Disney Plus’s Original Series Andor Season 1 Episode 8 “Narkina” starts with a look at how Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor is integrated into prison life after he is sent to jail on ridiculous charges due to some storm troopers thinking he was a part of a rebel incident. The series gives a demonstration of how the empire runs a tight ship in the prison with how everyone must wear the same uniform, sleep at a certain time, and are organized into time schedules for work. At first the viewer sees that Andor still has hope of leaving the prison with his sanity intact. However, as he is introduced to Andy Serkis’s Kino Loy, he is told that everyone eventually breaks when there is too much order. The interesting part about this is he gives him a rundown on how the work is done. Apparently, everyone works together to fulfill their quotas and in return they get to eat food with flavor. This is a clear demonstration of how the empire treats people by giving small amounts of treats for doing a good job like one would for a dog. Unfortunately, the viewer does see that Andor starts to break due to the lack of individualism while in prison as standing out is considered a reason to be disciplined harshly.
Additionally, the viewer sees Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn as he is being questioned by a high rank imperial security officer as a result of his constant reports on Andor. This is where the viewer sees that he still wants to bring in Andor for everything he has done. It can be said that now his need to capture Andor has reached the point where it has become obsessive. In his mind, no one is above order and justice when it comes to everyday life. He believes that without order there can only be chaos if there is no one to keep people in line. To him Andor is the embodiment of chaos as he caused an entire planet to lose its independence. He knows that a rebellion could start with only one person stepping out of the line he hopes to maintain. Which is why he feels the need to help the empire stomp out this ember before it creates a fire of chaos called rebellion.
At the end of the episode, Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha is seen by the viewer with her loved one Varada Sethu’s Cinta Kaz as they look to kill Andor due to him being a loose end they need to deal with. However, the viewer can see that Vel is not happy with how Cinta is so calm about killing Andor even when she knows that he has some honor. In her mind, she loves her very much and does not want her to kill him when he practically saved their entire operation from failing. She believes that there might come a time when she will have to face her in order to protect Andor as killing him even when he helped is something the empire would do.
Rating: 8.5/10