S01.E12: Rix Road

[Orbert]

Good point.  They did make a point of showing how Leida is embracing the old, traditional ways.  That group of hers, singing the songs and all that.  It's really more that Mon feels bad about doing this because of her own experience and because of why she has to make the deal in the first place.  She hasn't really thought "Hey, it's win-win for everybody, what's the problem here?"

[Shanna Marie]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:02 PM, Ms.Moon said:

Mon is in a difficult spot because she has nowhere where she is not wearing a mask.  The danger in her life comes from all sides personal and professional.  I love it because it shows that everyone has dangers of different variations going on.

I like this, too. It fits her in with Luthen's speech about sacrificing everything. She's sacrificing her family relationships for the cause. It seems like she was probably already on the outs with her husband, but I wonder how much the cool relationship with her daughter stems from her not being able to drop her mask with her. Even if her daughter doesn't know the reason, she has to feel somewhat shut out, which makes her distance herself from her mother. Which is sad if one of the motivations for Mon Mothma's involvement with the rebellion is to create a better world for her daughter. We know she wants her daughter to have more choices than she had and not to have to do the things she had to do, like the arranged teenage marriage, and it pains her to see her daughter embracing the things she wishes her daughter didn't have to do. The thing with a kid her daughter's age is that it wouldn't be safe to confide in her, even if she felt like her daughter was totally on board with the cause, because kids that age can be so volatile. Their views can change quickly, and they can be easily influenced. There's a risk she could accidentally let something slip or that she might get mad at her mom and deliberately rat her out, then feel bad about that right afterward. It's just not safe to open up to her about this. She can't even go too far to try to influence her daughter to take her viewpoint. I recently saw an article about a kid in Russia whose parents are being investigated because the kid drew an anti-war picture in school, and this is the same sort of thing. If Mon Mothma's kid started spouting some of her mother's political views in school, it could threaten her ability to work effectively for the rebellion. She has to let her daughter go all retro for the safety of all of them, which further widens the gap between them.

After rewatching, I'm not so sure Dedra's career is over, after all. She might be able to spin this as the local prefect's fault. The one who kicked over Bee and started the riot was going against orders. Things fell apart because they didn't follow her instructions. The only trick is whether she can get support for that position. It won't help her that she failed to capture Cassian and lost Bix, but blamestorming seems to be the ISB way of life, and she may be able to cast the blame elsewhere.

[Ms.Moon]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I like this, too. It fits her in with Luthen's speech about sacrificing everything. She's sacrificing her family relationships for the cause. It seems like she was probably already on the outs with her husband, but I wonder how much the cool relationship with her daughter stems from her not being able to drop her mask with her. Even if her daughter doesn't know the reason, she has to feel somewhat shut out, which makes her distance herself from her mother. Which is sad if one of the motivations for Mon Mothma's involvement with the rebellion is to create a better world for her daughter. We know she wants her daughter to have more choices than she had and not to have to do the things she had to do, like the arranged teenage marriage, and it pains her to see her daughter embracing the things she wishes her daughter didn't have to do. The thing with a kid her daughter's age is that it wouldn't be safe to confide in her, even if she felt like her daughter was totally on board with the cause, because kids that age can be so volatile. Their views can change quickly, and they can be easily influenced. There's a risk she could accidentally let something slip or that she might get mad at her mom and deliberately rat her out, then feel bad about that right afterward. It's just not safe to open up to her about this. She can't even go too far to try to influence her daughter to take her viewpoint. I recently saw an article about a kid in Russia whose parents are being investigated because the kid drew an anti-war picture in school, and this is the same sort of thing. If Mon Mothma's kid started spouting some of her mother's political views in school, it could threaten her ability to work effectively for the rebellion. She has to let her daughter go all retro for the safety of all of them, which further widens the gap between them.

After rewatching, I'm not so sure Dedra's career is over, after all. She might be able to spin this as the local prefect's fault. The one who kicked over Bee and started the riot was going against orders. Things fell apart because they didn't follow her instructions. The only trick is whether she can get support for that position. It won't help her that she failed to capture Cassian and lost Bix, but blamestorming seems to be the ISB way of life, and she may be able to cast the blame elsewhere.

Like Vel tells Cassian everyone has their own rebellion and like Cinta tells Vel the rebellion comes first everything else comes after.  Mon’s living that every day.  

