Andor Episode 11: When a robot makes you cry, you know how awesome Star Wars can be!

Spoilers for the eleventh episode of Star Wars Andor.

Well, it’s no longer a secret that I really love this series. But I’ll keep saying that until it gets the same ratings as the boring compulsory drills we’ve been sold as Star Wars for the last few years. Or until she disappoints me and everything turns out to be “too good to be true”. But my goodness, episode 11 was good again.

It starts with a full punch in the pit of the stomach. After a quick update on where Andor and Melshi are hanging out after their stunning escape from prison, we realize this series has done it again. One important character passed very casually from this unforgiving world with the cruelty of real life. Maarva (Fiona Shaw), Andor’s foster mother, who broke my heart with a three-word sentence in episode seven, has died between episodes, once again defying the usual stereotypes and expectations of the show.

What was particularly striking was how we are conveyed all the severity of this death: B2, the rickety droid that has accompanied Maarva for decades, has been hard hit by the loss and what could have looked slightly ridiculous works completely here. But maybe it’s only logical that in a series full of brilliant actors, even the robots can still deliver touching performances.

Otherwise, one has to say about this episode that it was again very plot-driven and exciting. Even the grotesque aliens that Andor and Melshi fall into are no laughing matter here – although they were hilarious – they’re just part of this world and functioning in it.

Break.

I’m honestly struggling for composure right now because I really don’t know what to write about first? Because there is a tension and the potential for tragedy hanging over every single conversation, which in Mon Mothma’s case is even played out to the full when the senator also realizes that she will pay an immeasurable price for the rebellion. She’ll be forced to watch as her daughter indulges in a futuristic Handmaid’s Tale, and Genevieve O’Reilly brings it to screen with intense desperation, scratching at her immaculate facade. You can’t avoid swallowing.

And then there’s Luthen, who again seeks out Saw Guerrera, who suddenly wants to join the secretly doomed Kreegyr. Once again we witness Luthen’s ability to improvise even under the most pressure as he trusts Forrest Whitaker’s rebels to avoid sacrificing him to the protection of his mole. But Forrest Whitaker isn’t here to just swallow it, and so the two of them once again give us another powerful moment that illuminates the beginnings of the rebellion in an interesting way and casts a deep gray shadow over them. Impressive.

This also applies to the more or less concluding action scene, when Luthen evades an imperial cruiser with slyness and flying skills. The entire scene was masterfully filmed and was also so exciting because you can hear the clock ticking so slowly for Stellan Skarsgaard’s uncompromising rebel puller – and trust this series to smash it with a hammer.

While Andor listens to Niamos about Maarva’s fate and looks lost into the sunset after the separation from Melshi, I too look with some melancholy to the coming end of this first season Andor – one of the best series I’ve seen in a long time. I wish anyone who liked the show the Mandalorian’s return early next year. But he’ll have a hard time lugging around if he wants to keep up even remotely here. Andor simply plays in a different league.