Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-6 of Andor.The sixth episode ofAndor, “The Eye” brought the season’ssecond arcto a gorgeous conclusion, in terms of both visuals and story. Although we’ll have to wait a whole week to find out what the future holds for Cassian (Diego Luna) and the fledgling Rebellion, there are already a few hints about where the show could be headed next. As the episode came to a close, the Empire was shaken by the news of the attack on the Aldhani base, making theImperial Security Bureau(ISB) call an emergency meeting, politicians leave a session of the Senate, and so on.
Why, though? Aldhani isn’t a major star system, it’s just part of a logistics line in the galaxy’s Mid-Rim. Surely the Empire could find different alternatives to deal with an incident like this without any kind of loss, especially since there were other facilities on the planet, like Alkenzi Air Base. So how come the news of the attack caused such a fuss as they reached Coruscant? The answer is simple: because this had never happened before.
The Aldhani Mission Sets the Rebels Into Motion
Over the course of this second arc,Andorhas shown us what motivates someone to take up arms and want to start a revolution. It’s important to remember that, up to that point in galactic history, the Empire reigned supreme and uncontested, and that theRebel Alliancewasn’t even a thing yet. There were pockets of resistance in nearly every system, for sure, but those were mostly the consequence of the Empire’scolonialist efforts. When a foreign force barges in your land, takes your riches away and demands your obedience, anyone’s first reflex is to resist, right? There were also etfforts like The Path in Mapuzo (as seen inObi-Wan Kenobi) and local rogues creating trouble in planets like Lothal (seen inStar Wars Rebels). None of those were really an organizes effort, and operated in a mostly independent fashion.
But there’s more at stake for some people - for most people, really, as it just takes a little digging to find out there’salways a valid reason to fight. Cassian is still finding his way in this large galaxy, but the band of rebels Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) gathered in Aldhani managed to carry out their mission because the all had their reasons to be there. Well, apart from Arvel Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), of course. But the others, yes. Nemik (Alex Lawther) was a young idealist, Taramyn (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.) had his issues as a former stormtrooper, Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) wanted to fight the Empire’s dominance and prove she could lead, and so on.
So all members of the group had a direct motive to fight the Empire, but what of those who don’t? You don’t need to have your planet invaded in order to have a good reason to fight oppression, all that’s required is a little spark, and then it will surely light a fire to burn the Empire down, as Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) argued inThe Last Jedi. All that happened far away from the Galactic Core, in a backwater world where civilization still organized in tribes before the Empire’s arrival, but even in Coruscant, there are surely people who are just waiting for that spark to catch fire. It doesn’t take much for resistance and rebellion to start inside someone, it might be as just a small laugh for seeing the big bully lose for once (like the guy in Luthen’s antique shop), for example.
So, despite the many problems the rebels faced during their operation and thelives that were lost, one could argue that, yes, the Aldhani operation was very successful. Just listen to Luthen laughing at the end of the episode, in case there are any doubts left.
What Is the Empire’s Next Move
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and the Aldhani operation will not go overlooked by the Empire. For them, the whole affair is an embarrassing fiasco. We have already seen the first steps to a counterattack as Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser) called an emergency meeting at the ISB headquarters, which illustrates the gravity of the situation on the intelligence front. As he explained inAndor’sfourth episode, the ISB’s responsibility is to deal with the cause of a disease before it ever develops symptoms, and they failed miserably.
For them, there are now a few courses of action, and one of them has already started taking shape. In the previous episode,Dedra Meero(Denise Gough)caught the trail of somethingas she and Attendant Heert (Jacob James Beswick) were searching for the whereabouts of her lostSteergard Starpath Unit. Analyzing the Imperial logs, she noticed a series of small attacks happening throughout the galaxy, none with major consequences, but all of them with military equipment stolen or destroyed. The connecting of the dots will certainly lead her to the conclusion that the Aldhani attack was part of those, as it resulted in a quarterly payroll stolen. Let’s just hope (for her sake) that Aldhani falls within her jurisdiction, and not that of Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin (Ben Bailey Smith).
Perhaps the early news about the attack is already part of a plan to control the narrative surrounding the attack by the Empire. As the dominant force in the galaxy, it’s important not to give an impression of weakness and not show surprise by what happened, and that is certainly one of the courses of action we will see being taken. Part of the colonialist agenda is to blame any trouble on the locals, and the Dhanis may end up taking the fall for what happened. One thing’s for sure: we will be seeing the ISB take a much more direct approach from now on.
The Attack Shocked Everyone in Coruscant
One of the scenes that showed the repercussion of the Aldhani attack was set inside the Imperial Senate, as SenatorMon Mothma(Genevieve O’Reilly) presented a bill on theGhorman Shipping Lanes. During her speech, most of her colleagues left the session as the news started to arrive, leaving her to find out what happened in the middle of the floor.
So far,Andor’s Mon Mothma is still far from theiron-willedleader of the Rebellion we all know. She is still doubtful not only of the future of the movement but also of herself, as she faces resistance and animosity at home, too. As far as we know, she was aware of Luthen’s plans for the attack on the Imperial base on Aldhani but was seeing herself as being too exposed and surrounded by the Empire to be of any help.
The repercussion of the operation led by Luthen is perhaps the sign that Mothma herself needed, too, and will rekindle her involvement in the organizing of rebel activities. She will eventually break away from her morose home life and become a fugitive, but, more important, she will also be a beacon of reason and hope. She just needed a spark.