Blame shifting and stabbing each other in the back is very much within the wheelhouse of everyone in the ISB.  In Rogue One Krennic does the majority of the legwork to find Gaylen Erso to get him to work on the Death Star.  Once that was finished and working properly Tarkin and Vader were more than ready to take all of the credit for getting it finished from the emperor.  

[dwmarch]

3 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

After rewatching, I'm not so sure Dedra's career is over, after all. She might be able to spin this as the local prefect's fault. The one who kicked over Bee and started the riot was going against orders. Things fell apart because they didn't follow her instructions. The only trick is whether she can get support for that position. It won't help her that she failed to capture Cassian and lost Bix, but blamestorming seems to be the ISB way of life, and she may be able to cast the blame elsewhere.

I have thought the same thing. The Battle of Mogadishu probably ended a few military careers but there were also some soldiers and Navy SEALs who got Congressional Medals of Honor for being there. Dedra was going building to building searching on her own and had given explicit orders to the garrison saying she wanted Cassian alive. I think she'll be fine and since Corv got himself shanked, she'll need an eager new assistant at ISB so she can clean up the mess made by the Prefect and garrison commander.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Quote

 I wonder if hearing Maarva's speech helped change Luthen's mind about Cassian. His little smile was perfect - you could see his wheels spinning on what he could do with a guy a like Cassian on his side......

Just wait until Luthen hears how Cassian took down an entire Empire prison.  Luthen doesn't yet know how much he hit the jackpot by recruiting Cassian.

[paramitch]

It figures that I've been blathering all over the place about lots of shows but I kept not posting about ANDOR because I loved it so much, and was so blown away by it, that I needed a few months/days/etc. simply to write the darned post(s).

For me, this season was extraordinary, a masterpiece.

First and foremost, from a technical standpoint, it's fantastic. It's visually stunning but grounded in reality; the built sets have a reality and gravitas that the Volume (the Disney background tech) lacks. The writing is incredible (I know a few of you critique the writing, and I just can't even) -- those four incredible monologues! FOUR, and some by the greatest actors of all time. And of course, the acting is uniformly splendid. The pacing is slow, but purposeful, so that by episode 3 I was surprised to be quietly moved. By episode 6 I was filled with hope and suspense. By episode 10 I was cheering and crying. By episode 12 I wanted to sign up for the goddamn Rebellion myself (NOBODY HITS B2EMO!).

I love Star Wars and several of the films (including The Last Jedi and Rogue One). I adore  "The Mandalorian." But this for me is something new and special.

More reasons I love Andor and have watched the entire season 4 times (so far):

• It gave me everything I never knew I wanted from Star Wars. For the first time, that universe felt real to me, and grown-up. And filled with real planets and real, regular, everyday people just trying to survive another day of punishing work, despair, and poverty -- Ferrix gave me that. It gave me a believable town filled with hardworking people whose lives were not that different from those of hardworking people of any time and place. They worked too long and too hard. They drank too much to combat despair. Heroes and villains, nurturers and nerds, sneaks and suckups, just regular people.
   
• It showed me the Rebellion encapsulated in one single, dusty, brave little town. Ferrix isn't that different from thousands of other towns, maybe millions -- across the galaxy. But it's special -- because if danger looms, the tapping begins, that little warning, spreading through the town. It's special because the people going off to work can just pull their gloves off the wall, they don't have to lock them away. There is a sense of family to Ferrix.
   
• Andor made the Rebellion real to me because of its characters, and how the people are presented in a manner that's almost cinema verite. Andor himself isn't a long-lost Jedi prince. He's just a quiet, scrappy, very smart guy who is always paying attention, whose powers of observance are his only superpower. But it's not just him -- everyone feels vibrant and real. So now for me the rebels are Luthen. Nemik. Cinta. Vel. Those brave people on Ferrix. The Rebellion is Kino. And Maarva. And the awesome "bell-ringer" in the Ferrix tower. And Andor, finally giving his head to the cause he has already given his heart to.
   
• Andor also made the Empire real to me in ways that really hurt me, scared me, made me angry. It showed me that it's not just cartoon bad guys in space, blasting planets. It's bureaucrats and politicians committing genocide on an indigenous people. Or starving out a planet. Or carrying out a labor scheme in collusion with bloated judges who arrest and sentence innocent people to lifetimes of hard labor and anonymous death. Or who torture and kill people on the casual assumption that "they know something" or "they did something."
  
  The show made the Empire real and menacing in new ways because it gives us all these real-feeling locations with these regular people striving within them, then sends a single TIE fighter roaring right down over their heads. Suddenly that one single TIE fighter is terrifying. Suddenly a Star Destroyer isn't a remote space threat, it's filling the goddamn sky overhead.
   
