71:Andor-Arc 3 (S2E7,8,9)

[00:00:07] A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. They're not- There is an armada, up there.

[00:00:36] You couldn't even wait. No, you- You tell me it's a rumor, and I will throw you out that window. What have we been doing here? Something in the dirt here. They need it. It's the energy program. It's directly from the Emperor. It's something they can't do without. They need the planet. How long have you known this? We're going home, Cyril. We're going home as heroes.

[00:01:06] There's been catalogued before we got here. They've been planning it for years. You didn't seem to mind the promotions.

[00:01:33] Hello and welcome to the Star Wars TV Cast, broadcasting around the world and across the galaxy. This is Episode 71. I'm Jonathan. And I'm James. This week, we're covering Andor Season 2, Arc 3. Directed by Jannas, Metz, and written by Dan Gilroy. Join us as we discuss Episodes 7, 8 and 9 of Andor Season 2. Yes!

[00:02:04] Bloody hell, mate. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Well, dear listeners, this is your reward. This is Star Wars. After years of mediocre content, we have been treated to one of the greatest Star Wars moments in recent memory. Enjoy this moment, because you deserve it. Like me and James, you know that Star Wars means something. That it was capable of greatness.

[00:02:30] And when talent aligns and outside forces are kept at bay, great things can occur. Not only were we treated to a gripping lead-up and battle scene, but what I thought would be a slow burn episode 9. We witnessed Mon Mothma's declaration of rebellion and escape. And even though we knew who would live, it was exciting, intense, and had me at the edge of my seat. Our faith has been rewarded. James, what did you think? What did I think? What did I think?

[00:03:00] Well, I've been warned about my language before, so I'm not going to... I'm just going to say it was, let's fucking go. Let's fucking go. I mean, it was pretty good, right? I mean, I was... I mean, I have to say, you and I discussed this offline about the Star Wars has become such a huge beast, right? Yeah. You've got sprawling plot lines all over the place. And the original was like a linear, as you described it to me, it's like a linear sort of... Well, it's a space opera in a straight line. Yeah.

[00:03:29] And it's a linear storytelling. We start from, you know, the opening scene to meeting Luke and then we follow him all the way to the death star. To the death, exactly. But some of these shows have lost their way because they try to cover simultaneous plot threads across multiple systems and star systems and this, that and the other. And then, lo and behold, we're back on track. Yes. I would give this like a high rating and I have to say... Well, keep the rating to the end, James. You don't want to disappoint all of us. Well, I know. I just held back there. I just held back there.

[00:03:59] I held back there, so I did. I have to say that opening scene on Yavin 4 where the transporter drops in. You know how we talked about World War II? Yeah. The references to World War II. We're now in the Vietnam War. Yes, exactly. That was like the choppers landing and all of the grunts getting off and I just... From the minute that and it's now feels like we are in the world of Rogue One. Yes. Super, super excited. Yeah.

[00:04:27] Well, that was a glorious shot of X-Wings coming into the base at Yavin 4. And once we saw that, I knew we were in for a treat because the time jump was perfect, right? Because I didn't expect us to be on Yavin until right at the end, you know? Right. I expected Mothma to... That to be almost the finale. So, I'm really excited to see where we go next week and I have every faith that it's going to be just as good and if not better.

[00:04:56] So, yes, a very Vietnam feels as it came in. But I knew when we hit Yavin 4 that things would expand and new characters would be brought in and it would feel very much like Star Wars and we were not let down. No, not at all. I mean, it looks like a fully fleshed out base now. Yeah. It's fully operational. Even down to like the very Moon of Endor sort of jungle housing in the back.

[00:05:24] I was expecting to see some little Ewoks popping out at one point. Who knew that Yavin 4 would be such a delightful retreat? I know, exactly. It's... It's got massage areas, walks through the rain forest, you know, zip line tours. Pad Thai for breakfast. Exactly. Would you like a massage? Yeah, I thought we were on the crossover to White Lotus for a sec. But let's jump into it, eh, James?

[00:05:53] We've got a lot to discuss. Let's move with the pace of these episodes. Yes, exactly. Because after a year the rebels have begun coordinating their military operations. That's where Cassian and Bix now live. We have Wilman coming in and I don't know if you picked up on this, James, but Wilman is the kid that threw the bomb in... Yeah. Yeah. Like I suddenly... Because it's his dad. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:06:19] And how much he's grown in this year, he dramatically... He's almost replaced Cassian as Luthen's field operator. Oh, he has, yeah. Yeah. He's Luthen's favourite. Yeah. And it's... I kind of like that. He's become a man. Yes. Yes, he has. And he continues his ways around the universe just picking up a girl in every port, doesn't he?

[00:06:48] He's hooked up with the blonde girl. Oh, yes, from the farm... Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was just wondering when I went... Because, look, it seemed to come out of nowhere that suddenly he's with the French girl after... Or the French girl, the Gorman girl. And I'm just wondering whether another person was going to die because he couldn't keep his pants on. It's like the kiss of death. Oh, dear. You know, he fights a hard fight for the resistance. He does.

[00:07:18] He needs his rewards, John. Exactly. Exactly. It's the spoils of war. So... But, yeah. And I just like the way that he comes back and it's like a concerned dad. You've got Cassie going, where have you been? Yeah. And he's not telling him and he's not telling you anything. Well, I don't think he wants to reveal how close he is with Luthen. Yeah. Yeah. Because... But he also points out, it's like, do you trust all these people are coming into Yavin? He's like, do you trust all these?

[00:07:47] It's like, how can you trust all these people? So he's got a fair point there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he's like, do you think he's going to be running around as a spy rather than being part of a military force now, which the rebellion has become. And because it's... It's really good to see General Draven straight from Rogue One. Yeah.

[00:08:13] And I thought he looked in as a very capable male leader and I thought he was going to walk straight out and jump into a spitfire and take off and take on the Germans. Exactly. Wrap his scarf around his neck and off he would go. Exactly. Well, that's how I kept picturing him there. Like, even if there was no breeze, he was wearing a scarf that was just blowing in the wind. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:36] These tore off because Wilman has got a lead on Dedra and he's been on Gorman and helping the rebels and he sees Dedra there and he knows her from Ferex and... Yeah, well, and that's, as you mentioned earlier, I totally forgot as well, like Dedra killed his dad. Yeah. On Ferex. Yeah. And so he swears he's not for revenge. Yeah, yeah. But then also Biggs was tortured by her as well. Yeah. She sent the good doctor in to see her. So it is very personal with... With the Disco Droid.

[00:09:07] Yeah. Don't press the wrong button. It is very personal with them and it basically is a revenge mission no matter how much they say it's not. Framing it elsewhere. Yeah. Exactly.

[00:09:20] And, but as they're packing up their ship in a nice little mirroring of Han Solo picking up his reward just before they attack the Death Star we see them getting ready to go and General Draven has a bit of a word with them and basically says to them that, you know, the time where you can come and go is coming to an end. We don't have privateers at this rebel base which was a, I thought was a good way of putting it. Yeah. No more smugglers. Yeah.

[00:09:50] No more smugglers. And so they all, they gear off and gear up and head off to Gorman. But also in this episode before they leave, Biggs takes him to see... Oh my gosh. Yes. The mystical force user. Which... This is the first time we've had the force in Andor right? Yeah, it is the first time we've had the force. Yeah.

[00:10:12] And in my opinion in the worst possible way because I still maintain that force healing does not exist and it's a sequel. So people go for it. Shut up. That's not how the force works. Well it didn't exist till Ray brought it in and it was to kind of have the no one dies even when you stab them in the stomach with their lightsaber. We are. We are because it's a serious thing.

[00:10:40] Like if lightsabers aren't deadly then, you know, where are we and stuff. I know but he had a saw from a blast of her. Yeah, exactly. I wasn't sure whether this was just a writer's way of removing Biggs without having to kill her because we know she's not in Rogue One. And in the end of this episode we see her just leaving, you know, heroically leaving the rebellion so Cassian can fight on.

[00:11:10] Well, yeah, but you're jumping ahead there but I think she realises that Cassian's gone soft and because he, because she realises. Yeah, well he's had enough. Because of his feelings for her. Yeah. He doesn't want her to get that and he's had enough. So like she removes himself from the equation. No, I'm talking more, yeah, like not so much the story but talking about from a production point of view, writer's point of view.

[00:11:35] Because this little scene felt like it came from nowhere and I wonder if it was just how they decided to end Bix's storyline rather than her dying in some horrible way. Yeah. This idea that Cassian is some sort of chosen one now, which is so dumb for me.

[00:12:02] This is the one, my one criticism is now Cassian is the chosen one and he must do there because I see in the future that he has something to contribute. Where to me Cassian was just always like a regular guy and he made the decisions to do it as he was faced with them. He didn't have that, you know, inevitability. He could have turned away at any point. Yeah, but Luthen also alludes to this as well. You were always there. You were always there for me. Yeah.

[00:12:31] And he points out that every key point, every tipping point along the way with the resistance. It did but it felt to me, I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that that felt tacked on. It didn't feel this, all of a sudden we're feeling that that Cassian is, has some sort of inevitability about him is some sort of chosen one. But that's a small nitpick, but we'll go with it with the story and that's just one of those things.

[00:13:01] But yeah, so it did help his arm and he's ready to fight. Yeah. Yeah. Meanwhile, on the lovely planet of Parrot and Gorman, we get, we get the dodgy Captain Kaido arriving. Yes. That's just brilliant. Yes. I loved it when the troop transport came in. Yeah. Yeah. How Nazi was that?

[00:13:28] It's just literally, they did just giving it a paint job. It just looked exactly like one of like the Volkswagen. Yeah. Well, a half track road. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But yeah, I mean, just. And when they jumped off, I'm like, who are these crack troops? These must be, you know, they're all dressed in black. I haven't seen them before.

[00:13:51] And they've got all their gear and, but then of course, James, they are not crack troops. They are cannon fodder. Yes. In the literal sense. Yes, they are. Yeah. And I think that the way that Deidre's annoyance, this Imperial master plan is now being put into place and she's, she's not even privy to exactly what's going on. No. I think that's. Yeah. As much as she was. As is letting it down here. Yeah.

[00:14:20] As much as she was, she came up with it. It feels like it's all has its own momentum. Now it's beyond her control. She can't stop it. These people will die. And, and it's because of her. And I think there's the inevitability of it and the momentum of it is kind of what wakes her up a little bit. And, and, and at least we see some humanity in a, in a later, but you know, we're jumping ahead though.

