Andor 1x07 Reaction

“Smile”

Cal

As someone that works in criminal defense, I can confirm that this sadly and truly is how a lot of prosecutors/judges are.

KittensandMotorcycles

To build, he says he went "straight out of prison into the mud" on Mimban (his war), so he bashed a stormtrooper with a pipe age 13, goes to prison for 3 years (~16) then is either drafted or volunteers to go to war cuz he has no other options. 6+ years of his childhood ruined because of a small act of ultimately futile resistance.

Kara

LOVE the emotions you girls are experiencing in this show because it is truly one of the best ever made

Wakandan King D

I think what makes this episode so scary is that the police and the court in the US for real don’t care whether someone is innocent or not. They’ll just imprison them anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMz6kqarfzs

Robert Dirk H.

Fantastic commentary on the real world parallels of this amazing show! Tony Gilroy has said in interviews that he took aspects of actual rebellions throughout history when he was creating Andor. It hits even harder in 2025 with the current state of the world. I can’t wait to see your reaction to the final five episodes! Keep up the great work!

BigPapiPedro

The fact that a 12/13 year old Cassian attacks four Stormtroopers with a pipe for what the Empire did. This is probably when he gets sent to the youth detention center mentioned in ep.4 or 5 in his conversation with Skenes. You can also see others hanging in the background of the shot. And is also probably why Cassian starts off the show not believing that anything meaningful can be done against them.

Spilled Wine

Now that i've finished the show, rewatching it with you hits ever more. Truly one of the most brilliant piece of media i've watched. When it comes to tv shows, only black sails made me feel that way before.

petitcorbeau

I was nodding along your message and then I got to "Perrin (mon husband)" and my dumbass french brain read it as you fangirling over Perrin. I was like "oh god not thirsting over the faildad"🤣

Berezant

You guys are so on the money with the topics of the show(and the world.) the whole snap vs corporate handouts(which is what they are) is infuriating. We american's as a country have been bred to be passive and go about our lives by ourselves("army of one.") Christian fascism is part of that over decades of brain washing and the south but there's so many layers that will take generations to break out of. We're seeing that breaking happening but we may need a push at some point that will be disastrous but also alarming to wake a majority of people up

TimTakDoh

Revolution takes inside and outside forces. Pure force on the streets by itself isn't going to get the job done. All you have to do is look at the history of revolution(the successful ones) but so many of us don't bother

TimTakDoh

I mean this is elite writing not sure any other Star Wars would compare

Sam

The first time I grasped how violent revolutions can be was when I studied the Bolsheviks and the methods Lenin advocated in the Russian Revolution and i remember being shocked, like any child, and growing up I learned that it's very easy to vilify resistance movements. Usually, their actions tend to shock more than the cruelties of those in power. If you truly want to defend any kind of revolution, you have to understand that you won't succeed simply by spreading love and peace in the streets. The contrast between Luthen and Mon is very interesting. Her side would be morally more correct in an ideal world, but in the real world, Luthen fighting methods are more incisive and have a better chance of succeeding. His line questioning whether she's willing to risk her own conscience is perfect. Revolutions don't happen without deaths, whether of innocents or villains, death and suffering need to occur. But yes, having someone with Mon's mentality is also important, and I absolutely love how empathetic she is to peoples lives. I believe they can both reach a balance together. Cassian always running away to not joining a fight against the empire is quite realistic, a system that took everything from him since childhood and continues to take it away and not being able to see a way to win is sad, but realistic.

Bernardo

You two might not know the lore of Star Wars, but you absolutely understand the spirit of this show. Bravo! There are so many deep layers.

Michael Rashid

The right in the US has unfortunately done an excellent PR campaign against any socialist ideas in the last 60 years. America is socialism for mega corporations. I hear so many against universal healthcare that go along the lines of “I don’t want to pay for someone else’s medical concerns,” when you already do that at a much higher premium with private healthcare.

