Andor Season 1, Episode 10 shows audiences the consequences of the Empire’s error from the previous episode, as prisoners plan their escape. But what happened to Kino?
Episode 10 shows audiences a more action-focused episode, showing the prisoners rising up against the Empire and escaping. They get out of the prison with relative ease, quickly faulting the electrical systems and overwhelming the few guards.
A key person in the escape plan is Kino, who encourages the other prisoners to riot and escape with them. But at the end of the episode, Kino gets left behind.
When Andor (Diego Luna) arrives at the Imperial prison Narkina-5, he is transferred to level five, room two, and is put on the day shift. He immediately meets the shift manager, Kino Loy, who is played by Andy Serkis. He is a gruff character and is initially content to play by the Empire’s rules to try to get out of prison.
He puts prisoners in their place, telling them to get back to work and making sure they don’t hinder his position on the Imperial league tables. This type of character is a perfect showing of what happens when a person is given a bit of power, because he initially makes the prisoners’ lives hard, despite being in the same position as the other prisoners.
Once Kino finds out that the Empire doesn’t plan on releasing them, he quickly turns on the Empire and begins to help Andor and the other prisoners escape.
Why Was Kino Arrested?
The reason Kino is in prison hasn’t been revealed, but actor Andy Serkis has shared his thoughts on why the character has been arrested.
In an interview with Collider, Andy Serkis explained Kino’s backstory:
“And I created this backstory for Kino Loy, which was that he was like a kind of shop steward in a former life, and he has a family. And he would’ve fought for workers’ rights on the outside before he was incarcerated, but he would’ve been seen as a troublemaker for that. So when he was incarcerated, he then almost sheds any desire to look out for other people apart from himself, just do his time and get out, to try and get out and just survive the sentence, the torture, the desensitization.”
The Imperial authorities arresting people for simple disruptions isn’t uncommon, as Andor has shown. In Episode 7, Andor himself is arrested for doing nothing, being implicated in a crime that he has nothing to do with.
As the Empire cracks down on its citizens, it arrests anyone whom it sees as a threat.
Kino’s Fate
Kino and Andor manage to incite a prison riot, reaching the top of the prison and deactivating the electrical floors inside. They head to the entrance of the prison to escape, but find themselves at the top of a high jump into a vast body of water. This is the last defense the Empire has against the prisoners, stopping them from simply running away from the prison.
With other prisoners jumping into the water around them and Imperial reinforcements closing in, Andor tries to encourage Kino to jump, as he’s in shock at the water. When Andor asks Kino what’s wrong, he replies in a defeated voice, “can’t swim”. Before Andor can reply, he is swept up in a rush of prisoners.
It’s unclear if Kino eventually escapes or stays behind.
It’s probable that Kino dies after the prison escape, and there are a couple of ways his death could play out. Andor shows a stampede in the tunnels as prisoners rush to escape. This stampede would eventually reach the entrance, and it’s possible that it might crush Kino.
Another way Kino’s death might play out is that he might drown. Before Andor is pushed into the water, Kino tells Andor that he can’t swim. Kino himself might get pushed off the edge, but because he can’t swim, he might drown.
A final way Kino’s death might occur is through Imperial repression. Near the end of the episode, when Andor and Melshi look back at the prison, searchlights from Imperial ships can be seen as the Imperials desperately try to stop the prisoners. It’s likely that because the prisoners are armed, the Imperials will be using lethal force and could kill Kino.
Of course, there’s every chance that Kino survives. If Kino does find the courage to jump, or is pushed, other prisoners might help him reach shore. He might even appear in Andor’s final two episodes, or another Star Wars project.
While the episode doesn’t confirm his death, it implies his death through the limited options for escape Kino has.
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