[00:14:49] So, and then meanwhile, good old Cyril is starting to smell a rat. Yeah. Red flag. Yeah. And he's, and he's now doubting Deidre's explanation about. Yeah. The outside help. Yeah. Well, I want to just go back to that scene when, when she's talking to Partagas and another, another great Partagas moment. And because she's worried the fleet is going to be in position to start mining in 48 hours. And she's like, I was moving so quickly.

[00:15:15] And she's like, you're aware, you're aware that the insurgents have weapons. And he's like, Oh, we're counting on it. Yeah. Well, I mean, that was the whole thing from the last set of episodes. They deliberately let them get, take, take those. And they didn't, they admitted they were not going to try and hunt them down and get the weapons back because they needed them to be armed to justify the carnage that would come. Do you know what I think? Yes.

[00:15:41] And the, and the cleverness of it is that this was Luthan's plan as well. You know, so Partagas and Luthan are planning the exact same scenario, both for the, for They're playing chess. You can just see them playing the hollow chess game on the, on the Falcon. He made a fair move. Screaming about it, can't help you. They both want the same outcome for different reasons. Yeah. They just want this planet to burn as brightly as possible. Yeah. So they can both justify their, their war. Yeah.

[00:16:10] And that was, uh, Luthan's, um, point. He says it's going to burn, but it will burn brightly as he said in the last episode. But my favorite, so my favorite, uh, thing is when he's talking about, we've tried to find alternative, uh, fuel, but unfortunately it's just bad luck. Bormons. Yeah, exactly. Oh, well. Yeah. Well, what are you going to do? I guess it's just bad luck for them as a million people die, you know? Yeah.

[00:16:39] I mean, they do, they do. I thought that was classic him. Correct me if I'm wrong. They did originally plan to try and get them off world, didn't they? The idea was. Well, they did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was that meeting. And that's what he was referring to where we've tried, we can't find any alternate, uh, uh, power solution for the, for the death star. So this is it. And, and, uh, sod it. We're going to rip it all out. Yeah. Bad luck. Yeah. Core of the planet will collapse and yeah, we'll use a few spiders.

[00:17:08] And I love that Cyril's in full spyware now. He's got his, he's a great, fantastic overcoat on and, and he's got rid of the beret. Yes, he did. Thank God. I was like, oh, and, uh, he seems to have no idea what he's got himself into with Deirdre and, um, he tells him to go and pack and be ready to go. And, and Cyril's struggling to understand. And, and, and she tells him, oh, our future is bride will be rewarded.

[00:17:35] And then just, she, then Deirdre just plants his unwanted kiss on him. And he's like being kissed and he's like looking going, what the fuck is going on? I think it's, that was, it's so funny that it's like, she's tried everything to convince him and like, and her absolute last thing is human passion, which is like, which is outside of her arsenal normally. It's just this sloppy kiss. It was.

[00:18:02] I've read a couple of reviews and it's like, it's like, it's, so there was comparing kisses in Star Wars. You know, you've, you've got Han and Leia and then you've got this. That's really funny. Yeah. And, and, and it's like, oh, it's just cringy. Yeah. It's just, um, but, uh, but I, I like it. I like the way that you did her mask does slip. Like, and she's starting to, she's starting to unravel as we say later.

[00:18:28] And, uh, it's, um, it's good to see that, uh, even Deidre is, is unrighteous. Yeah. She does have a shred of decency left in her, but not much. Yeah. But we see that he obviously is start, it's starting to dawn on him what's going down and, uh, and, and, and that something was wrong and realizing that Deidre might not be the person she thinks he thinks hurt she is, you know? Yeah. What does he think she was?

[00:18:57] Well, well, well, they, well, that was their plan, you know, part of cause and Deidre's plan was to, they like what he said to the, to the rebel leader later. He's like, I was here looking for outside agitators. So he was hoping to trap outside agitators. Yeah. Stop. Yeah, exactly. I'm just saying he was played by Deidre all along. Yeah. All along. Yeah. Exactly. Right. Poor old Cyril.

[00:19:27] Poor old Cyril. Cyril met with the daughter Enza trying to warn her to prevent the mass massacre. And was another weird thing with Cyril here that his interaction with her, there seemed to be something romantic. Yeah. I, yeah, I felt that, that there seemed to be. Yeah. That he was, had been falling for her. Yeah. Or was it, or was that just that he had been living with them for a year and, and yeah,

[00:19:57] but it felt a bit romantic. Well, I, yeah, I mean, I'm not sure exactly how much like, sort of like warmly homeness there is at home for him anyway. No. That's true. In the, in the, in the underground French resistance, maybe he found a little bit of love. Who knows? Exactly. Or he just started to fall for her, but it reminded me of this scene when he was in the, when he rescued, uh, Deidre and they were face to face.

[00:20:24] There was another kind, but maybe it's just like the close cropping, maybe it was a blocking of the scene that they were just a little bit too close together. But I think you've, I think he spent a year embedding himself with this resistance and he's, he's probably got feelings. I mean, he's clearly got feelings for them as human beings. As a people. Yeah. Yeah. As a people. And he, and, and like, as we find out late, he's horrified when he realizes that he is the main cause of the downfall. It's like, yeah, exactly.

[00:20:51] So I thought I was looking for someone else and helping you guys. Like, no, you've been feeding us information. Yeah. Dodgy misses. And it's not really a good day for Cyril cause no, not only was he shut up with a sloppy kiss, he was also rewarded with a slap across the face when he tried to, tried to warn them about their impending doom. It's not doing well on either. No. It's very confused. What's happening? Yeah.

[00:21:21] But I thought you loved me. Yeah. And I have to say that it was nice to see that the, the rebel bellhop has now been promoted to front of house at the hotel. Yes. I know. I know. I thought that as well. I was very pleased for him. Yeah. It seems that everyone in Star Wars gets a very, you know, linear promotion over time, you know. Yeah. Wilman, the bellhop. Well, I think that's a clever way of playing it when you're jumping a year at a time, isn't it?

[00:21:48] It's like another way to define it is either Cyril has a haircut or, or, you know, people get promoted. Did you think that Cassian recognized the bellhop at the desk or? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I think so. I wasn't sure if he did at first, but. I, I know what you're saying, but I think he's in spy mode. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:15] So, and also when he first goes to the desk, there's the other player, you know, the, the other goody two shoes. Yes. Hotel worker there who's a, well, we'll have to report this cause you don't have your, your clearance pass and et cetera. And that's another thing looking at the security that they've upped in general, like, you know, on Coruscant and here and all the rest of it is like, it's definitely, you know, cause it, we hear bits of the newsfeed of like the different insurrectionist, you know, attacks that have happened, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:22:45] So things have clearly been spiraling in the year that we've been. Yeah. And, and they do play that. You do feel like there has been, um, it, you know, is there's just not a cut scene saying one year later, everyone feels older, their positions have changed. So it is really good storytelling and, uh, you know, production of it, you know, but as they're building the fortress around the, the annexes as, uh, and Particus comes in and

[00:23:12] I love this, how they, you know, it's not very Star Wars to have press, but, uh, but I think it really works here. And I thought it was important because as they're building, uh, Particus says, uh, we need to, to show in inexplicable resistance. Oh, hang on. We need to show inexplicable resistance to imperial norms, you know, making the really violent things sound very banal, you know, and building the narrative. Hmm.

[00:23:41] Well, they're like building the barriers. Yeah. They're literally building a kill box. Yeah. You're watching it on there. They're positioning them. They're funneling them in as we see in the, uh, in the, the, the very relaxed episode eight that's coming up. But, um, we see, yeah, it's just brutal what they plan. It's like, yeah. And as, as they're going in, they want to, the, the, uh, the local rebels, uh, are getting

[00:24:08] ready to, to storm the, well, to go and protest in the square, but we see them getting prepped and, and as always getting prepped and getting kitted out is one of my favorite things in, in all movies. Yeah. Okay. Getting load out. Um, and we see some gorgeous factory fresh E-11s getting handed out. I do use that. Yes, exactly. It's just fresh, fresh off that, you know, from that box that got thrown down the tunnel. Yeah, exactly.

[00:24:35] And, uh, it's interesting that they never unpacked them though as well, where they just kept them. I suppose there was some nice storage boxes. Um, then I will have to, to buy myself a replica one day. Do you have, I know you've got a couple of helmets. Did you have any, uh, blasters? I do not have any blasters. No, no. I just have the, what am I, I've just got one flame trooper helmet. Oh, there we go. Um, but they had some E-10s as well, which were the, which were the, the ones with the shoulder stock. Yeah.

[00:25:06] Yeah. Um, but then we see the press repeating exactly what the government said without question. And, you know, obviously then they're not the press, but, uh, the propaganda. The propaganda department. Yeah. Not, not holding their leaders to account, but just reading their press releases. Mm. So in, so in the start of episode eight, and we see, we see Cassian in his room, right? And, and I just love that suitcase. Jonathan.

[00:25:36] Yeah. Just, just, uh, it's like we were watching it together, James. Oh my God. It's phenomenal. Like, yeah, cause you just, and you just, it's like the Star Wars, James Bond suitcase. I was like, oh, that was epic really, wasn't it? Yeah. He opens it on his bed and it's, it's got the, the second layer underneath with all the other parts. And he's just, uh, the minute he opened that we both knew sniper rifle. Yeah. Exactly. Nothing else could be in that. It was great.

[00:26:03] But wasn't it interesting how his, um, how it was basically, uh, his regular blaster that had a conversion kit to a sniper rifle, which I thought was a nice touch. Yeah. I didn't clock that until later on where he literally just, when he breaks it apart, he just, he puts it in his holster again. So. Yeah. And he's got a hook for the, the sniper attachment. Oh, on the other side. Yeah. Fine piece of kit. Really, really nice.

[00:26:29] And as he's, he gets his, uh, scope out and he can see that, you know, the other side, but then wasn't it great to just hear a bit of, I'm going to show it out, the storm troopers chatting. Oh, and you know, and I, I didn't click until the second time around because remember the, the, the bellhop at the front desk said, oh, it's a little bit noisy. Yeah. In your room. And I didn't click. And that was what he was implying. Yeah. And it sounded.