• It took the time to world-build, including politics, government, spycraft. I know some people found Mon Mothma's storyline (and Meero and Syril's plots) boring or plodding, but to me they were riveting, especially on rewatch, because they are one more spoke in the wheel. Mon Mothma is rich but she has given everything to a Rebellion she can share with almost no one. Every day she is trying so hard to save towns, cities, whole planets, and is met by careless rich people who roll their eyes. Her own family is spoiled and petulant, caring only for comfort and hating that she causes them to judge themselves.
   
• It made the Empire small and mean and cruel and as real as an evil corporation down the street. Meero and Syril meanwhile give us fantastic portraits of the Empire at the micro/administrative level. The Empire isn't all Darth Vader or Palpatine -- sometimes it's a capable yet silently cruel woman trying to be heard over the other dudebros; sometimes it's a nebbishy underachiever with mommy issues who sees himself as a supercop avenging the murders of other cops (and not the corrupt enabler he really is). etc.
   
• On Andor, death matters. Nothing with Andor is detached -- everything and everyone matters. One key difference I loved is if you rewatch the show, when someone dies, the camera lingers. Every single time, that death isn't glossed over. It matters. Look at "Rix Road" and how the camera lingers on every act of violence, every death. Just a hair or two longer than on another show or movie. To make sure we see it, we feel something, to show it matters.
   
• And can we talk about the music? What Nicholas Britell does across the season is incredible -- from the 12 evolving title sequences that start subtle and only find completion in Marva's fricking funeral theme (that's genius), to the fact that each one of those title variations becomes something else when layered together with all 12 at once, providing us with a few discordant voices that end as a symphony of rebellion. (After "Andor" and "Succession," Nicholas Britell is my favorite composer working today, period.)
   
• There are no supporting characters. Every person we meet in Andor is believably living their own lives and has their own goals, starring in their own inner shows. The show's attention to so many diverse people and situations -- from Andor to Luthen (Stellan Skarsgaard is AMAZING and I do not know how he didn't get an Emmy nom) to Bix to Wilmon to B2EMO to Cinta to Meera and Syril to Brasso to Nemik, etc.
  
  And Kino! Oh, man. The most heartbreaking thing about Kino for me is the fact that he knows he's doomed the entire time. He ascends to lead the rebellion knowing he will not survive it. He knows they are isolated on water and he knows he can't swim. But Kino rallies him to act with courage, to be selfless enough to call them to action even knowing he won't survive it. Also -- ANDY SERKIS, people. I cannot believe he wasn't nominated for a Guest Emmy for this. Aghghgh.
   
• It showed us a droid accepted as a person, not a joke. Let's look at B2EMO, and how the show made me care more about a single little droid than any other droid in Star Wars, because for the first time, that droid wasn't just the comedy relief. He was a person. He was tentative and not super-smart, but loving and loyal. A droid who was loved and accepted by a  whole town, by a community of people who loved him, who saw him as a person. A little droid with a brave heart but with a slight stammer, who was afraid to be alone, and who was loved enough that Brasso stayed one last night with him in Maarva's home so B2 wouldn't have to mourn alone. 

Then there's the writing. I mean, oh my God, the monologues alone:

Nemik's Manifesto:

Remember this: Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

And remember this—the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

Kino's Call to Action ("One Way Out")

We will never have a better chance than this. And I would rather die trying to take them down than give them what they want. We know they fried a hundred men on Level Two. We know that they are making up our sentences as we go along. We know that no one outside here knows what's happening.

And now we know, that when they say we are being released, we are being transferred to some other prison to go and die—and that ends today!

There is one way out. Right now, the building is ours. You need to run, climb, kill! You need to help each other. You see someone who's confused, someone who is lost, you get them moving and you keep them moving until we put this place behind us. There are 5,000 of us. If we can fight half as hard as we've been working, we will be home in no time. One way out! One way out! One way out!

Marva's Final message:

There is a wound that won’t heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it’s here—it’s here, and it’s not visiting anymore. It wants to stay.

The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness. It is never more alive than when we sleep. It’s easy for the dead to tell you to fight, and maybe it’s true, maybe fighting is useless. Perhaps it’s too late. But I’ll tell you this: if I could do it again, I’d wake up early and be fighting these bastards from the start. Fight the Empire!”

Luthen's answer to "And what do you sacrifice?":

Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts.

I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion: I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight—they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost, and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet.

