Disney Plus’s Original Series Andor Season 1 Episode Five “The Axe Forgets” starts with Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn visiting his mother. The viewer can guess by the way he is dressed that he has been fired from his position as a high-ranking officer due to his negligence in going after Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. In his mind, he thinks what is the point in getting upset over the loss of his job as he already helped the planet lose its independence. He believes it would be better for everyone if he stayed away all together. Now he appears to be lost with no sense of what to do as he now is jobless. However, his mother tries to cheer him up by giving him his favorite cereal to eat along with some words of wisdom. Due to her hating having to look at her son being so defeated. Also, it would seem his uncle could lead to him getting another job at a different place as he has connections because his mother offers to talk to him on his behalf. What is great about this is how it makes Karn a more grounded character in the series. It shows how he is not a one-dimensional character with is just a villain. It gives the viewer a chance to get to know the more personal aspects of this character that originally was meant to be an antagonist to Andor. Now he is just someone who tried to do what he thought was right and ended up dealing with the consequences. 

Additionally, the viewer sees Andor with Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha’s group and how they get to know each other during their planning of the heist they will pull off on the empire. The interesting part about this is how similar Andor and Ebon Bachrach’s Arvel Skeen are when it comes to war. During the time they talk it is revealed that Arvel has fought in different wars over the years and Andor recognizes some of the tattoos Arvel has as remembrance due to how he also fought in those same wars in his earlier years. It makes them similar in how they both know what it is like to fight in a war with death behind and in front of them. The only difference is Arvel has taken his experience and uses it to fight against the empire for the betterment of everyone else. However, Andor has taken his experiences and uses to for himself as he doesn’t want to fight for anyone as he thinks there is no point to fighting in a war. It could be argued that they are mirror reflections of each other, the difference being the paths they took that led them to the rebellion. 

At the end of the episode, the viewer gets introduced to Sule Rimi’s Lieutenant Gorn, and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr’s Taramyn Barcona as they both were part of the empire. These two characters ended up being the most interesting out of the group. Taramyn started out as an officer for the empire however, due to the woman he loved being killed by the empire he decided to join the rebellion. The interesting aspect of his character is that he was the one in charge of ransacking the woman village to make way for a base. Obviously, he chose to leave and be with her until the empire killed her and took the village causing him to join as a result. Furthermore, Lieutenant Gorn is currently a high officer in the empire and works as a double agent for the rebels. In his mind, he knows what the empire does is wrong for everyone. He has seen countless lives ruined simply due to a resource they possessed and was needed for the empire. From the look on his face when he looks out into the distance the viewer can see how much he holds the scenery of the planet in high regard. Which further motivates him to fight to keep other planets from being drained of resources. 

Rating: 8.5/10