[00:26:58] Special spy mirror to look for. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I just happened to have my spy mirror here, but it's, it's such a, like, that's the sort of callback I like because the indistinct chatter reminded me of, you know, a new hope where Obi-Wan's at the, at shutting down the tractor beam and you can hear them slightly off in the distance. Did you see the game last night? Yeah. Yeah. Pretty good. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:28] Um, but yeah, it was, I mean, I have to say that. It's just the way these, these episodes place and build up and just the amount of stormtroopers we see. It's just very exciting. Yeah. No, it really is. They're just not holding back with the season, are they? No, no, that's it. It's extra special sauce. Yes, exactly. So, um, but this is, this is what, um, James and I were, we're, we're talking about off air, off air.

[00:27:55] And, uh, believe it or not, we do speak about stuff all the time, regardless of whether we're on, on, on, on the podcast or not. I watched this great. Many times we have to stop ourselves. Yeah. Wasting good ammunition. Yeah, exactly. Uh, there was this, uh, YouTube, uh, video that was on the nature of Star Wars and you know, I've been trying, I've been kind of around the edges of trying to define what I feel is missing.

[00:28:20] And I, this, uh, this video essay did it really well is that basically Star Wars is a documentary film and, uh, you start, it's basically a camera crew follows the main protagonist from beginning to end. You know, no one, no new character is introduced unless the main character meets them. Yeah. And, uh, and it's this linear kind of storytelling that, uh, they pointed out in this video,

[00:28:50] which is present in these three episodes. And you feel like you're, that it has momentum. You're not cutting back. Absolutely. The pace doesn't pull off. Yeah. It's all part of the same thing. And that's what made this feel really Star Wars-y. So, so Star Wars-y and so succinct because it's all these threads starting to entwine everyone. Oh yeah. All of the, the key protagonists at some point during this arc, practically meet and have a

[00:29:19] conversation. It's like they all come together, you know, perfect pacing. And again, it justifies the slow burn. Yeah, exactly. Since 2022. Exactly. Is that how long it's been? Yeah. That year. And the first one was, yeah, two and a half years. But, um, and I just want to go back to the, um, the, just the false flag operation that we now have with, with Kaido is initiating. So he's building this kill box in the town.

[00:29:48] So like, so that it's, and, and, um, Cassian and some of the others are realizing exactly what they're up to. But most of the Gorman are like, oh, they've opened it up. So we can now go, we can go to the monument. We can go in there. But, and then he's like, no, they're building a fortress. And then you look at the way they build the barriers. Yeah. They protect the building, but leave that channel. Yes. Out into the middle. Yes. Which is, ah, dear. It's, um.

[00:30:16] And even the, the, the leader, the father is, is trying to warn them and warn them and warn them. Yeah. But, but they're, they're, they've got their head up now that the protest shall go on regardless of the consequences. And they obviously just have no idea how brutal the empire are, that this is just a trap for them. And then, uh, Cassian goes out to surveil the square. And as he, as he's walking on the notice, he's got, uh, um, he's got his little ponytail in.

[00:30:45] And I'm wondering if that's like his Superman disguise. Yeah. When I put my hair in a ponytail, no one will recognize me. Well, I, yeah, I couldn't word that out. I mean, it is, it's like a mini man bone at the back there at one point, isn't it? It's just got a little bit long in his hair. And I was like, strange choice. It's neither here nor there, Jonathan. But just before Cyril is confronted by the father and, and he goes, you did this, you did this and he's realizing, he's realizing. Do you notice how, how violent Cyril's got? Yeah.

[00:31:15] Yeah. No, he is. Yeah. I'm not sure with that direction, but he, he gets, um, confronted and then Cyril just throws him against the wall. He's like this 75 year old man or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. And it's at this moment, James, Cassian's coming out, he's walking up the stairs and he starts walking amongst the people coming the other way. I suddenly dawns on me that Cyril is coming in the opposite direction. Yes. Yeah.

[00:31:42] And I'm just like, my head is, my mind is being blown and as these two. Again, the convergence. Yes. And it's so beautifully done. They both, you know, look just in the wrong direction, right? At the same time. It's very, very well done. And now is this after, yes, um, after Cassian has left the hotel. Yes. And like one of my favorite lines with the, the hotel kid on the front desk. Where he, he like wishes him hope. Oh, that's right. Yeah.

[00:32:12] And they, and the kid turns around and says, brilliantly rebellions are built on. Yes, exactly. Oh my God. And who would have thought that he came up, he came up with that line because that's the line that, uh, uh, what's the name says in Rogue One. Yeah. Yeah. Built on her. Yes. So many great, great sort of one lines in this. Yeah. Brilliant. So then we have the crowd who are all in there and they all get excited and they're chanting. We are the gore.

[00:32:41] The galaxy is watching. We are the gore. The galaxy is watching. And at this point we're back to the tempo of the last arc and it's building now, building with this chant. Did you notice that the TIE fighters? Ah, every now and then. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the first time I think that they've been prominent over the skies of Gorman and you're like, oh, okay. And it's just like, it's getting ominous now. And that just adds to the tension and it's just building and you can see them looking

[00:33:06] up and they're suddenly, they're all like, why is there, you know, basically choppers in the sky? Why is there? Yeah. Yeah. Why is there overwatch? Not, not only that. Yeah. But you get all, everyone's like in pretty much, they packed everyone in and then the storm troopers are just on those back stairs all the way around. And it's like, okay. Yeah. Kill box is complete. Yeah, exactly.

[00:33:39] And so here we have it like with the scene is set now, like the storm troopers lie in the exits. Everyone's in there and, and, and Cyril after confronting the old man and stuff, it's really sinking in that Deidre has completely played it. And he's horrified at how blind he's been to her plans. Yeah. And, and he realizes the massacre about to happen is pretty much on his head. Yep. And so he, you know, he returns. The major gaslighting had gone on. Yes. So he returns to the building.

[00:34:08] So he's like, he goes back to confront her and at this, and then, and then Jonathan, then we get the moment again. It's as if I was watching with you and he comes in and in order to keep him safe. Yeah. They put him in the room with the kill droids. He's putting him in the KX droids. Yeah. And I just love that. They go in there, the doors seal and he stood there and he looks at them. And one of the robots just turns and just stares at him. And I'm like, that has to be KS20. Yeah, exactly.

[00:34:37] And it has that really disturbing look, vacant look that a cat will sometimes give you. You know, when it's about to attack you or just go and lick its backside. It's not, you're not sure which it's going to do. And I must say my love for Cyril Kahn from the very beginning has paid off. And what we thought was a minor character turned out to be one of the great Star Wars characters of all time. Yeah.

[00:35:04] And as he's going in there, like the range of emotions that he's showing, it's like shock, fear and confusion. And, you know, and it slowly dawns on him that not only has he been set up by the Empire, but by Dedra. And he realizes that he's not safe at this moment. You don't know whether he's been held captive now that he's, now that he's no longer useful. Hmm. Yeah.

[00:35:32] I mean, you talk about the range of emotions, but that's been there from the start. Back on Ferex, like that initial, like, and I was really, I was reading up on this again. And like, there's so many times when Cyril is in these scenarios. If you watch the camera work, like, especially on this bit, when the crowd is building and it's quite frantic, whenever it focuses on Cyril, it drops to slow-mo. Right. Because it's like, it's almost like, it's almost like the cogs in his brain. Yeah. They can't keep up with real time. What the book. Yeah.

[00:36:01] He's like, he's like, what have I done? Yeah. Literally, what have I done? Yeah. Yeah. So, so we have him sort of locked away with the droids. And, and, and as I said, so the crowd outside is now pinned in. We can see these storm. And how ominous. Like you've, suddenly you've got lines and lines of stormtroopers. Yeah. It's like on the, on those steps. Yeah. All the way around. And it's like, oh, and I love, I love the way then the song changes. Yes.

[00:36:27] So then like the older guy, the Gorman guy who was there, who helped him from before. So clearly he must've remembered the original massacre. Mm-hmm. Because I feel he's that little bit older. And then, and he pipes up and he begins the classic song. Yeah. Well, it must be their national anthem, right? I feel, yeah. It's, yeah. Do you think that, I thought that that was kind of a planned moment by the rebels to, to

[00:36:52] change into rather than the chant because they all heard, they all lined up together and all sang together. But either way, it was quite, obviously very stirring. It's quite moving. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and change, change the whole thing from something more aggressive with the chanting to something a little bit more passive with the singing. Well, I don't, yeah. I think almost, I think, yeah, a little bit more passive, but also I think almost like

[00:37:21] they're now almost accepting their fate of what is about to happen. Yeah. It's like they've almost come to terms with like, all right, there is no, this is no like But the move will have to be from the, the empire. They're not going to attack. Yes. So the move has to be from the empire. You know? And, and, go on, have you got this? Do you want to go? No, you can. I know you want to, I know you want to discuss about the, the killing of innocents kind of things. So feel free. I know this is your forte.

[00:37:51] Well, that's very nice of you, dude. Oh, okay. You sick individual. I'll let you continue. Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly. Just, just realized. So before the massacre begins. Yeah. Of course, that's, um, we get like, Cyril manages to slip upstairs. Yeah. This is the best scene. Yes. Oh, Cyril, Cyril confronts Dejri finally gets in and he's like, what have you done?

[00:38:20] And realizing the horror of his, his actions and the evil of the woman he loves. And then there's that, that thing is like how, he literally yells a lot. How long have you known? And I reckon that, um, in, in, as it was being filmed, I don't think the, the actor, uh, Dejra's actor knew that he was going to yell at her like that. And I, it seemed it might not have been unplanned because her reaction was so real and shocked.

[00:38:48] I felt that that might've been a, a, uh, uh, on moment, you know, a moment that was an unplanned moment, you know, but it worked so well. Like it shocked me. It shocked her. Not, not as much as when his hands are around her throat. And it's like, and it's like, wow, it's just, and you just, and you see Dejra's eyes bulging and it's like, and I, the fear she realizes the creature that she has created this as, as

[00:39:18] he's described like as a monster, like by the, the resistant leader as well. And he's now throttling it. But I also felt there was some that she wasn't fighting and she was also submitting to it and almost like, yes, she's like, yeah, kill me. Cause like I'm, I'm realizing what I've done at the same time. Yeah. And, uh, but then, then one has to wonder whether maybe this is just something they do on a regular basis when the lights get turned out.

[00:39:47] Well, yes, that's it. That hour of darkness and what goes on. We will never know now. But this did not look like, um, uh, Cyril was playing. He was basically throttling her to get at the truth. Hmm. And then just the great, the way he leaves, good luck, Dejra. And just leaves. And it's just like, I'm out. Yeah. But good on him for doing that, you know, and my faith in Cyril is rewarded again.