What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude.

So what do I sacrifice? Everything!

Anyone who can read these speeches and think the writing is subpar? I don't get you.

Anyway. I loved it, I think it's one of the best seasons of TV I have ever seen.

A few thoughts on items other folks have mentioned:

• Yes, humans are believably cheaper than droid/robot labor. That's the entire point of the Narkina plot/scheme. Droids cost money to manufacture and maintain. Droids require specialists and special knowledge. They are also not  cheap or adaptable. And each station on Narkina 5 alone held 5,000 prisoners with a small smattering of guards per floor. That's 5,000 restraining bolts. That's 5,000 droids/droid tech to constantly maintain. Per facility. Contrast that with people -- a free labor source who will police and teach themselves. Who will do what they're told if promised freedom and perks; the Empire has endless thousands of human beings it can ruthlessly imprison on fake charges, work them to death, and replace them with another life. And best of all, the Empire can do this while also ridding itself of potential rebels and troublemakers.
• I think Luthen's moment at Maarva's funeral is of huge importance—she inspires him. I think she moves him so much he walks away from wanting to kill Andor (and I don't think he was super-keen to do so to begin with). I think he has been surprised and moved by Maarva's funeral and the town's rebellion. I think he's tired and emotional and that Andor's offer delights him... and he smiles. It's what he's really always been angling for. Cassian is too smart to waste.
• It kills me that Cassian was helping to build the Death Star -- the thing that would kill him, even though he gave the Rebels the secret that would destroy it.
• The ending isn't a cliffhanger; it's an evolution, a level-up. It's Cassian's moment of admitting he is no longer out for himself, but for something greater than himself.

Also, I quoted lots of people but my post was devouring the planet, so just a note to thank @wanderingstar, @RobertDeSneero, @angora, @Jeddah, @thuganomics85, @starri, @tennisgurl, @sashabear21, @Raja, @Cthulhudrew, @Sarah 103, @Shanna Marie, @MrWhyt, and so many more for their awesome posts and discussions! I enjoyed this whole thread.

On 11/25/2022 at 7:06 PM, LJones41 said:

Hmmm . . . I don't think so.  I think "Andor" had too many writing issues to accept this view.  But I did like it.

I can't disagree strongly enough. Beside the fact that the show's writing has been almost universally praised, and it just received a 2023 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Beau Willimon, "One Way Out"). 

On 11/29/2022 at 3:45 PM, MrWhyt said:

Technology disparity exists on our world. I'm sure that there are people with cell phones and internet connections that are otherwise living exactly as people were 100 years ago in their area.

This, exactly! I worked a few years ago on an initiative that was brainstorming a global charity project in which fresh water sources could be shared globally.  The project never came together, but we did a ton of research and the numbers were staggering. The revelation wasn't that people all over the world -- billions -- still live in desperate poverty (some right here in the U.S., for that matter), but that millions among those do not have reliable access to drinking water. But you know what? Even if they find it hard to get to fresh water, 99.9% of them have cell phones. it's kind of amazing.

Tech doesn't mean nobody's poor anymore. It just means they're poor and they cling to what tech they have.

Edited July 27, 2023 by paramitch
oops I want to sign up for the REBELS not the EMPIRE :D

[andromeda331]

Well said @paramitch!

[paramitch]

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Well said @paramitch!

Thank you so much! I'm just grateful you waded through my Wall of Text. 😅

[wanderingstar]

15 hours ago, paramitch said:

I can't disagree strongly enough. Beside the fact that the show's writing has been almost universally praised, and it just received a 2023 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Beau Willimon, "One Way Out"). 

This nomination in particular makes me happy. Because "One Way Out" is some of the best television I've seen in a while. It moved me and stayed with me for a long time.

[Cthulhudrew]

@paramitch That was such an eloquent, thoughtful, and delightful post to read. I can't agree more with any of it.

Also, I admit I did not notice the difference in the title card themes, nor how they come together (one more reason to go back and rewatch). 

Thank you so much for sharing!

Edited July 28, 2023 by Cthulhudrew

[paramitch]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:51 PM, wanderingstar said:

This nomination in particular makes me happy. Because "One Way Out" is some of the best television I've seen in a while. It moved me and stayed with me for a long time.

I agree -- it was just so damn well done. And my favorite quiet aspect is that Kino has such an incredible arc across those three episodes -- from the "whatever it takes" yes-man of the first episode, to the naysayer in the face of Cassian's evidence -- to here, when he became the leader of a revolution. And I loved that Andor was like, "This is your moment. Take it." And then Kino did. An incredible monologue, and an incredible performance by Andy Serkis.