My Toasty Toast

I’m listening to the discussion at work - around 45:00. Mon Mothma was a Senator in the Republic before it transitioned into the Empire. While maybe not as much now, for awhile she still believed that the system worked, that it was just the wrong people in charge. And that change had to be done within the system. I don’t think she still believes this, but it reinforces her contrasting views with Luthen on how revolution is done.

My Toasty Toast

These are by far the best Andor reactions out there and I knew they would be

Myeh

I'm old enough to remember when ppl said they wouldn't like this show cuz they're not into star wars........ smh

Mikey

This is my third time watching Andor and I only love it more every time b

Patrick

“I won’t have peace, i’ll be worried about you all the time.” “That’s just love. Nothing you can do about that.” There’s a LOT of great dialogue in this show, but this one hit me the hardest. It’s the simplicity of it.

jweher

pls more than one a week 😭😭

Mason

Huh??? I didn't expect Andor today let's go!!!

petitcorbeau

Partagaz doesn’t look down on Dedra. Quite the opposite. He told her in an earlier episode that she was admitted to ISB because she is supposed to be good and said she should live up to that and be smarter in what she was doing… he added that this is especially true because she will be judged unfairly… (which i think is his acknowledgment of sexism within their organization.) Basically he believes in her and thinks she can do better and she rose to that challenge in this episode.

Mahad Ali

Re: Lola’s words, “They’re socialist for companies, they’re not socialist for you.” I live in America and politically lean libertarian, so I’m not a fan of the government redistributing wealth (or doing much of anything), but I absolutely agree that it’s *disgusting* to cut social programs considering what is spent on things like corporate subsidies, foreign aid, and the military. Taxes are never going away, so at least let me pay them knowing it will go to actual people in need. On the bright side, the worse the government gets, the more friends there are to be made from good people on both sides.

SwampFox95

I consider hyping future episodes as a spoiler so I don't talk about favorites until the show is over.

Michael M

The sets look so expansive and real it’s incredible how much work they put into it

Jesse S

Jesse S

I can't remember the exact quote but Tony Gilroy said something like "when you think about building revolution, the first thing you should think is 'how are they paying for all this shit'?"

Kara

I love the focus on fund raising in this show. It’s the kind of ground level thing you often don’t see in shows. Just last episode Neemik was crushed by the literal weight of imperial gold.

Donovan

Andor's set production is incredible from top to bottom but special shoutout to the wardrobe department. Mon Mothma in particular always eats.

Jamie

If y'all liked the monologue in this episode, y'all ain't ready for the rest of this series.

Edward Lewis

Brilliant one of my favourite episodes. Maarva and cassians conversation always makes me cry 😭

Jesse S

Yeah! it's clear subtext: he's tailoring his sloppy cop uniform + personal outfits to seem "more imperial".

Kara

I had zero doubts they would connect to the show. It's actually worked out a little better they waited to watch (I've been pushing since S1 in 2022), unfortunately for the world 😞

Kara

There are so many quiet dialogue parallels. Luthen (to Cassian): "I know what people tell me when I ask. The rest, I imagine." Edie (to Syril): "I know what you tell me, I intuit the rest."

Kara

You aren't wrong but Partagaz runs a room filled with like 20 supervisors of which only 2 are women (only one is a young woman). It's definitely a part of the text of the show that Dedra is on many levels "different" to the men they've already hired, in more than one way. (also you knooow that other woman was pissed when Dedra showed up like noooo I'm the woman ISB supervisor, that's my thing!)

Kara

This is one of my favorite episodes! It shows just how shocking the Aldhani raid was. It affected everyone. Even Maarva. Even Syri Karn and his awful mother. All the acting was superb. Mon Mothma's conversation with her banker friend was riveting. And of course, Maarva really inspired us all with her words.

Mark Walston

Love how the discussion with Syril and his mom, where she says his high collar gives away his insecurity, cuts directly to Dedra getting suited up in her imperial uniform and the camera lingers on the collar.