[00:40:14] You know, when he walks out, he walks out and leaves her and just like, no, there he has absolutely has his limits. And, you know, and genocide is not one. It's his limit apparently. Fair enough, I guess. Well, it's fine. Everything up until genocide is fine. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I mean, how many people died in the first hiccup? I mean, not many. And now he's up to, he's up to thousands now. So, you know.

[00:40:40] But, but what we understand with Cyril that, that what he desires is not control, but law and order, you know, he wants safety in law and order. Oh yeah. He's by the book. By the book. Boy, isn't he? That's it. That's all he's, he's a numbers man. It's all he wants is everyone to, to be in their place and do as they're told. Yeah. Do all that. But I think it's time with the resistance that he has softened and he's realized. Yeah.

[00:41:09] And I, and then all the more painful to be betrayed by this woman. Yeah. That he loved. Yeah. Yeah. But Deirdre at this point is trying to, to convince him that, that glory, money, status and position will be, will be taken care of when we go back. You know, everything's going to be great. We're going home. Yes. We're going home. And then, and then in, in full modern woman. Oh my God. And then I knew this is going, yes.

[00:41:38] Well, you didn't mind the promotions. He finds, she finds the one thing that he can get at it and, and she goes there with, with a sharpened blade, you know, cutting as deep as she can. But, you know, and his reply is what all men should do is to simply walk away. Walk away. Yes.

[00:42:04] And, uh, our therapy session next week will be held on a Tuesday if anyone needs to join. Yeah. And so the tensions building, the national anthem is being sung and, and the, and the, the, the crisis, what was he called? He's a crisis manager. Uh, oh yeah. Well, as he describes himself, like I, I am the trigger. You are the finger. Like Deirdre is the finger. And, uh, and yes, but the trigger man, literally the trigger man. And so he sends his, uh, cannon fodder.

[00:42:34] I mean, elite troops out into the crowd. Yeah. And, um, and then, and the guy, the leader knows that, that things, that things are going to go bad, but, you know, with threatened with death, he goes forward anyway. And, of course, they have the, the snipers, uh, on the roof ready to go. And, uh, then that was some more kind of, you know, uh, military, military porn there was

[00:43:00] that the, through the, the, through the scope of the sniper rifle and the sound of having to charge it before you pull the trigger. Yeah. Yeah. They're very game, gamey. Uh, but then in an interesting twist, instead of, uh, shooting one of the, the protesters, he shoots one of his own soldiers. I think, well, I think that's clearly always, always the plan. Yeah. I know it was always the plan. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:26] But, um, but I, I actually didn't see the coming, but obviously it was a plan. I thought that he was going to just shoot one of them when they threw the rocks cause he saw them breaking up the, uh, the pavement. Yeah. But they're so desperate to get it done. He shoots one of his own men. And then it's, then it's, it's far at will. Yeah. And it's just carnage. Yeah. And they just start blasting everyone in the face.

[00:43:54] The, the 11s come out and we're on, but it's chaos. And we get to the camera work, the documentary style. You're in, you're in there with everyone. And, and occasionally cut to, to, uh, Cyril. He's just standing there immune to everything that's going around him. Yeah. Everything's missing him and gunfire. Yeah. And, and it's a very, very, um, uh, war movie scene as.

[00:44:22] There's a great talking to camera, but there's a great shot of, of our, um, of our trigger man of, uh, Kaido inside. And then he's behind the bulletproof grass and he's got this like evil smoke on his face. And, and there's a reflection of flames and people dying in the glass as he's just, as he's just satisfied smile grows on his face. Yeah. Then he basically says, release the hounds. And the K2 droids come, come out.

[00:44:52] They basically just start tossing people around. Oh my God. It's, it's just, it's just brutal. They're just the, the way that they work their way through the crowd and there. And just sinister as well. Like the, the girl who's like, she's fumbling on the floor trying to get away. Yeah. And that droid just makes a beeline for her. She's not a threat. He's not assessing targets on a threat. That was just like, I'm just murdering people. Murder, murder bot. Yeah.

[00:45:22] And there, it's interesting because they obviously have a, a no, uh, no blaster policy. So no weapons, unlike the, the droids in the, in the, in the prequels, in the, in the prequels and the Clone Wars, and which, which is a callback to Rogue One where, where KT or so is always so, why don't I get a blaster? You know, in the end. Yeah. So he, they have no weapons.

[00:45:48] So the method of killing is just tossing, uh, people against walls. Tossing them to break walls. Yeah. Which is really violent and graphic thing for Star Wars. Yeah. But all this time we see Cassian with his sniper rifle trying to pick out Dedra. Which I think is nuts because clearly that glass is like thick. Real thick. I'm not sure you're going to make that, that shot. But, um, yeah. But occasionally she opens the window, doesn't he? She. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[00:46:18] Yes. You've got Cyril and him running through the crowds and not bumping into each other and all the rest of it. And then as you said, lo and behold, he's, he thinks he's got a shot on Dedra. So he pulls a gun up and then they meet. So Cyril just spots him and just sees red again. Probably Cyril's just seen a lot of red. My God, man. It's just like, it's rage fest. Yeah. It's like, it just goes at him. In a way that. And then we have the bar fight. Star Wars best bar fight ever.

[00:46:46] It was such a great fight. You know, it was one of the best battle scenes in the world of Star Wars. Well, it just reminded me so much like Indiana Jones. Cause even there's that bit when I think someone outside opens up with a heavy gun and they're rolling. Oh, it was very, wasn't it? He runs behind him. Yeah. He jumps over a counter in this. Yeah. In the bar scene. In Mongolia. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. And it was all the glass exploding and doing all that. And then later on, there's that, the grenade lands just outside the window and they both

[00:47:16] get thrown across the room. And. Oh, it was brilliant. Like you could feel the weight behind every one of the punches. And as you know, Cyril's life is spiraling, spiraling out of control, he sees Cassian, who has got no idea who he is. Yeah. He's like, what the hell is this? You know? And he's like, all his frustrations, all the betrayal is just being concentrated into his fist. It all stems from him. Yeah, it does.

[00:47:45] It's, it all comes down from his obsession to trying to find Cassian after he killed that, that one security officer at the beginning. But yeah, you're right. Like, I mean, he's got him, he's got him bang to rights. Yeah. And he's like, who are you? Yeah. I bet he goes full Hulk mode, doesn't he, Cyril? Yeah. But eventually I thought, and I'm glad it happened, there was that, you know, Cyril in the end

[00:48:13] is an office guy, whereas Cassian is a trained killer. So in the end, Cassian does get the better of him until, well, until there's all that fire through the window. He's, and then he has, he, well, I think there's an explosion. He drops his gun. That is, it's the grenade. Yeah. And he jumps over the top. And he gets to the gun first. Yeah. Yeah. So. But I have to say at that point where he's got him bang to rights. And then he's like, who are you?

[00:48:42] And then just before, like what's coming, you know, Cyril's just like, at this point, it's his lap's brain and he drops. Yeah. And, and I have to say, damn you to hell, Tony Killen. Cause we will never know if he was about to turn sides or give up or just. Yeah. But that's the tragedy of it. And what made it makes it so good and such a great death scene for, for my hero, Cyril

[00:49:12] Kahn, even though he kind of started a whole massacre. Yeah. Yeah. And he gets the single pop to the, to the temple from the, the old resistance leader. But you do realize, right. That there is a plus side to this. Mm. Don't you? You understand. I'm struggling to think of it though, James. Well, well, well, dead was back on the market, mate. It's all good. All wings reporting. Red 10 standing by. Red seven standing by. Red three standing by. Red six standing by. Red nine standing by.

[00:49:42] Red two standing by. Red 11 standing by. Red five standing by. James. James is, is emailing a deadra at star wars.com. Deadra at death star. Death star. Death star. Dot net. Yeah. Hi. Just. I noticed that you were single. Perhaps. But then enjoy like romantic walks in the dark.

[00:50:11] Yeah. Yeah. Like massacring thousands of innocent people. People. But then we get the heartbreaking scene of mother with her two friends on the sofa watching the reports. Watching the news feeds. Yeah. Yeah. And the tear. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think. I don't know why she got a tear in. I think she must have like, I don't know, fly when her eye or something.

[00:51:04] I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's struggling to cope. Oh yeah. And, and, and it's good to see that she does have a shred of humanity left, but you know, she's, she's, the, the neck is too tight around her. Her hands are shaking. She can, well, she can, she can feel the, literally the constrictions of the uniform. Yes. Yes. She's feeling like that she's now trapped. Yep.

[00:51:34] Um, and, and every time she's had to speak to part of gas at this point, he's telling you to compose herself again. Cause she's, she's clearly not the person that she was. Yeah. Yeah. She tugs the uniform back into position and pulls herself together. But she is definitely broken by this. And I, and I wonder how, how she will appear a year from now, you know, a year from

[00:51:57] this in the, in the next arc and whether she is single, but more brutal or, or, or, well, that, yeah. Joking aside. Yeah. I wonder, I mean, I, you know, I have some theories for my hopes for the final arc, but we'll get to those at the end. Good, good, good, good. Um, but back to the battle on the streets. So we now, I did that, that bit where they're, they're running for their lives and you hear the screams and all those people come running out the alleyway and then one body gets thrown

[00:52:27] through like 60 foot, hits the concrete, leaves an indentation. And every single, you know, it would have been worse than he will, couldn't he will, wouldn't he? Every single bone in his body broken. Yeah. And then we have that, that one KX droid who's coming after Cassian and, and Will, and they're like pummeling and then good old cry baby. Yeah. The guy who, Oh, was that him? Was it? Yeah. Redeems himself by like, yeah.

[00:52:53] By snow plowing the droid in half to the wall. And the minutes. Well how else do you kill them, right? Cause they've got some pretty serious blasters and then just pinging off the, the K2 droid. But I mean, the minute that that droid was on the floor in two bits, you're like, aha, that's, that's a man. Which made me very happy. But wasn't the sound design brilliant? Cause you, you, you would hear an occasional ping off the armor. A different metal. Yeah.

[00:53:22] As they were fighting. But was there anything else during the battle that you wanted to pick up? Back to the storm troopers just on the stairs and just the ominous way that when, when the battle starts, it's just the slow, like one step down and yes, picking like innocent targets and just popping people. Yeah. And they had no cover. They were just out in the open. Wow. That was, that was the next thing that was, well, I was saving that for later. Okay. Talk about that.

