S01.E09: Nobody’s Listening!

[Orbert]

I thought for sure that we'd get the prison break in Episode 9.  Thus far, the series has been in something like three-episode arcs, with the first three culminating in Andor's murder of the two guards and going on the run, then Episodes 4-6 being the Aldhani heist and his involvement with that group.  It made sense that the next "chapter" of his story would be through his escape from Narkina 5.  And obviously they've been pointing towards that, but then it didn't happen.  We're still building up to it.  When I realized that it wasn't going to happen this episode, I actually cheered out loud.  They'd subverted my expectations, not in some bizarre left-turn way, but simply by setting up something of a pattern, then breaking it.  I love it.  We now have no idea where and when things are going, and that's a good thing.

[Shanna Marie]

I saw a commentary that mentioned that the series seems to be shaping up as parallel stories about how two men are radicalized, Karn for the Empire, Andor for the Rebellion. And thinking about it, I can see a lot of parallels in their stories.

Both of them start in a fairly self-centered place, not looking at any particular movement or goal. Karn is focused on personal achievement. He doesn't seem to have any true loyalty to the corporation or to the Empire. He's mostly using his job to further himself. The bit about him adding piping to his uniform is funny, but it's such a telling character detail. The idea of a uniform is that it's, well, uniform. It shows that you're part of a team. A uniform hides the individual, putting the person into the context of a larger group. Someone who goes to the effort to change the uniform so that he looks different isn't being part of a team.

Cassian is looking for his sister, which isn't entirely selfish, but he's definitely not on board with any kind of cause, and from the way the people on Ferrix talk, he's notorious for doing his own thing and letting everyone else deal with the consequences. Cassian's notorious for owing people money, needing favors, and taking advantage of his friends' goodwill.

The initiating incident for the series, the killing of the two security guys, launches both of them on this path. Karn goes against his superior's orders because he sees this as an opportunity to advance himself, while Cassian does his usual thing of getting other people to help him clean up the consequences of his actions. There's a lot of collateral damage for both of them in the aftermath. There are all the security guys who get killed or injured, and all the property damage. On Cassian's side, it ended up bringing the Empire into greater control on Ferrix. Timm died, along with probably some others, and now Bix is in trouble.

Both of them have mothers playing a role in their lives, but the mothers are total opposites, one with constant criticism, the other with unconditional love.

Now both of them are in a kind of "prison" but making escape plans. Karn seems to see the Empire as a good path to advancement. Right now, he's looking pretty obsessed, but is he yet a true believer in the Empire, or is it just that this is his way out? And Andor's not going to be too happy with the Empire once he escapes, but will that be enough for him to go full-on rebel?

3 hours ago, Orbert said:

I thought for sure that we'd get the prison break in Episode 9.  Thus far, the series has been in something like three-episode arcs, with the first three culminating in Andor's murder of the two guards and going on the run, then Episodes 4-6 being the Aldhani heist and his involvement with that group.  It made sense that the next "chapter" of his story would be through his escape from Narkina 5.

I read somewhere that the pattern was that there would be two three-episode arcs, then 7 would be a transition, then another three episode arc, and then a two-part finale. 7 ended with the sentencing, so 8, 9, and 10 are the prison arc. And then there's the finale which could either be a new arc or a wrap-up of everything in the season so far.

[Ohiopirate02]

29 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

The initiating incident for the series, the killing of the two security guys, launches both of them on this path. Karn goes against his superior's orders because he sees this as an opportunity to advance himself, while Cassian does his usual thing of getting other people to help him clean up the consequences of his actions. There's a lot of collateral damage for both of them in the aftermath. There are all the security guys who get killed or injured, and all the property damage. On Cassian's side, it ended up bringing the Empire into greater control on Ferrix. Timm died, along with probably some others, and now Bix is in trouble.

Timm died because he was a weak man who let his petty jealousies get the better of him.  He's the reason why Karn and his buddies showed up on Ferrix in the first place.  If he would have not ratted Cassian out, he would still be with Bix and Cassian would be long gone.  Cassian had a plan to clean up his own mess and not leave his friends on Ferrix holding the bag, but Timm cocked that right up.  He would have sold the MacGuffin to Luthen and disappeared.  Hindsight says Cassian should have killed Karn when he had the chance, but Cassian is not the stone cold killer of Rogue One yet.

[Orbert]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I read somewhere that the pattern was that there would be two three-episode arcs, then 7 would be a transition, then another three episode arc, and then a two-part finale. 7 ended with the sentencing, so 8, 9, and 10 are the prison arc. And then there's the finale which could either be a new arc or a wrap-up of everything in the season so far.

Ah, I had not read that.  On another forum I frequent, people were talking about the three-episode arcs, which I hadn't even noticed, but when I looked at it, it fit.  And then it didn't.  So the jailbreak will be next episode, which makes sense now as things are definitely heading that way.

[Shanna Marie]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Timm died because he was a weak man who let his petty jealousies get the better of him. 

Well, yeah, but he wouldn't have been in a position to be able to rat Cassian out if Cassian hadn't killed those guys and then come home and run around to all his friends, begging favors to help get him out of the fix he'd gotten himself into. Timm was jealous because he saw Cassian sweet-talking Bix to try to get her to use her contact so he could sell something and raise the money he needed to get away.

There are a lot of people responsible for what happened. Karn disobeyed orders and went on an overkill mission with poorly disciplined and prepared troops who shot in a panic (there was absolutely no reason for them to shoot Timm). Timm got the troops there by ratting out Cassian out of jealousy (though since they'd already narrowed down on Ferrix, odds were that Karn and his people would have ended up there eventually, though Cassian might have left by then and they might not have been sure who they were looking for). Cassian used all his friends to try to get himself out of trouble. There were a lot of bad decisions made.

[Cherpumple]

7 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

The bit about him adding piping to his uniform is funny, but it's such a telling character detail. The idea of a uniform is that it's, well, uniform. It shows that you're part of a team.

I love the callback to this when Karn's mom notices (and criticizes, of course) the change he made to his collar before his new job interview. It's such a fun and telling character quirk that someone like Karn is an amateur designer/tailor in his free time, lol.

[Camera One]

I hate torture scenes, so the first part of this episode was a bit rough.  I mainly see Dedre as a psychopath with no compassion or morals.  I hope she gets her comeuppance sooner rather than later, along with Karn.  I'm not sure why, but I don't find her as unbearable as the antagonist in Obi-Wan.

I'm worried for Cassian's adoptive mother.  Hopefully Sinta can see that her house is being watched, and surely she has heard about Bix's capture as well and I hope she sent word to Luthen.  Bix knows what he looks like, so maybe he would be motivated to extract her.  

Seeing Vel with Mon was fun.  I don't think getting money from a "thug" is a good idea but I guess she doesn't have much choice.

I think this episode was better than the last because there was more hope and Cassian was more active.  He was supportive to his fellow tablemates and he has begun actions towards his escape.  The floor manager finally realizing the truth was effectively done. 

It's still a bit frustrating with the Empire (thanks to Dedre) clearly starting to get an upper-hand, now with foreknowledge about Luthen's plans for the power plant.  I'm assuming that job will round out the end of the season.

[Kirsty]

Loved that ending! There's no getting out unless you break out!

Two actors doing wonderful work in minor roles are the woman playing Syril's overbearing mother and the man playing Dr Gorst. She is appalling and the guy playing Gorst brings the role to life with his goofy smiling.

Imagine having Syril waiting outside work for you! What a creeper.