The fourth episode of 'Andor' has been released, in which, as is tradition for fourth episodes, absolutely nothing happened. We recap the new episode and figure out where the plot will go and why 'Andor' seems an order of magnitude more mature than m...

The new episode of the show 'Andor' begins where the previous one ended — the main character, lightly wounded in the arm, is looking for a first aid kit, while Luthen Rael (Skarsgård) gives orders. The first aid kit is found, the ship is in hyperspace, and without much delay, the heroes get straight down to business — if you've seen at least one spy movie ('The Saboteur' will do), you can imagine what happens next — Rael begins to recruit the wayward Andor, who starts to weakly refuse.

Ivan Kilyakov

For Whom the Bell Tolls. Recap of the First Three Episodes of the Series 'Andor'

On September 21, the premiere of 'Andor', a new series in the 'Star Wars' universe, took place. We break down what was shown in the three episodes that form one and a half hours

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A few minutes of verbal sparring, a weighty argument from the older generation about dying for an idea and two hundred thousand credits (local dollars) to boot, and Cassian, though he doesn't realize it yet, has already become a rebel.

The heroes' ship lands on the not-too-civilized planet Aldani (something between Scotland and New Zealand), where Luthen talks to a passive-aggressive woman and convinces her to take Cassian into the team assembled to rob the local Imperial garrison.

The woman's name is Vel (played by Faye Marsay), and she is not thrilled about this turn of events. Luthen shouts at her, threatens to shut down the mission, and under the pressure of his arguments, Vel gives in and leads Cassian to the squad.

The journey takes a day and a night. At the camp, the heroes are met by rebels — anxious, unprofessional, and not quite understanding how they can include a new person in such a critical mission just three days before the actual job. Though it quickly becomes clear that another fighter won't hurt their team.

Despite the ongoing arguments about his presence in the squad, Cassian is briefed on the plan: Vel explains the essence of the operation to him, and Lieutenant Gorn (an Imperial officer helping the rebels) explains how they intend to survive. Robbing an Imperial garrison is a bold idea, but despite the scarcity of weapons, special equipment, and the junk they have for transport, the heroes plan to survive under fire from TIE fighters.

The thing is, the diversion will take place on a strictly defined day when, during a planetary festival, thousands of crystals will appear in the planet's orbit and form an impenetrable barrier, through which the rebels plan to slip away from the Imperials. Keeping in mind the two hundred thousand dollars and healthy curiosity, Andor agrees and becomes the team's pilot.

Meanwhile, Luthen Rael arrives on Coruscant and transforms beyond recognition (a gray wig and expensive clothes work wonders). It turns out that the mysterious leader (unclear, really) of the future rebels is a jovial owner or manager of a capital city art gallery. Almost immediately, Senator Mon Mothma, barely hiding her agitation, arrives at his gallery looking for a gift for her husband. Mothma is played by Genevieve O'Reilly, but fans remember the character from 'A New Hope' and the prequel trilogy — there, the senator was a friend and ally of Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa.

In fact, in the best traditions of political conspiracies, she has come to talk to Rael about secret matters. He loudly discusses the merits of specific battle blades from the planet Utapau (the same one where Kenobi defeated General Grievous), while in a whisper he scolds his already trembling comrade for her delay. She cannot give him the money obviously needed for the rebellion but asks for the opportunity to bring one more person into the conspiracy. Rael seems to know about the first rule of 'Fight Club', but despite all doubts, he agrees. Mon Mothma tells him that surveillance of politicians has been intensified in the Senate (the highest governing body of the Republic and, consequently, the Empire), and she cannot trust even her own driver. The conspirators, dissatisfied with each other, part ways, and the future leader of the rebels flies home.

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, we are also shown the daily work of Imperial intelligence officers — people in white uniforms gather in a white office around a white table — it all feels a bit Orwellian, but what doesn't these days. There, we are introduced to what is clearly another important character for the plot — Lieutenant Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) of this intelligence service (apparently internal or counterintelligence, it's not entirely clear), a slightly aggressive, efficient, and hardworking woman who came to intelligence from internal affairs and relies on intuition rather than facts.

She really wants to deal with the problems in the Morlana-One sector (where the rebels and Andor operate), though it's not entirely clear why — her colleagues and the sensible boss, Major Partagaz (the excellent Anton Lesser, the same one who was Cersei's right hand in 'Game of Thrones'), think she is a careerist trying to curry favor, but actually, it might seem that she is working for the rebels and wants to sabotage their pursuit, though that is, of course, a theory with the credibility level of the REN TV channel.

While the intelligence officers sort out their disagreements, we are shown how Officer Karn, from whom Andor and Rael escaped in the previous episode, is reprimanded, and the Empire introduces its contingent to Morlana-One for a permanent presence. Karn's boss — the same sensible man who suggested doing nothing in the first episode — tries to justify himself to the Imperial officer from that same intelligence service, but he is demoted as well. Karn returns home to his mother, who slaps him, but is generally glad to see her son.

At the end of the episode, Mon Mothma finally returns home, where her husband and new frustrations await her — the senator's seemingly somewhat frivolous spouse has thrown a party and invited his wife's political opponents, with whom, as he says, 'it's fun,' implying that with her, it is not.

Upset by her husband's foolishness, the woman retreats, agreeing to participate in the evening event, even though she is offended. Despite the ordinariness and, in general, obviousness of this scene, this is hardly the first such episode in the history of 'Star Wars' — something from Bergman's 'Scenes from a Marriage' in a galaxy far, far away, now that's a real revolution. Everything else is still a bit dull.

The fourth episode continues to introduce new characters and reveal old ones, some more interesting (Mon Mothma), some painfully similar to everything we've seen before (Lieutenant Meero, and the rebels from Aldani), but it is still an unusual spectacle, reminiscent of some obvious dystopias, 'Hotel New Rose,' and a bit of the film 'Equilibrium.' In short, we continue walking the edge.