I still hope Kino lived. That someone grabbed him and jumped off! Darn it.

Some of my freelance work means that I can have the television or a separate screen open while I'm working, and let's just say I've rewatched "Andor" more than is probably healthy at this point.

On 7/27/2023 at 6:14 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

@paramitch That was such an eloquent, thoughtful, and delightful post to read. I can't agree more with any of it.

Also, I admit I did not notice the difference in the title card themes, nor how they come together (one more reason to go back and rewatch). 

Thank you so much for sharing!

This was so nice of you, and totally made my week. Thank you so much, and I'm so glad you enjoyed my (huge wall of too many) thoughts! 

I love the show, and my favorite thing about it is how closer examination rewards us every time. The opening themes that can mean many things episode by episode, and as a combined whole. The little details like the prisoner orange-and-white outfits implying they inspired the orange-and-white Rebel officer/pilot outfits. The Kyber crystal given to Andor by Luthen (that he returns), foreshadowing Jyn's crystal as given to her by her father. I also think Luthen's billowing, dramatic hooded cloak is a totally deliberate echo of the Sith Jedi cloaks, and meant to show his willingness to go dark for the rebellion.

One of the biggest for me was the way Cassian's pensive moment of truth on the beach at the end of episode 11, after learning of Maarva's death, and which so movingly foreshadows his final moments on the beach in ROGUE ONE with Jyn.

[paramitch]

I got one of my good friends to watch the show, and realized something very interesting this week.

She said, "I loved that Maarva's funeral music was the 'Andor' theme."

And I was gobsmacked, because for me, the realization was the reverse -- when I watched the finale and the music began, as it progressed, I went, "Oh my God, the 'Andor' theme is Maarva's funeral music."

Which is incredibly powerful for me. Because thanks to the genius of Nicholas Britell, every single episode of "Andor" has begun with variations on a theme that seemed to be building to something.

Then in this finale, we found out what. And to me -- it's all about Maarva (and, by extension, Cassian):

Daughter of Ferrix
https://youtu.be/BopZl2FVLqk?t=401

Note the percussion -- the hallmark of Ferrix revolution, the "are you listening?" of Ferrix. It is soft and mournful, percussion prevailing yet soft.

Rix Road
https://youtu.be/BopZl2FVLqk?t=439

This absolutely kills me as foreshadowing. What do we start with? A heartbeat percussion. Maarva's death becoming a new life -- the live of the Rebel movement. And then the mournful, funereal horns, and all of it grows and grows and grows in power with the horns visibly slightly discordant and diagetic-sounding (so they sound "live," and a bit raw). Yet these horns become a triumphant and powerful fanfare -- ending in what sounds like an electric spark noise.

It's amazing.

Also, I love that all of this is deliberate, and that Nicholas Britell had written and planned all this in advance. You can read more here.

Britell also talked about the Rix Road funeral band coordination with Gilroy (he was gifted one of the Rix Road horns!) and how when the tension ramps up as the procession moves forward, the flutes that introduce it (with this lovely fluttering tense repeated passage) are actually playing a variation on "Maarva's Theme" as a counterpoint to the larger "Andor" melody.

Anyway, onward!

To get to my larger point, all of this had me thinking that "Andor" doesn't just signify Cassian Andor alone.

I would definitely argue that the show title of "Andor" also includes Maarva and her importance to Cassian, to Ferrix, and as the spark that ultimately turns the rebellion from "pesky insurgents" to "The Rebellion."

And I think that is what we are seeing on Luthen's face in the finale, watching. This awe and revelation of the courage of this one old woman, of this one small beaten-up hardscrabble town. Of their rough sweetness and bravery and willingness to die for a better universe. 

He sees all of that and I think he is shaken to his core. I think it reawakens something within him. All we see is Luthen watching but he is not cold or detached, he is emotional and moved. He is watching Maarva change history despite a sunrise "she would never see."

I don't think it's him being moved by being up close to the action. We've seen Luthen be right in the middle of battles and chases and space battles and he's a badass who barely blinks. But he is changed and shaken by the courage of Maarva here, and by the people of Ferrix.

I think it's notable that Luthen simply watched it -- then left. He didn't go after Cassian. He didn't make any big moves. He just left for his ship. Because he'd seen all he needed to.

