Andor Season 1 Ep 8 is the eighth instalment of an American scifi spy thriller television series created by Tony Gilroy for the streaming service Disney+. A prequel to the Star Wars spin-off film Rogue One (2016), the series follows thief-turned-Rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years leading up to the events of the film. Diego Luna executive produces and reprises his Rogue One role as Cassian Andor. Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Joplin Sibtain, James McArdle, Rupert Vansittart, Stellan Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw, Alex Ferns, Gary Beadle, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Denise Gough also star. (Wikipedia)
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Entitled “Narkina 5”, Andor Season 1 Ep 8 finds our titular main character on the prison planet Narkina 5, after his arrest and conviction in the previous episode. The irony, of course, is that he was incarcerated for nothing even though Andor is actually a cold-blooded murderer. So karma?
And that is the only interesting aspect of the episode as the other sub-plots plod on. We understand that Andor has gotten itself a following for its very unfaithful Star Wars adaptation. But unlike folks who are happy with the mundane ‘realistic’ atmosphere and tone, we still demand good and effective writing to be satisfied.
READ OUR ANALYSES OF ANDOR.
Back to Narkina 5, where at least Andor Season 1 Ep 8 provides us viewers with something distinctive. Prisoners all go barefoot as the metal floors can be electrified at any moment, allowing the prison guards – with well insulated boots – to control the prisoners easily. We liked that. The prisoners are broken up into units in a factory-like environment – scifi chain gangs of sorts – where they compete with each other. Andor’s gang boss, Kino, is played by Andy Serkis, and he is typically grizzled as expected. How Andor’s incarceration further the story, still remains to be seen though.
Andor Season 1 Ep 8 rises a modicum above mediocre but only just.
Watch Andor on Disney+.
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