SwampFox95

I find this show a hard watch, same as the girls as well. Watching all the fascist governments around the world put their boots on the necks of the people, the oppressive playbook they all love to run. It's depressing but then you have characters like Maarva and Luthen. And it gives me hope.

Brakthir

It's so wild to me watching you react to + love my my two (probably) favorite shows... I bawl every time during the Maarva scene. I was already bought in with the Aldhani arc but this episode proves the writers understand humans. Cassian robs a garrison so he can afford to save himself + his mum + his robot dog, only for that heist to radicalize her into wanting to stay 😭 "That's just love" 😭😭Fiona Shaw is an incredible, underrated actress. Love the detail that someone would turn Cassian in like yeah bro, you killed 2 rent-a-cops then ran home and accidentally created an even worse police state. Things were "okay" on Ferrix before, they were avoiding the sauron's eye gaze of the Empire proper for better + worse. I LOVE that Maarva basically says "actually you deserve some peace, your life has been fucked up, you don't need to fight". She's not mad or even angry, she's just a bit sad he doesn't "get it" but understands why. Cassian learns firsthand a lesson many do: there is nowhere you can live truly free within a fascist state. You can pull off an incredible rebel heist and then get stopped walking to the shop + jailed 6 years for the crime of "sweating while brown". I'm sure it'll get boring to say but I was shocked they put this sort of thing in a star wars show, it felt real in 2022 and feels even realer now. In the first arc you speculated "what if cassian got arrested" and were like noooo, then there wouldn't be a show 💀 um... In Dedra's first episode Partagaz (boss man) tells her "You're supposed to be more competent and tucked away, that's why you're here. That's why we're bringing in officers like you". Dedra is intentionally framed as an underdog whether you see that as her being young, lower class, an "outsider", a woman in a male-dominated workplace etc. She's an underdog girl fighting an uphill battle in rooms full of smug men and I LOVE Partagaz's scene here. He runs the room like a University Lecturer, he gets his students to debate each other, he wants well-argued evidence, he literally says "Thesis, please." It's an interesting portrayal of a villain and when he finally recognizes Dedra you're supposed to feel like "hell yeah girlboss queen slay, get Blevin's dumb ass". We all wanna root for the underdog, even within the Space Fascist CIA. Not even sure there's much to add to the Luthen/Mon Mothma and Mon Mothma/Tay Kolma scenes. "Has anyone ever made a weapon that wasn't used?" "I show you the stone in my hand, you miss the knife at your throat" "Smile" 🙂🙂🙂 it's tactile, crunchy, juicy writing that only gets better on the rewatch. Perrin (Mon husband) may be a frivolous loser but you know he throws a damn good party I should have been there for halloween 😩

Kara

As an aside it's so interesting the show's commentary on the kinds of "roles" that exist within the machine. Like how meaningless and genuinely unproductive can your work be if one frame you're falling hopelessly asleep, to then few frames later you are standing in absolute attendance and alertness when the Commandant or Supervisor enters the room. I suppose this isn't unique to the imperials but I think it does speak to the kind of pointless work that exists just to maintain the machine. Spoiler::: For those who know...I find it funny the scene where a certain person tries to explain their low detention numbers by saying it was because of a lack of shoretroopers. Presumably the double agent just wanted to lower their detention numbers and is trying to divert real resources to pointless solutions (ie. shoretroopers) only for that to ironically lead to the arrest of Cassian. Lastly, it's interesting what the shows says about how in a bureaucratic machine what are the fate of those who are competent versus those in supporting roles doing pointless, menial work.

JustAMeloPancake

This episode is brilliant. the whole episode is cassian dealing with the consequences of the robbery while no one even knows he was part of it. We also see Marva, Luthen and Mon becoming more complex as characters. Cassian getting arrested for no other crime but “looking” suspicious feels so real.The writing is so good

BigJo H

y'all ever pull off an robbery so crazy it kills 4/7 of your crew so you can afford to take your mom to space majorca only to accidentally radicalize her into becoming an 80 year old rebel operative? 😩😩😩 The Mon Mothma / Tay Kolma scene is goated, I rewatched S1 so many times I have a lot of dialog memorized. The intonation is so good. SMILE.

