Kyle Soller).
• The title “Hosnian Prime” is among the many bulletins as Syril arrives house to Coruscant — that’ll develop into the capital of the New Republic many years after the Empire’s fall and is destroyed by the First Order in The Drive Awakens.
• The slap/hug Syril’s mother Eedy greets him with hints at a bizarre relationship.
• One of many Aldhani crew mentions insurgent extremist Noticed Gerrera, an superior however harmful character seen in The Clone Wars, Rebels and Rogue One.
• Marvel’s present Darth Vader comedian sequence sees dinner visitor Sly Moore embroiled in legal syndicate Crimson Daybreak’s plot to kill Vader. This story is about between The Empire Strikes Again and Return of the Jedi, so practically a decade after the occasions of this present.
• I have been wanting a Mon Mothma story since 2016, once I occurred on an announcement that her previous could be revealed in a novel. That turned out to be an April Idiot’s joke, however the concept was so thrilling that it is caught in my thoughts for the final six years. I am glad Andor is giving her the highlight.

Come again for extra Easter eggs and observations subsequent Wednesday, Oct. 5, when episode 5 of Andor hits Disney Plus.