[00:53:52] Yeah. But you, you're right. Yeah. The classic star Wars storm trooper strategy was, it was in place. Yeah. It was like, uh, it was like, uh, the, the, the, the Brits versus the French in an open field, just firing at each other with no cover. Yeah. There's no, yeah. We don't need to cover. What are you all about? Like we're, yeah, we'll take this, but, uh, be a great, great finish to the episode. He escapes with his two halves of droid. Yeah.

[00:54:20] And then, and then will, will man, the, the, you know, the, the, you know, the, the, Oh, God. Yeah. Great source. Love interest. Yes, exactly. Just traveling the, you know, his leave, leave no chick behind as, as his motto. He's like the will Riker of, uh, of. And, uh, but which is like that, that just came out of nowhere. Right. So I guess that must've been one of the things that they, when they had to, to condense these

[00:54:47] episodes, you know, the seasons into three episodes, because of that was obviously a whole, uh, storyline. Yeah. Because there's another whole story because basically as far as we know, looking back from the year before, like last week, like he was in the service of Saw Gerrera and Saw wasn't letting him go. Exactly. And then these, cause Saw had killed his own engineer who was keeping Will. Yeah. And like, how do you, like he hasn't learned any lessons. How did you get away from the madman? Apart from sniffing all his petrol, I suppose.

[00:55:17] And he didn't learn any lessons from the first doc where, where his, you know, his unapproved affair got, got, uh, uh, cornfield girl. Yeah. Cornfield girl got, got brazzo killed. So I guess that, you know, a couple of years heals all wounds, James. No, apparently so. Yeah. So just, Will doesn't care. But I will, I must say this episode has rewarded, rewarded our patience.

[00:55:45] And, and even though I love everything about Andor, I've been wanting this season to kick off, but as it's led up to this, I feel totally satisfied and I was wrong to be impatient. Absolutely. Well, I think, and for every sort of, I haven't read many reviews, but I've, I've seen that the overall ratings and stuff, and this is like ranked up. There was pretty much perfect, like in the eyes of Star Wars people. Yeah.

[00:56:13] It has had everything for me and yeah, the online, uh, the online reaction is overwhelmingly positive, which is great. Yeah. So to the point where they'll probably now stretch it out and do a spin off or four other seasons or something or something. The children of Ferex. Yeah. Exactly. The adventures of Bix. Yes. And she opens up a wellness center on Yavin 4. Yes. With some force healing. Yes. She's on Yavin 3 and a half.

[00:56:43] Yes. She's just right out the corner. She's got a strip mall on Yavin 3 and a half and she has like a, a healing center and a, uh, a communications post. So then we move into, uh, welcome to the rebellion. Another great, the titles of them are just like so good this week as well. So yeah. Uh, I'm going to let you lead a lot on this cause you, you love a bit of Mon and you love a bit of the Senate. I do love a political drama, James.

[00:57:09] And Mon Mothmo is one of my favorite characters. And even going back to a new hope where she's there with Leia, she had Mon Mothmo is one of those characters that has always had presence, you know, and always was, you know, in a world where saying, oh, there's not enough women in Star Wars. No one questioned her leadership ever. She has, has such strength and command and she seemed like a natural leader from the very

[00:57:39] beginning. Don't, don't take this a wrong way. And this probably is, but there was something Margaret Thatcher about her. Do you think? She's very strong. I know. I mean, that's one or in earlier. I did. I think, I don't know. I mean, I don't. I absolutely see what you're saying. You know, I've been living in London. I'm just, yeah. Just the reference of the iron lady. Yeah. Everything she's resistant. I'm actually like, I'm not a huge fan of Margaret Thatcher. No, no.

[00:58:07] But she, she did have an unwavering strength. I'm just, I'm just saying, but just as a strong woman in politics in, in a time where there were not that many people. And you look at this Senate and there's predominantly full of male senators and alien male senators. Yeah. And, um, and she's, yeah, she's a strong force and she is weathered. Was the owl, owl alien senator? Was that a female or a male? I couldn't quite tell. They're non-binary. They're the non-binary owl.

[00:58:38] Yes. Who can tell with owls, eh? But yeah, in the aftermath of the Gorman massacre, the, it's framed as an insurrection. And we see the Gorman ambassador is being arrested. And what was a very touching moment earlier on, I can't remember whether it was, uh, seven or eight, but, uh, he thanks Mon for her support and, and says how he knows how difficult it was.

[00:59:04] And it was really, it really got to Mon because she feels that she's just been on her own and, and to get some appreciation from, for a sacrifice. And, and it was really heartfelt. And again, Jenna Raviva Bradley is, just elevates this whole series because she's almost too, too good for this. You know, it's such a, for, for someone of that caliber and quality of an actor to be

[00:59:31] in a, you know, a science fiction show on, on, on Star Wars. She, I guess is the equivalent to all the old English actors, you know, a classically trained English actor. Yeah, exactly. She's like a Hella Mirren or the light, was it something? I think she's great. I mean, I could, maybe I'll retract the Margaret Thatcher thing, but it's more of a case of, you could see her like playing, I don't know, Elizabeth the first or like a great,

[00:59:59] you know, one of the, the great monarchs in, in her own spinoff show. She plays this very well. And as you said, yeah, she, she out, but she doesn't out act everyone else, but within the Senate, she's just, I think she absolutely out acts everyone in the series. I think she hits 10 out of 10 many times. And whereas, you know, not everyone, not even everyone can, but I, like the range of emotions. Well, I think the, the guy that played Cyril Kahn had the same sort of like, you just have

[01:00:27] a closeup of their face and then you see a whole story being told in the range of emotions, you know? And, and I think the level of acting of that was fantastic. But she's, she's had that throughout the show. Yeah. Like the many, many times where she's in the, been the back of her limousine. Yeah. After meeting with different people and just like the, as you said, that it's just be a locked off shot of her face. Yeah. And just like, just the expression and the manner.

[01:00:54] You can, you can hear the, the, the voiceover that, the, that Alessia would have put up, put in there, right? When she's just thinking. Thinking. Well, basically she has a meeting with, with Bail and Organa and you know, there's, there's, she realizes that it's done and it's over. And Amon decides to openly contend, condemn the emperor and flee to Yavin.

[01:01:18] And so she leans on Bail Organa to, to give her some, some time in the Senate, which, which obviously the, the empire has planned for no one to, to mention except people on those, on their side. I can't help thinking that, uh, Bail Organa doing that. He may, he may have signed the death sentence on his planet. Well, that's what I thought as well. I'm like, ah. Yeah. He goes, oh no, everything will be fine. We're going to teach you a lesson matey boy. We're going to teach you a lesson.

[01:01:47] Remember last year what you did in the Senate? Yes. You remember that? Here we go. Here we go. And. Population zero. And they find the, the bug in her office as she's writing a speech. Okay. Now I have to say, right. It's such a smart, she's so intelligent and the people around her, you wouldn't destroy that, right? Exactly. That was my thought as well. It's standard, uh, standard spy craft. Standard procedure, everybody. Yes, yes.

[01:02:15] When you find a bug to leave it in place and, and then use that to your advantage. Feed false information. That's right. That's correct. But, but it seemed that she did it spontaneously, you know, without thinking as if it was a, a literal bug, like it was a cockroach or something that you wanted to. Crushed it. To kill and, and because she was so, you know, so affected by the idea that, that she's actually

[01:02:40] being bugged, even though she's been high up in the, the rebellion for, for years now, it, it, it, it, it's almost still a shock to her that, that she's being held to account for it. But she does realize that she must flee. But they're also interesting. There was no mention of parent or her daughter or, or anything. I think that's true. Yeah. There's, I mean, that's the, the, the daughter and everything. We thought that would play a bit more of a part and they, and they, and they, Well, we have three episodes to go. Don't we? Yes, yes, yes.

[01:03:10] So we'll see. I retract, I retract. No, but it was strange that even there wasn't one line, you know, what about Perrin and, and, and, uh, Ledra and, uh, Baylin could have said, don't worry, I'll make sure they're okay. And then that's taken care of, but they didn't, they just having zero mention. The impression of him was odd, but you know, it is what it is.

[01:03:34] And so she goes out to, uh, practice of speech on, on the balcony and what a great set. I see. Did you look this up? I was, I was going to say, well, no, I didn't actually, I'm sorry. I should have done, but I was, I was, I wanted to mention this. It's like there's so many TV shows do bad visual effects, uh, or they will cheat it by doing a tight shot, uh, and use the volume or they will shoot at night.

[01:04:01] It was like the Senate building and the pool around it and everything in the blue sky and the sunlight. It looked incredible. Well, it's a real place. Yeah, I should have looked up. It is? Yeah. Where is that one? Um, it's called, no, it's called the city of arts and sciences and it's a cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia in Spain. Oh. Yeah. And, and like I looked up photos and apart from some kind of space buildings in the distance,

[01:04:29] it's, uh, it's a real thing. Yeah. With all the lakes and all the reflecting pools and it's an incredible piece of architecture, architecture and, um, and it is known as one of the 12 treasures of Spain. Oh, there you are everybody. Yes. Yes. But then we see around the thing and Luthen approaches her and his wig is conspicuously missing. Yes. It's been lost. I think it, yeah.

[01:04:58] Which is wild because they are in Coruscant where the Senate building is. And so if someone sees him, you know, he would be like, where have you had a haircut? Why? You know, you know, he's completely out of character. Where's the flamboyant voice gone? Yeah, exactly. The gesturing, it's all gone. Isn't it? The only other time you see him like that is, is at night when he's doing secret. Yeah, exactly. Down, down in the depths and stuff. So, yeah. So I think now it's like panic time. Yeah.

[01:05:28] And, and as she's leaving the office, what another point in the acting, which I thought was great when she realizes she's bugged, she's so rattled, um, that her usual grace and, and, and confidence stride abandons her. When she leaves the room, she kind of staggers rather than glides out of the room. Oh, yeah. And so like her whole world is being rocked because the, the suspicion has fallen on her. And she's now kind of in the, the firing line for the, for the empire.