Kara

Partagaz said Meera was "from Enforcement". Meaning she was a cop before they brought her in to ISB (Imperial Security Bureau). I'm sure there is some small element of sexism, but I don't think Partagaz himself gives a damn about that. He only cares about competency. And yeah Emperor Palpatine was the main villain of the original trilogy(Ep 4-6), whom Darth Vader served. A significant portion of the prequels (1-3) detail how he came to power.

Hollow

God man. Their reactions to THOSE episodes in S2 are gonna be sooo good but Lola is gonna be dead after lmao

Sverrir_Thor

"The network's been built, it grows or it dies" - Luthen "Systems either change or die" -Dedra

JC

“That’s just love, nothing you can do about that” The lines in this show touch the soul

Golandaz

Early upload on my birthday 🎉🎉 thanks

Sam

On a lighthearted note, misremembering Syril's name as Cereal and that's literally the only thing he eats at his mom's apartment is *chef's kiss*

Michael M

The parallels between Andor on Ferrix and running to somewhere warm and easy and our girls living in Serbia and moving to Spain for a bit, only to be pulled back, is weighing on my thoughts while watching this. Re: the post episode discussion and The Wire. I feel the exact same way. The Wire transcended TV because it revealed great truths about real life. Andor is special in the same way.

Michael M

It's a testament to the series that I can't decide between "that's just love" and 50 other lines.

Michael M

I honestly have to give credit to how strongly you guys connect with Andor and the subjects it tackles. The parallels with what’s happening in Serbia clearly hit you on a very personal level, for obvious reasons. It’s actually kind of inspiring — especially considering how numb I’ve become to the state of the world. Visceral anger is a much healthier reaction than numbness.

Julmor

Hot(?) take, that "strong politics" scene between Mon and Tay might be my favourite in the whole series. After the Aldhani arc, I knew the show could do action and excitement, but that sequence of Mon feeling out Tay and reading him into her plans scratched an entirely different itch for me. I said the last episode was great because it executed a Disney Star Wars Show™ at the highest possible level. This isn't that. This is reaching for something a lot more complicated. Speaking of complicated, it's also great to get a whole episode of Cassian suffering the consequences of his actions on Aldhani. They got away scot free (plus or minus Nemmik), but stealing all that money has to have consequences, even if they aren't immediate... and sure enough, by the end of the episode, he's off to prison. Superficially, the consequences are seen in his prison sentence getting compounded by the Imperial legislation in response to the heist -- and probably the level of Rebellion-busting going on on the beach. But he has also indirectly inspired Maarva, and convinced her not to run away to safety with him. It's a beautiful, tangled way of expressing how complicated these revolutionary actions can be. It's great that she has been inspired to stand up against the Empire -- but on the other hand, while we don't know what is going to happen to Maarva on Ferrix, she would probably be safer on a beach. And of course no one understands that better than Luthen. Pitting Mon's relative caution against his accelerationism is such an effective contrast. It's not often that you see a (nominal) good guy revolutionary saying, "We need the bad guys to kill people to wake up everyone else" but that's essentially what we get here, and it's honestly thrilling to watch. Oh and shout out to Space Ibiza.

Mike

Hell yeah. Andor time 👏

James Anthony

Shout out to the best line in the series “that’s just love”

My Toasty Toast

Okay was going to watch Monster (a day behind) but now I gotta see this

My Toasty Toast

I accidentally cut the ever loving fuck out of my thumb slicing vegetables today. I don't know what that has to do with Andor, but I just wanted to let you all know that. :) Thanks for the early post girls.

Michael M

Thank you for the early upload lmao

BigJo H

I am flabbergasted

HenryM

Milena said she could upload earlier, nobody was expecting 24 hours earlier 💀

Kara

OMG early Andor! I adore this episode.

NJ