Name: Andor season 1 episode 4
Director: Susanna White
Released: 2022-09-28T12:30:00

Episode 4 of Andor follows Cassian as he finds out the reason Luthen recruited him while there is also some focus on Coruscant and the Imperial Security Bureau. The episode is now streaming on Disney+.

Recap

Luthen gives Cassian a few more vague details about why he sought him out and reveals that he knows a lot more about Cassian and his history. Cassian takes some convincing but agrees once Luthen says that he’ll get paid for completing a job.

When Cassian asks him what the job is, Luthen says that they’re planning on stealing the payroll of the entire imperial sector.

At Coruscant, Dedra Meero attends a meeting of officers at the Imperial Security Bureau where Major Partagaz is in charge. They discuss the issues put forth by various officers and the issue on Ferrix is brought up by Officer Blevin.

When Dedra hears about the NS-9 Starpath unit that Cassian had stolen, she immediately looks up the details of the incident.

Luthen and Cassian arrive on Aldhani, a planet under imperial control where Luthen introduces Cassian to his new boss on the mission, Vel Sartha. Vel is angry that Luthen sprung this on her without warning but he insists that Cassian will be an asset and it’s Vel’s job to convince the others of the same.

Vel escorts Cassian across the mountains back to their settlement while telling him how the Empire drove out the original Aldhani inhabitants over the last 10 years and set up their base.

Blevin is now on Morlana One where the Empire is taking over from the corporation and he relieves Syril, Linus and Cheif Hyne from duty because of their incompetence and mishandling of the situation.

Dedra wants to know more about the incident on Ferrix because the Starpath unit was stolen from a naval base under her jurisdiction. She sends her assistant to request the relevant files but he’s denied by Blevin.

She visits Blevin herself but he tells her in very plain language to stay in her lane and not get too ambitious. She says that she will bring up the issue with the major and he tells her that it’s her funeral.

Cassian and Vel arrive at the camp where Vel introduces him to the rest of the team. The others know nothing of Luthen and are told that it is Vel’s idea to bring him but they’re annoyed nonetheless.

Syril returns to his home on Coruscant where his mother greets him with a slap and a hug. The team debates bringing in someone new so close to the job but Vel vouches for Cassian.

Luthen’s cover is managing a gallery for priceless artefacts on Coruscant and he gets a visit from Senator Mon Mothma who is a fellow rebel sympathizer. They go to a back room where she discusses how she’s under more scrutiny which makes life more difficult but she may have found someone new to help.

The final member of the rebel team is Lieutenant Gorn, their contact from inside the garrison. He’s as enraged as anyone about this new development but goes along with it because he has no choice.

Senator Mothma gets back home to find that he husband has planned a get-together for his friends, people who have gone against her within the senate and hate her with all their being.

They go over the plan to steal the payroll and Cassian dismisses it as suicide but they tell him that there is an eye-catching celestial event in 3 days that will provide the perfect cover for them.

Dedra and Blevin meet with Major Partagaz and put their cases forward but Partagaz dismisses Dedra’s talk of rebellion and makes a decision in favour of Blevin because of his seniority. He tells Dedra to focus more on her sectors and keep her head down while doing the work.

Cassian and the others are sitting around a campfire when one of them hands Cassian a module with information that he needs to learn by the next morning in preparation for the job.

Review

This episode reveals how the series will be following a heist formula and that just raises the excitement. Anticipating how Cassian will work with an unfamiliar team with very little time will be interesting to observe.
Coruscant gets an appearance in this episode and it looks amazing. With the vast improvement in VFX, the capital city is far improved from its first appearance in the prequel trilogy.
The casual attitude towards rebel activity is a brilliant narrative to showcase, especially with the eventual outcome already known. The writers are adding more depth to the growth of the rebel movement and letting the audience know why it was possible in the first place.