[01:05:58] And so she knows that this, uh, this speech is it. And, and they're trying to, they're, they've got to leave basically straight after the speech because I know there'll be. I know that she has to, cause she'll be like, um, you know, put in jail and stuff. But we missed out the fact that we were so sort of consumed by the, the lack of wig. Yeah. Yeah. The lack of wig that, that he tells her that the, that the bail organas, uh, team that's

[01:06:27] meant to help her escape has been compromised. Exactly. And so, you know, she can trust no one and then she's turning to him and go, oh, I suppose I can trust no one except you. Yeah. And then, and then she's pointing out heavily that he's just covering his own ass because if she gets taken, like she's not going to survive that torture droid. No. And, and she brings up that her, her, her, her aid who has been loyal to the whole time is actually a spy for Luthans.

[01:06:53] And so that shatters her, well, you know, the, her worldview even further and trust no one. Yep. And then she, that you're right. And so she's talking about that. That it's not that she's worried that she might not escape. She's worried that Luthan will kill her cause she brings up, um, Tay. Yes. Yeah. You know, and said, you know, as soon as you thought that Tay might get caught, you had him killed. So is that going to happen to me? But obviously she's too important.

[01:07:20] And I think actually, uh, Luthan says he owes her so much. I think he has a true affection for her and, and loyalty to her. Absolutely. Absolutely. And yeah, I think, and he realizes that she's, she is the, the best hope to use the hope word again. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, and yeah, and he, and he explains to us that the only person you can trust is I have a man. Yeah. I have one man that I trust and he has friends everywhere. Yes. Yes.

[01:07:51] Um, yeah. Yeah. And so she takes to, Mon takes the floor to the Senate of the Senate to contend Palpatine and the empire's manipulation of the truth. And, and it was a, another great speech. And it's so, I still love being in that Senate arena because the design of it's so fantastic. The, the idea of using the anti-grab, like when you're ready to speak your, your platform closes it off when it goes into the middle of the room.

[01:08:20] Um, and, uh, so she does her speech. Well, that's, that's great. And she literally pins genocide on Palpatine. Yeah. And then what, meanwhile, the ISB are going nuts, trying to shut it down, like whatever they have to do. And they, and they managed to, I'm not sure exactly how they did it, but they managed to shut her down before she finished her speech. Well, he was a great side character as well. Wasn't he? Like the, the, the panic on his face and the anger as he's talking to those two perfunctionaries,

[01:08:50] the one that has the, uh, I don't know, she had sort of like a brain augmentation or something or eye augmentation. Oh, yeah. And they're like laughing at it. I'm like, oh, we fixed it. We, we, we've changed access to it. And he goes, and he's like ready to swear at them and throttle them himself. Yeah. And he runs off. And he finally is a, after she, what, what, when she says, it's the Empire Palpatine is the bad guy.

[01:09:19] She, they, they, they cut the power to the whole. Cut her. Yeah. And she gets pulled back to her thing. So, but what about his room? I love that. The, the, basically the, the monitoring room. Call it. I think basically it was like, it was massive and it was like incredibly lavish version of, uh, mission control or something from NASA. Yeah, exactly. So that's how they do all their spy work.

[01:09:44] As opposed to, which I found amusing and slightly disappointing and to be living in the Star Wars world, especially on Coruscant was, was mother's, uh, little TV that she had that little monitor on the wall that was built in and she had to sit on the, literally the other side of the room. It was in a really weird spot. I'm just like, oh, well, well obviously some nice Samsung flat screens aren't available in the, in the galaxy. But it's the classic grandma, isn't it? Yeah.

[01:10:11] It's not worried about updating your technology for like 40 years. Yeah. You know, they do color TVs now, right? You know, they do that. So yeah. Um, yeah. Yeah. So then we have the, the, uh, the escape scene and even though I knew what was happening, I still was on the edge of my seat during. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I actually started to, uh, you know, Erskine who was, um, Mon's, uh, aid, you know,

[01:10:40] I kind of, kind of thought he'd just be around, but then he, when he says, you know, it was an honor to serve you. I was like, oh, now I want him to live. So I was worried about him. And, uh, and, uh, you know, the Cassian does some, and they really go into good kind of basic detail on spy craft when, you know, Mon's wanting to run. He's like, just walk, just walk. And you do, you do simple, simple things to, to change the attention on you.

[01:11:09] Like taking a coat off when they first left and then Andor puts his jacket on her and they're, they're walking, not running, never run. Cause that's like when everyone else is walking and you're running, that's the attention. Yeah. Just in case you're trying to avoid the authorities, dear listeners. Yes. Yes. Um, Jonathan does this often. And, um, and also did you spot there was like, there was some star Wars gold in the script in this bit where Mon goes, I'm not sure I can do this. Yeah.

[01:11:36] And we get the line, which is the title of the episode. Welcome to the. That's right. As he briskly walks off casually with his blaster in the small of her back just to conceal it. But I like, like those little touches of reality in this is cause when she's walking, when he's walking her away and they have, and he has a blaster hidden behind his back and and the people, um, the people seeing them obviously recognize her, especially after

[01:12:05] the speech she, she did and will turn around to look at her as they go past. He switches the, his blaster from behind his back to in front just as they go back. Yeah. And it's just those little thoughtful touches that add to the whole realism and, and the tension of it cause they know they can be, um, spotted at any moment. Mm hmm. But it was a good moment when Erskine, uh, uh, comes out and, and basically saves the

[01:12:32] day and she realizes that, that he did have her best interests at heart the whole time. Yeah. I'm pleased he survived as well. I think he's a, he's a, he's a good egg. Mm hmm. He's a good one. I like it. So, yeah. And for our, and well, they, they finally escape and, and, and the poor old, uh, uh, driver that had been. No, no. What are we going back to? Don't poor old. Oh yeah, yeah. No, no. Cause he's, he's been working for the ISB for like, since episode one, season one.

[01:13:00] But as they say in, in, in the thing of like, let's not get him swapped out because he's not that smart. Yeah. That's yeah. That's yeah. I think that's been mentioned before as well in season one. They're like, they, they, they're well aware of his, uh, his shortcomings. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but so, so, but then we go back to, let's not jump off on that great standoff scene where the, where the, uh, the spy in the, in battle, Gana's team kind of pulls the gun on them.

[01:13:29] And, uh, and, uh, and, and there's a bit of a standoff and then, uh, us can go, she's a rebel spy. And then casting of course, of course. Yeah. I want, I want, I want to do a tally of how many people in almost cold blood. How many cold blood single killings has there been? Single, single, just to solve an immediate problem. Yeah, exactly. But I thought that was very, again, very smart sort of like counterinsurgency and smart way. Oh, rebel spy.

[01:13:59] So like rather than announce that you're the rebels and just play on the confusion. And, uh, and then, and, but I will say that Cassian stayed his hand when, when the other team member about or Gana's said, I didn't know. I didn't know. He goes, well, I really want to kill you. I really want to kill you. But I shouldn't, should I really? Too many witnesses. Not this time. That's the only reason. Not this time. Yeah. This is your lucky day.

[01:14:25] And so he, he, he, uh, obviously just kills the, the, the driver. They jump in. Obviously. Jump in the, their, uh, you know, space Rolls Royce. And, and, and, and, you know, I've already said, uh, I, how much I love this car. Jason actually didn't, uh, it wasn't, wasn't that fond of them last week, but, uh, I still love them. I think they're a great design. No, I think that's good. And I love it. Love this.

[01:14:49] And again, we go back to why Cassian has been used by, by Lutheran so much as his getaway driving. Yeah. Drives out and then, and then whips off over the, the, the, the thing up. And I don't want to see, take that thing. He doesn't take that thing into orbit. So no, no, they, they, they, they go into traffic and then they all meet up later at, um, at the safe house. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Sorry.

[01:15:16] I was not paying attention, but it reminded me of, of the pink Rolls Royce in, in Thunderbirds. Uh, I think cause it has the, the bubble, bubble windows and, and the driver is, uh, is, uh, cut off from the, the passengers. Yeah. What was her name again? It doesn't matter. Penelope. Miss Penelope was it or something like that? I think, I think. Yeah. Ah, yes.

[01:15:44] I used to love a little bit of Thunderbirds when I was a kid. Um, so they're back at the, they're back at the, the safe house and, and more great writing because she, Mon recognises that he's been here before simply by knowing where the cup is. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's in a cupboard above the frit. Yeah. Above the sink, but yeah. Good guess. But yes. But, uh, yeah. Yeah.

[01:16:13] It's interesting how cleaned up that place has been. Yeah. It's clearly been empty for a year. Cleaned out. Yeah. Cleaned out and cleaned up. Yeah. Obviously. Yeah. Just to any evidence left behind. But I love the, uh, the, the description there of like, they, they talk about Mon won't be going with him. The gold squad. Yeah. Good mention gold squadron. Yeah. But do you know, this is a nice little, uh, shout out to our, our rebels fans. I was, yeah, go on. Take it.

[01:16:43] Yes. Well, no, I just can say as a non reader, you'd be proud of me for this one. So I did look this up a bit. So apparently it's, was it season three in rebels? Yeah. The spect, the specters rescue Mon, don't they? And they take her to the rebel Alliance and she gives the speech, as you called it earlier, the declaration of the rebel Alliance. And that literally kicks off the galactic civil war. Right. And that's the. And instead of just overwriting that and pretending it didn't happen, like it's very clever of

[01:17:11] the, of the Gilroy's to, to manage a workaround and, and like, you know, that was a bit, that was the speech. She's got to go off and do another speech. And they're like to cast in. Do you want to come and watch these? Like that's fine. I've heard it before. Yeah. Yeah. But the, basically it was Zeb and, and all the, all the rebels actually picked her up in the ghost and took her to that, to do that speech.

[01:17:37] But it would have been too much of a, a change in tone to have the rebels characters. Yeah. Yeah. Cause then they, they, thank God help us. Then we're getting Ahsoka characters coming into. Unless they desaturated them a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Take it. Yes. The green makeup will be, anyway, let's not go there. We'll go there again. That's right. Not till, not till next year when we have to do season three of that. Anyway. We have to James.

[01:18:06] It's going to be even better now. Okay. Yes, that's right. Um, so anyway, so that we, so we've cleared there and we've, and we jump back to Yavin, right? And I, I just want to mention that I love the bit where Val is now like going through all the weapons. Yeah. Yeah. And that, you know, who belongs to this and holds the gun up and there he is. Yes, exactly. Melchie. Melchie. Exactly right.

