With episode 4, Andor takes a minute to breathe after the explosive events of last week, but don’t think that means this is a filler segment. While there aren’t any pew-pew battles, there is a lot of forward plot movement and character introductions that pull some heavy setup duty for the next few hours. Viewers who thought the premiere episodes were lacking direct references to established Star Wars content will find sweet relief here, because we’re back in Coruscant, baby! And turns out, it’s full of familiar faces, references, and intrigue.

Pictured: A familiar face in a familiar place. [Credit: Lucasfilm]

The biggest standout this week was the revelation that not only is Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) a big-shot Senator who’s leading a Rebel double-life, but his partner in crime is none other than Senator Mon Mothma! First appearing in Return of the Jedi as the head Rebel leader, Mon Mothma has been portrayed by Genevieve O’Reilly since Revenge of the Sith’s (unfortunately) deleted scene, and it’s great to see her here with some extra depth added. Most of that depth are the multiple layers of stress she’s under, from her “let’s have a dinner party with your political enemies” husband, to her “the bank has new employees who must be Imperial spies” paranoia. To be fair, her new driver seemed a little too interested in what she and Luthen were talking about in his Easter Egg-filled antiquities shop. Hopefully there’s a lot more of Luthen and Mon Mothma interacting, because their performances really sold the danger and intrigue they’re facing as secret insurrectionists.

“Persuading Worried People” was kind of Luthen’s thing this episode. [Credit: Lucasfilm]

We also catch up with deputy inspector Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), who these days is just going by “Syril” after getting not just him but his entire security division fired. Talk about a go-getter! Anyway, he’s gone from “Mid-Level Manager on a Power Trip” with his chief off-planet to “Guy Moving Back into Mom’s House.” I was really disappointed we didn’t get a scene with his old boss chewing him out after explicitly explaining earlier why they didn’t want Imperial attention (remember Lando and Bespin?). My guess is Syril is going to somehow team up with fellow overly-driven Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), since he has quite a bit of the information she’s looking for about that incident in Ferrix. She may be on the Imperial side, but Syril knows a good obnoxiously ambitious soulmate when he sees one.  

Syril’s Poopy Day. [Credit: Lucasfilm]

Speaking of Imperials, the Empire has officially entered Andor. Thanks to Syril’s bumbling, the ISB (Imperial Security Bureau) has pulled a Carrie Underwood and taken the wheel from the Pre-Mor Corporation’s security branch. The ISB, designated by their creepy white officer uniforms, is a big throwback to Rogue One (they even mention Scariff!). Like the rest of the Empire, everyone’s more concerned with corporate ladder-climbing than actually working together, which is why Dedra probably will need to work with the humiliated Syril.

I’m thinking there’s a bit of twisty story incoming with Dedra. [Credit: Lucasfilm]

Finally, Cassian Andor (this is his show after all) is now choosing to go by “Clem,” which definitely did not help him earn the respect of his new Rebel friends in Scotland Aldhani. I mean, imagine the show was called “Clem.” The small team of Rebels is sore because they’ve been preparing for this raid for like months, man, and then this yahoo just shows up three days before their big suicide mission. I already like the team, but it’s hinted that not everyone’s who they seem, which is becoming a common theme in this drama. To give them cover from the suddenly-scary TIE fighters, the Rebels are counting on a rare but dependable cosmic event that’s supposedly like “50 meteor showers at once.” All I know is we BETTER see that onscreen, because that sounds more awesome than Boba Fett riding a Rancor. Anyway, Andor is still a deliberately paced drama that might not hold the younger audience’s attentions, but we’ve still got 8 whole episodes this season, which is more than enough time to crank up the tension, threats, and action. Only 4 episodes in, and Andor has already found its unique identity, delivering consistent quality that earns its place in the Star Wars lore. And if the endgame is anything like Rogue One, we’re in for a wild ride.

Although these Rebels better hope the ending isn’t exactly like Rogue One. [Credit: Lucasfilm]