So when Cassian says, "Kill me, or take me in," I think it's the perfect culmination for Luthen's journey across the season. Cassian is a weapon forged by Ferrix, and a conscience forged by the woman who just died. Why kill him as a loose end when they can use his heart and brilliance for the rebellion? Not least when Luthen may see himself in this dangerous and grim young man, who was nothing but a paid mercenary for the heist but who was still willing to go back for his mother's funeral and save people he loved (including the BEST DROID EVER)? You don't waste people like that, and if you do, you're a fool.

No wonder Luthen looks at Cassian and gives him a real, rare, warm smile.

It's a perfect ending for me, to a perfect episode.

[Kirsty]

Very enjoyable finale. I liked the funeral and how the show used Fiona Shaw. I liked Andor listening to the manifesto.

The only thing I didn't like was the Syril storyline this episode. You can tell a man wrote it because only an oblivious dude would reward the stalker by making his stalker's fantasy come true!

[Raja]

36 minutes ago, Kirsty said:

The only thing I didn't like was the Syril storyline this episode. You can tell a man wrote it because only an oblivious dude would reward the stalker by making his stalker's fantasy come true!

From the performance of Denise Gough I don't think so. Syril is on a high right now thinking that all his dreams are about to come true. Meanwhile to me it looks like Dedra has survivor's relief combined with shit now I have to shutdown Syril who thinks he is about to get me as part of his imperial rewards.

[Kirsty]

6 minutes ago, Raja said:

From the performance of Denise Gough I don't think so. Syril is on a high right now thinking that all his dreams are about to come true. Meanwhile to me it looks like Dedra has survivor's relief combined with shit now I have to shutdown Syril who thinks he is about to get me as part of his imperial rewards.

His dream did come true. She was in danger and thanks to Syril's obsession with her, he got to rescue her. He was there for her when no one else was, and she owes him. She probably owes him her life. Thank God he's a massive creeper who likes to follow her around! Those people are always absolute lifesavers, they have wonderful intentions when they insinuate themselves into their victims' lives, and she's super lucky to have him.

[Raja]

1 minute ago, Kirsty said:

His dream did come true. She was in danger and thanks to Syril's obsession with her, he got to rescue her. He was there for her when no one else was, and she owes him. She probably owes him her life. Thank God he's a massive creeper who likes to follow her around! Those people are always absolute lifesavers, they have wonderful intentions when they insinuate themselves into their victims' lives, and she's super lucky to have him.

I don't think a personal owe, that nobody else knows about goes very far in the Empire.

[Shanna Marie]

On 12/27/2023 at 8:34 AM, Raja said:

I don't think a personal owe, that nobody else knows about goes very far in the Empire.

In fact, it could be dangerous for him if she doesn't want to risk him being around to remind her of her "obligation." She's ISB. She has ways of dealing with that sort of thing. She could have him arrested and questioned just for being there when she told him to stay out of it and stay away from her. She doesn't strike me as the sort of person who would feel at all bound by any life debt, and I think she was as freaked out by the fact that Syril was the one to rescue her as she was by her close call. Though she's probably mostly concerned by the fact that this riot happened on her watch and she's going to need to find a way to salvage her career. I suspect Syril is going to end up deeply disappointed.

[supposebly]

Since I signed up for Disney+ because of Doctor Who, I thought, maybe this is finally the Star Wars show that I like. And surprisingly, it was! Grown-up writing, editing, directing. No stupid lightsaber duel in sight where people survive fire and getting stabbed, and the cute droids that serve the function of the dog that should not be killed was kept to a minimum. No little muppet that stands in for character development of a guy whose face I can't see while everyone seems to project something onto him.

Every character we spent some time with was interesting and engaging. I was hoping for a bit more from Syril other than a constantly nagging and passive-aggressive mother, but I guess with that much damage, he would just latch on to the next woman and some sort of ill-fated revenge quest.

As to Mon Mothma's plot, wasn't her money funding a lot of Luthen's and others' endeavors? So, without it and her, Luthen's fancy ship wouldn't have been possible, I think.

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, supposebly said:

Every character we spent some time with was interesting and engaging. I was hoping for a bit more from Syril other than a constantly nagging and passive-aggressive mother, but I guess with that much damage, he would just latch on to the next woman and some sort of ill-fated revenge quest.

As to Mon Mothma's plot, wasn't her money funding a lot of Luthen's and others' endeavors? So, without it and her, Luthen's fancy ship wouldn't have been possible, I think.

Yes, her money was funding a lot of it. It lead to the Empire to become suspicious of her. The large amounts of money being withdrawn.