[01:18:33] It took me a while to figure out who he was because he is of not being kind to his follicles. Yeah. And he went from a, you know, he now has had to shave his hair off because in the ensuing years and the stress of being. Well, he's, he's probably been in a couple of imperial prisons or something in between. Yeah. So he's locked all his hair and actually put on a bit of weight. So I had no idea who it was and I had to do. No, I didn't. I had to, to be fair. I had to. But I recognize the pistol though. I recognize the, the, with the blue handle.

[01:19:00] That's when he hands, that's when he hands, that's when, um, casting gives to him. Yeah. When, yeah, from the. He hid it in the roof of the hotel room. Yeah. For like about six months. Yeah. Perfectly visible to anyone that came into the room. Anyway. Yeah. But it's a nice little blaster. Yeah. And now that they're back on, on Yavin 4, Cassian is finally ready to leave the rebellion. He, he, he can't go into the, into, into battle anymore.

[01:19:29] And I did think it was funny of, uh, of Luthen's assistant saying to him, what's wrong? Are you tired? Are you tired? Well, basically all she's been in is a radio operator and doing some dead drops while he's been pretty much under fire and being hit by blasters for the last three years. Stress level. Yeah. Just like, yeah. And so she calls him out on that. But, uh, but then we find it, find that the, the force healer thing comes back because

[01:19:58] he wants to leave and run away, run away with, with bits. Yeah. Yeah. But she decides to sacrifice herself by leaving him to fight the rebellion while she goes off. You know, I will sacrifice our relationship and myself. Instead of running away, running away from the rebellion and living a nice life. I am going to do that and you should stay cause I can see the future.

[01:20:27] I am, I am going to run away with a hot younger pilot. Yeah, exactly. You go off and fight the rebellion. It feels like that. You're welcome. It felt like one of those breakups where it's like, I'm doing this for you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So he's left behind and he wakes up to find that she's gone and, and it's this prophecy now. Now Cassian is part of a prophecy instead of just being a soldier.

[01:20:55] Um, so, so we'll see where that goes, but I'm not obviously not happy about that. Well, you're not, you're not that, but I think it's also like, it's part of the propaganda machine possibly for the rebels. You need to stand behind a hero. They don't have a Luke yet. They don't have a layer. They, you know, so like they, it's, he almost becomes their poster boy. I have a feeling that it was just right a convenience because they didn't know what

[01:21:22] to do with Bix going forward because after all she's been through, there was a bit of an outcry that Sinta got killed. And, uh, but after all, she's been through the, the torture, the assault that to, to have her killed. I, I think I don't, yeah, I don't think obviously she's not killed. I don't think we've seen the last of her. Oh, really? Okay. That's interesting. I mean, you know, I will see. You'll see. For me, well, and we will obviously see next week, but for me, I felt that she was written

[01:21:48] out of the series because she had no more to do and they wanted to free up, uh, Cassian to, to just be a rebel now. So let's move on to the awakening of K2SO. That was quite a funny little scene, wasn't it James? Yeah. I mean, yeah. It's like the Frankenstein's monster. They've all got those goggles on. He's got this kill, kill droid on and you look at him and they've, and he's, he's literally

[01:22:16] just, I think he's just got like strapping over his arms. Yeah. That is not going to hold it. Yeah. They may as well just don't have a droid on. Yeah, exactly. And we'll gaff it into the bench. It'll be fine, you know, but they've all got their guns. And I love the guy and he's like, all right, I'm three. Yeah. And he's like, three, two. And he's like, yeah. Um, but yeah, brilliant, brilliant awakening of K2SO. I, I'm just, I'm so pleased obviously when that happened then I just thought, hold on a minute.

[01:22:45] So that really means that K2SO is only alive for two years. Yeah. Really? Yeah. It's so sad. And do you have the line of what he said, which was quite funny because I thought it was kind of like when they all put masks, had goggles on and Cassian didn't. I felt it was almost like, uh, you know, when, when a baby goose or a baby duck first sees, you know, they bond to whoever they first see as a parent. Possibly.

[01:23:12] Even if it's pointing a huge, like a laser rifle at them. And do you have the line that K2SO, I don't, I don't have it. He goes, hello. Go on then. He goes, hello. If I offended you, I apologize. And if not, I'd, I'd appreciate you pointing that elsewhere. And what's his name again? The actor, James? It's Alan Tudor. He's fantastic. And what's his background? Like, do you know him from, from English TV or is he? No, he's, he was in Firefly. Josh Whedon's.

[01:23:41] He was in Firefly. That's the sci-fi reference. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, yeah, it's great. And I cannot wait for next week. Me too. Me too. All right. So, um, well, that's, that's it. You know, we, we are here and that was a great, great little arc. I'm very excited to see where they go in the next, in the next one, because this feels like it was the finale, but we've got three more episodes.

[01:24:11] We've got three, I feel that, I mean, I don't want to jinx it, but I feel that we are now rolling at such a pace that you can't. So, and I think it's the inevitable fact that you're one year out from Rogue One. Like, I mean, have you got, I have a little list here of hopes and dreams for the final arc. Oh, please do. Yes, please do. So I have a little, a little wish list. So I, I would like to see more Lonnie. More Lonnie. Yes. I want to see, I want to see a little sprinkling of Mads Mikkelsen if we can. Yeah. You never know. Yeah, I think.

[01:24:41] Plenty of K2SO. Plenty of K2SO. Yes. Now this might be a push too far, a force push too far, a glimpse of Vader or the Emperor at some point. I feel we might get, in the same way we got Luke. Yeah. And before, I think we might get that. Well, it'd be really nice because like one of the great scenes in all of Star Wars was,

[01:25:06] was Vader at the end of Rogue One at, you know, his full power. Yeah. So I like that they're so far just mentioning Vader, Tarkin and the Emperor. But they haven't actually mentioned Vader, have they? No, they haven't actually. The Emperor in Tarkin. Yeah. So I would be all in, in a Vader cameo.

[01:25:31] And like, wouldn't it be amazing if Vader was just all through the next three episodes? The next three is, he's like, he just comes in to take over. Because he's like decided, right, you've got to finish my space station. And Deidre's having to deal with Vader. Oh, that'd be amazing actually. Yeah. Well, hold on. And my final wish list was a destroyed Deidre turning her back on the Empire and joining the rebel cause. Oh, has she gone too far to be redeemed, to be forgiven? I am.

[01:25:58] You know, like when you, when you kind of design and execute a genocide on it, you know, how, how redeemable can you be? How much can be forgiven? But to, but to quote a certain, she was only following all this. Yes, exactly. So we'll see. But I hope she has some sort of redemption because there is a scrap of humanity left in,

[01:26:24] in her as we see that, you know, otherwise she would just have that, you know, that, that sinister smile that the other guy had on her face, but she's clearly traumatized by what she's done. She's clearly traumatized and broken by, and the fact that, you know, Cyril has died. Yeah. And I guess that's, that's, that, that happens when all this sounds fine on paper, but as soon as, although there's no paper in style, as soon as you're staring out the window and looking

[01:26:53] into the faces of thousands, hundreds of people singing their national anthem, just wanting to, to keep their country, keep their planet, you know, secure and their own and, and not have outside forces come in and take it over and change their whole culture and, and basically destroy the planet. You know, is that too much to ask? All right, gang. Well, let's take a break and we'll be right back with your feedback.

[01:27:30] All right. All right. We are back and thank you for all your feedback this week. And we have our very first voicemail from Anwen. Anwen. Hey Jonathan and James, it's Anwen here. I'm a little bit behind and I've just been watching arc two. So here's my thoughts so far. Deirdre is a stone cold beer. She is using Cyril so heartlessly, but I do wonder if he's going to flip over to the rebel side.

[01:27:57] He kind of looked intrigued by how passionate the rebels are. So that'll be interesting to watch. I love the design of this show. Every scene with Mon Mothma in her fabulous gowns and her life of luxury is so gorgeous and it's such a contrast to that turmoil and stress that she's feeling all the time. Cassian and Bix are lovely together. I fear it's not going to last. Is she going to overdose on her sleep meds or is Luthan going to remove her from the situation to make sure that Cassian has no ties? I don't have a good feeling about it.

[01:28:26] I love Luthan's assistant, the one whose name is Claire and looks like Leia. She's so fierce and the scene where she was removing the listening device was unbelievably tense. It was very cool to see Senator Organa, amazing casting. It was a shame that it was just such a short time and we all know it's not going to work out well for him. He's got friends in Alderaan places. I love this season and I really enjoy having you both back on the pod.

[01:28:54] I did wonder which podcast I was listening to for a minute when you kept playing the Shire theme last week. Lovely to hear. And I look forward to seeing you on the other side of Arc 3. May the force be with you. Well, obviously the Shire theme is Anwen's theme on this podcast. But thank you for that. We'll be playing it again. Thank you for that voicemail. It was really great to hear from you.

[01:29:19] And yes, it seems like you're aligned with a lot of us on your thoughts of the first couple of arcs and we'd love to get a voicemail from you. Hopefully you catch up with us for the finale. But I know it's a lot of listening. A lot of watching, I should say. Let's get on with our other feedback. James. Russell Piner. Another great arc. Espionage, spies, double agents, resistance, rebellion. Loved it.

[01:29:45] Those who say Andor is slow clearly don't understand or appreciate nuance, character development and storytelling. I agree. It's like saying Blade Runner 2049 is slow. This is an elegant Star Wars story for a more civilized age. Hear, hear, Russell. Yes, hear, hear, James. And I think you mean for a more civilized age. Sorry, everyone. All right, Scott. I've only got to do this one more week, right? I've only got to do this one more week. You shall be doing this forever. Oh, yeah.

[01:30:15] I promised I'd practice my sore career, but I haven't been bothered. I'm sorry. We shall be. All right. The bedroom. Yes, someone have a half on this. Please pause the bong. Sorry, Booga. Oh, dear. Three. Oh, my. All right. Scott Goss. A highlight. For the first time in Star Wars life-action and animation, they show a bothan.

[01:30:45] A low light. They recast Bail Organon. Why? Jimmy Smits is alive and well. But I think with that, it's the time that this is set in. Yeah. And I think availability for it. I don't think he really wanted to do it from what I can kind of understand. But also, I think Tony Guirou might have thought he aged out because he's probably 20 to 30 years older than he should be in this. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:31:14] And the recasting I thought was good. Yeah. No, I thought it worked pretty well. But I hear you. Mm-hmm. Adam Buckley just finished episode four. And as usual, it's the usual slow burn. And I know I heard a few complaining, but I think they are set. They set their formula last season and then I like it. One of the highlights for me was Saw. How intense is Saw? Love the character and looking forward to watching episode five next. Okay.

