The end of the ninth episode made it clear that the time had come for the inmates to take action if they wanted to have the slightest chance of getting out of that prison alive. That’s something that ‘An exit’ collects to give us a chapter that serves to finish lighting the flame of rebellion, without leaving aside the most thorny issues associated with it.
Beware of spoilers from here on out
The escape
During several episodes it has been clear that the clear character for something to change in that prison was Kino and it was not until the final moments of ‘They don’t listen to us!’ when Cassian got his support. In ‘An exit’ this is carried to its ultimate consequences, since it is not until the end of the episode when we discover that the character played by Andy Serkis he was not looking for his own freedom, because he knew that he was doomed, hence his decision to help the rest is especially important.
However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, since before that, the Disney + series does an exercise in millimeter precision to show us how the prisoners’ plan manages to succeed. With a multitude of inevitable casualties, ‘A Way Out’ brims with tension at all times, but the script for Beau Willimon it also introduces a component of hope that is essential for something like this to succeed and not be quickly stifled by the Empire.
That leads to ‘Una exit’ shining on many fronts. First as the culmination of a narrative arc that a priori could seem like a mere excuse to lengthen the number of episodes of this first season of ‘Andor’. However, it is no coincidence that behind the last three episodes there has been Toby Haynesthe same director who signed the first three chapters of the series.
Until now I thought that ‘Andor’ had reached the ceiling with ‘Revenge’, the third chapter of the series, but here the dramatic charge of what had been built in the previous two has been picked up again for to close in style a much more stimulating arc than it seemed at first.
By the way, ‘An exit’ has been the decisive step for cComplete Cassian Andor’s transformation, someone who until now had focused on going more on his own and who will now have no choice but to understand that strength lies in unity. Separately you can survive and achieve small victories, but in the long run you are doomed.
Cassian himself assumes his own role when he makes it clear to Kino that he is the one who has to get the rest of the inmates to rise up against the few soldiers left in the prison to regain their long-awaited freedom. The discovery of Kino’s sacrifice, perfectly illustrated with thewith a resigned face that shows an extremely inspired Serkisyou should already make it completely clear that there is no possible way back for the character embodied by Diego Luna.
The cost of rebellion
In ‘Una exit’ there is also space for two other open fronts of the series and both are used here as a contrast for that overdose of illusion that the prison part shows. And yes, the rebellion may grow, but to achieve it, you have to pay a price that may be too high.
On the one hand, Senator Mon Mothma has to get money laundered so the Empire doesn’t end up hunting her down, which leads to a scene that seems more like the ‘Game of Thrones’ universe when an unscrupulous millionaire who basically offers his help in exchange for trying to get his son to finish marrying her 13-year-old daughter.
It is obvious what he wants to achieve with it, but for her it is still a new test to see how far he is able to maintain his integrity without endangering its great objective. It has already become clear that in the Senate she is not going to get anything but lose time in the current situation, but of course, perhaps that is not a price that she is willing to pay.
The other great highlight of the episode has been to see how Luthien does lack any scruples when it comes to sacrificing whoever it takes to make the revolution triumph. That talk that begins with one of the characters on board an elevator is also brimming with tension and serves to completely situate the character played by Stellan Skarsgårdwho has already assumed that “I am condemned to defeat my enemy with his own tools“.
That ‘Star Wars’ had been somewhat idyllic when it came to pitting the good guys against the bad guys, but in ‘Andor’ already It has become clear that everything is much more complicated. Yes, that purity for the fight is necessary, but also to make much tougher decisions so as not to be crushed.
In Espinof: