Star Wars' Andor: One Way Out, or, Fidelio.

Andy Serkis and Diego Luna in Andor Disney Plus/Lucasfilm

Andor, the latest Star Wars series on Disney Plus has been an uneven slog for me.  The protagonist isn’t as iconic in appearance or character as The Mandalorian, Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Some fans, such as Jayne Theory’s YouTube channel, say that Andor’s adult themes and the sketchiness of the protagonist “isn’t true Star Wars.”  Other YouTubers, like the published author Will Jordan (aka The Critical Drinker) are engaged by the series for the very same reasons, saying that the non-iconic character isn’t burdened by the same expectations as Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.  The series revolving around the bounty hunter and Jedi knight, respectively, have met a lukewarm response from critics and an outright disliking by fans.  This can be seen by reviews on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

I watched the first three episodes of Andor, which were released on Disney Plus at the same time.  Having done that, I realized that if the episodes were released individually one week after the other, interest from the core Star Wars audience would be next to nil - never mind the casual viewer.  The first two episodes meander, with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) ensnared in a mugging by two corrupt security guards and little else.  There are none of the traditional shootouts or lightsaber battles until the climax of episode three.  I am still on the fence as to whether Andor’s iconoclasm is a good or bad thing.  I became so bored of the pacing of the series, I actually skipped episode five.  Susan had told me that nothing of interest occurred in that episode.  It was just a back and forth of “I don’t trust you,” and “Well, I don’t trust you either.”

Come episode eight, Andor is thrown into a prison which makes him suffer within the titanium white walls and the near continuous flat lighting.  He and his inmates cyclically assemble identical mechanical parts for an unknown reason.  All is done under the barking command of their foreman and fellow prisoner Kino Loy (played by the protean Andy Serkis).

All seems hopeless even as the street smart Andor looks for weaknesses among the prison guards.  Kino Loy’s gruffness is pierced by moments of compassion for the weaker among the prisoners.  There is grief in his eyes as the senescent Ulaf (Christopher Fairbank) is euthanized when his usefulness has come to an end.

In the tenth episode “One Way Out," the series comes to a visual crescendo.  Andor, Kino, and the other prisoners of their shift have reached the breaking point and conspire to execute a prison break.  With planning, improvisation, and a little luck (or the will of the Force?), Andor’s fellow prisoners overpower the guards and stream out of their workhouses.  The rebellion spreads like wildfire from one workhouse to the other.  Prisoners revolt, gather weapons from the guards’ magazines and flood the hallways and stairs, working their way to the top floor of the prison with a simple rallying cry:  One way out!  One way out!

For me, it was the most exhiliarating episode I had seen in the series.  I suspected that the inmates had been thrown in this prison not for crimes like murder, but for minor or trumped up infractions, as had Andor at the end of episode seven.  These were the forgotten men, nobodies who were ground by the gears of the Imperial machine.  There are no Jedi or Mandalorians among them.  They are simple men who seized freedom with their own hands.

It reminded me of Beethoven’s one and only opera, Fidelio, whose full title is Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love.

The libretto, with some spoken dialogue, tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named “Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism, and eventual triumph. With its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe, such topics are typical of Beethoven's "middle period". Notable moments in the opera include the "Prisoners' Chorus" (O welche Lust—"O what a joy"), an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan's vision of Leonore come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes place. The finale celebrates Leonore's bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus.

- From the Wikipedia article, Fidelio.

In "One Way Out," there is no Leonore, but every Imperial inmate is a Florestan.  The prisoners' chorus O welche Lust had been replaced by the primal One Way Out!  The Andor episode is no less operatic.  With a stirring score by Nicholas Britell, the inmates reach the pinnacle of the Imperial prison which overlooks a vast body of water.  Prisoners take the leap of faith, jump into the water and swim in various directions.  Kino, whose gutsy voice inspired his fellow inmates to revolt, cannot take the plunge because he can’t swim.  Andor tries to approach him - perhaps to come to his aid - but the press of fleeing prisoners forces him into the ocean.

Parallel to these events there is the rebel informant Lonni Jung (Robert Emms) who works in the belly of the Imperial beast as a ranking officer in the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB).  Jung is first seen in the white antiseptic chambers of the ISB command center.  Later he takes a rickety elevator into the sub levels of the capital world of Coruscant to share his intel with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), a rebel cell leader who hides in plain sight as an antiques gallery owner.  Lonni expresses the thin line he walks as he is the father of a newborn daughter.  He says he could lose everything if he is caught by his fellow officers of the ISB.  Luthen replies that for the rebel cause he has lost everything:  Calm, peace of mind, his friends and loved ones, even his very soul.  He says he fights for a dawn he will never see with his own eyes.  The viewer learns that this is the nature of the Rebel Alliance without the lacquer of Luke Skywalker’s optimism.  Luke was able to save not only his own soul, but the soul of his father Anakin.  As far as Luthen is concerned, there is no salvation for himself.

I haven’t been this engrossed in a Star Wars streaming series since The Mandalorian.  I could even argue that it is better than the gunslinging adventures of Din Djarin and Grogu.  Andor is an uneven effort in contrast to The Mandalorian, but episodes like “One Way Out” are truly cathartic.

This is the way.

One way out.

- JJB