Summary
“The Announcement” is a slower-paced hour dealing with the fallout from the Aldhani heist as its repercussions are felt on all sides of the conflict.
This recap of Andor season 1, episode 7, “The Announcement”, contains spoilers.
After the all-action heist of the Imperial garrison on Aldhani in Andor episode 6, “The Announcement” settles into a slower rhythm to deal with the fallout. News of the ballsy act of rebellion is everywhere, for better and worse, emboldening some and terrifying others, but there’s a clear sense that the mission was a turning point in the timeline.
Andor season 1, episode 7 recap
The ISB, for instance, have been reassured by Palpatine that a Senate hearing will be convened to grant them additional powers, which Meero thinks is playing in the hands of the burgeoning rebel movement. Mon Mothma suspects Luthen and isn’t happy about a) the fact she had no knowledge of the operation in the first place and b) the potential ramifications on her position as a senator. An Imperial Star Destroyer floats ominously over Aldhani.
This is the bad news. The good news is that word of the attack is getting to the people, and the people are beginning to believe in something bigger than themselves – in a chance at resisting the Empire’s totalitarianism and rising up against their oppressors. But there’s still plenty of work to be done.
Meero is fortunate that she was the only person to have picked up on evidence of that work being done in the first place since it strengthens her position. She might flirt with the rules somewhat in amassing reports of missing avionics outside of her own jurisdiction, but when the matter is raised officially by Blevin, she not only gets the props for using her initiative but also gets to take over his duties. She’s quietly positioning herself as one of the show’s primary antagonists.
We also begin to see how allies can turn into potential enemies very quickly, as Luthen’s assistant Kleya clandestinely meets with Vel and orders her to tie up the loose end that is Cassian Andor. Not ideal for a guy who never particularly wanted to be involved in the uprising in the first place.
And that isn’t the only way in which Cassian’s involvement in the mission backfires on him. With word of the raid spreading, the people of Ferrix, including Maarva, are beginning to believe in the viability of resistance, and Cassian’s adoptive mother wants to remain behind to fight, despite the fact he now has enough money to take them literally anywhere else. Cassian is forced to leave without her – without anyone, for that matter.
And things only get worse. While he’s hiding out on Niamos at a nice beachside resort, he’s accosted by a Shoretrooper and a KX droid that may or may not be K2SO before being reprogrammed – that side-on shot of Cassian and the droid isn’t an accident – and sentenced to six years in prison on hilariously trumped-up charges.
I imagine people will complain about this episode. It’s slow-moving, sure, and there’s no action, and the entire thing revolves around the fallout from an event we’ve already seen, precipitating a fomenting Rebel Alliance we’ve already seen at its peak and a tyrannical Imperial response we’ve already seen at its most tight-fisted. But I’d argue that this kind of episode is integral to the kind of story Andor wants to tell, one about the development of both tyranny and rebellion against it in meaningful, personal increments, with all manner of lives at stake on both sides of the conflict. It’s another well-written, well-acted piece of a much larger puzzle. What remains to be seen is how neatly the whole thing will fit once it’s done.
You can stream Andor season 1, episode 7, “The Announcement”, exclusively on Disney+.