[01:31:44] Episode two, the tension is building. And yet, Saw is crazy. Favorite Saw quote? You got to do the voice now. Revolution is not for the scene, for the scene. New episode six. Sorry, now episode six. That's how you fix things. The Cassian and Bix way. Yeah, I assume he's talking. The walk away the explosion. Very classic. Michael Bay it. Just going to Michael Bay the shit. Just going to Michael Bay the shit out of this.

[01:32:15] And I've been communicating with Jeff Holthoff. He hasn't sent any feedback yet. But he says, honestly, I'm breathless. I need to rewatch and come back to this. So no comment from Jeff yet. But just his experience was the same as mine. A lot to take in. Yeah, yeah. There is. There's a lot going on. Definitely needs a rewatch when you've got time to not crush it in and rewatch it.

[01:32:43] And Jeff, I expect a voicemail for the finale, by the way. Yeah. Catch up, Jeff. Catch up. Madhavi Muddling. Standout line for me was Cassian's, who are you? Yeah. Brilliant. Poor Cyril probably thinking, OMG, are you effing kidding me? Yes. Crying with laughter emoji there. Kyle Solia. Oh yeah. I've read about this too.

[01:33:08] So Kyle Solia, actor for Cyril Khan, gave a great interview with Collider about this episode where he had a lot of intelligent things to say. Better than anything I could say. His character was just so damn fascinating. I think he'll stick with me for a while. People love to speculate and that what ifs with Cyril. Would he have considered joining the Gormans or the rebels had things turned different?

[01:33:35] Some may even see his dazed and confused wanderings through the crowds as him realizing he wants to change sides. I just don't think he ever got that far. And I have no idea what he would ever have ended up doing. He was still reeling from having his world turned upside down. And the actor said it perfectly in the interview. The revelations that happened to him in the last 10 minutes of his life were so extreme. He was like leaving a cult or being told you're living in the matrix.

[01:34:03] I think he had a mental break at that moment and so much so that he was just ignoring the battle chaos around him. And yeah, I'm not sure he would join the rebellion because he is a law and order guy. But I know he wouldn't, he wouldn't, had he known what he was involved in, he wouldn't have chosen to be involved. I totally believe that. Matt King, I stayed up until 5am watching it this morning.

[01:34:33] It's certainly worth watching Rogue One again, either before watching these or now, or so you can see where they will become looking to join up the dots. General Draven appearing again at Yavin was a nice touch. And the finale with K2SO coming back to life was great. And actually finding out how Andor got hold of K2SO in the first place was great too. A moment of redemption for the Gorman last week that accidentally killed Sinta when he ploughed into the wall to save Andor.

[01:35:04] Episode 8 may be one of the greatest Star Wars moments. The way the tension built throughout until the dreadful massacre of the Gormans. Or the Gorms as they refer to themselves. As inevitable as it was. Finally getting Cyril and Cassian to meet, have a bar fight. And then with Cyril as him in gun port, Andor asked, Who are you? Which seemed to surprise Cyril and allow Rylance to blow him away.

[01:35:31] Cyril spent the best part of 20 episodes hunting for him. And Andor has no idea who he was. Then the final episode and Mothma getting to make that speech to try and smash the lives of the Imperials where the victims in Gorman and her escape with Andor to Yavin. As Cassian kills at least two people in cold blood to get her safely away. Yes. Keep the tally coming. Yeah.

[01:35:58] The way he took out Mon's driver, Lee Ross from 80s kid drama Press Gang. Oh wow. Ruthlessly showed Mon how she's now moving in a whole new world. Yeah, she seemed very shocked by that. Too much other stuff going on. The pace and tension were raised so much this week with what may be the last we see of Bix. Who will we see perish next week? Who will survive? And is it possible some of the big names who are not in Rogue One may still escape?

[01:36:28] E.g. Luthan and Clea going into hiding. Yes. Good point. We know who will survive but we don't know who will die. So that is all to come and I'm hoping that yes, Luthan and Clea will get their own spin-off show. I think Luthan will open a new shop in the outer rim. That's true. Selling knock off gears.

[01:36:56] Ben Stone, love these three episodes. Sensational build up and maintaining the tension and threat of pending danger over all three episodes. I can't really process this the next morning after a late night viewing. And as I haven't really processed the previous six episodes, as I haven't had a chance to rewatch them. Yeah, I know how you feel. So it feels like a churn trying to sit through these episodes, rewatch them and then get ready for the next three.

[01:37:25] I hope you guys consider a rewatch or and or review down the track after we all have time to rewatch them all again. And Rogue One. Well, that's my brother has started started watching this and he said to me as I'll have to to rewatch Rogue One before I move. And I'm like, don't do that. Just just flow straight into it after the end of season two. It's just going to be perfect.

[01:37:50] I have no doubt that I'm sure the minute the last you've finished the last episode on on the Disney app. Yeah, that's the next thing on your playlist will be Rogue One. Yeah, exactly right. They've got you. They've got you there. Well, thank you everyone for all your great feedback. It really is an important part of the show. But let's take a break and we'll be right back with the Star Wars moment of the week.

[01:38:23] And here we are with the Star Wars moment of the week. And James, what was yours? Well, we touched on it briefly and I'm guessing it might be yours as well. But the classic stormtroopers using the usual strategy of I'm going to use absolutely no bloody cover at all and stand here and get shot at. Yes. They're just on the stairs and they're like just stood.

[01:38:51] There's hundreds of pillars either side. They could group behind and cover at you. No, I'm just going to stand here, guys. Exactly. I'm just going to stand here. Right here. Make yourself really big and square to you and just shoot. And there was that moment where they were looking at the side. And I think one of the rebels was lying up to shoot them in the flank. And I'm like, oh, don't do that. They're all going to turn towards you and focus their fire on you now. And of course, she lets them fire and nothing happens. They just carry on.

[01:39:17] They must have incredible faith in that stormtrooper armor. Yeah. And what was yours? My Star Wars moment of the week was actually the very opening scene as when we had the transport and the X-Wings with the S-Foils in the closed position coming into Yavin 4. And then all the ensuing Yavin 4, that little walkthrough by the general as they're all getting ready.

[01:39:46] We haven't seen the inside of that properly since A New Hope. So it was really nice to go right back to that time. And that really gives me all this Star Wars goodness. It really does feel like this naturally goes into A New Hope. You know? I don't feel like I'm watching a different show. No. I think it's knitting tightly together now.

[01:40:15] I think they're really weaving this in. So I feel in the same way that the final frames from Rogue One flow straight into A New Hope, I think the final scene in this will go straight into Rogue One, I think. Yeah. So I'm very interested to see how it's handled next week. Do you remember the opening scene to Rogue One? I've let it go. We'll have to check on that for next week. I think next week's going to be... Yeah. Well, we should do that research.

[01:40:44] And the Star Wars meter, James. Where do you stand out of five on this episode? Well, I have a problem with my Star Wars meter this week, Jonathan, because it's broken. Because it just exploded and went off the top of the chart. The needle went off the end. Yeah. It's busted. So I'm sorry. I'm going full five. I also... You can't. Are you? Yeah. I also am going a full five out of five for this, James. Wow. Nick-hicky. Well done. Well done. Well done.

[01:41:14] I have not felt this way in a long time. A long time. A long time. Everything felt so good at this. So I am very pleased. And I have my Star Wars meter sitting at five, the same as you.

[01:41:44] Well, that's our show. And thanks for having us. James and I will be back next week for arc four and the finale of Andor. I've got a tear in my eye now. I have a tear in my eyes now. It's coming. And send in your feedback on Podcastica, the Facebook group, or to talk at podcastica.com. And send us a voicemail as well. Try and get this in fast because we want to get this show out to you as soon as we can.

[01:42:12] So the more feedback you can get, pull your finger out. It's only three episodes. Just watch it. Come on. You can do it. Come and join all your favorite hosts in the comments on the Facebook group. And post your own content there and be part of the community. And thank you to all the 976 members who have already joined. We would love to hit the thousand mark and take credit for it.

[01:42:36] Of course, dear listeners, even though there's four or five other podcasts going on simultaneously. Oh, and The Last of Us, James. Have you been keeping up with The Last of Us? Yes. Of course, I have. I am. Yeah, I think we've had some ups and some downs. But the episode four I really, really liked this week. Great. Yeah. So join Jason and Lucy on the cast of us for The Last of Us.

[01:43:05] And don't forget to rate and review the show and tell your friends about this. We want that number up to a thousand by next week. No pressure, everyone. Get your mother to sign up. Create a fake account. Sign up a second account. Yeah. Just do it. I actually looked at some of the reviews on my phone for the Star Wars TV cast. And there is actually one there from my mum from a couple of years ago. I'm like, oh, come on, mum, give us a rate and review, could you?

[01:43:34] She's like, oh, of course. Which is very funny. We need a voicemail from her for next week. Yeah. Yes. Hello. I don't know what this is about or who everyone is, but good luck. You've done very well, young man. And it's great to think of you all out there in podcast land. Whether you are taking a walk, sneaking a listen at work or just drifting off to sleep. Wherever you are, I'm glad you joined us. We're very good to go to sleep.

[01:44:04] It's very good to sit on this. I fall asleep listening to myself all the time. And we'll see you next week in a galaxy far, far away. Until then, I am James. And I'm Jonathan. May the Force be with you.

[01:45:42] Fellow senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries. I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. The Shangri-La Nembler on the door. I've spent my life in this chamber. I came here as a child. Hey, I...

[01:46:07] And as I look around me now, I realize I have almost no memories that predate my arrival. And few bonds of affection that cleave so tightly. Through these many years, I believe I have served my constituents honorably and upheld our code of conduct. Where were you? Where's Charvel? He was with you. This chamber... He said to me, he is a cauldron of opinions.

[01:46:37] And we've suddenly all had our patience and tempers tested in pursuit of our ideals. Disagreeing as we might. I am hopeful for those of you who know me will vouch for my credibility in the days to come. I stand this morning with a difficult message.

[01:47:08] I stand this morning with a difficult message. We are in crisis. What are they doing?

[01:47:15] What are they doing?

[01:47:48] I stand this morning with a difficult message. I stand this morning with a lot of people who know me. I stand this morning with a lot of people who know me. And I stand this morning with a lot of people who know me. It's an empty service. It's the time to go out.

[01:48:18] Damn, that's the time to go out. Think so. Think so. yesterday genocide