Disney+/Lucasfilm
By Sandy Schaefer/Nov. 2, 2022 12:00 pm EST
This post contains spoilers for “Andor” episode 9. It’s a credit to the creatives on “Andor” that the “Rogue One” prequel-spinoff series has found a way to expose the true depravity of the Galactic Empire while barely shedding even a single drop of blood. That extended to last week’s bummer of an episode, which ended with Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) being captured by the Imperials on Ferrix. The last we saw of her, Cassian’s former (?) girlfriend and faithful ally was about to be tortured by Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and her associates. Exactly what sickening interrogation tactics would the Imperial Security Bureau subject our hero to?
No, Bix didn’t have to listen to the digital mixtape that Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) has definitely made to try and impress Dedra, based on the pair’s deeply uncomfortable interaction in this week’s episode, “Nobody’s Listening.” Instead, after Dedra makes it clear that she’s going to torture Bix before even trying to get any real information out of her, we get a scene where Dedra’s associate, the ghoulish Dr. Gorst (Joshua James) explains the mechanics of his new torture methods to Bix. It’s staggeringly vile, to say the least. The Empire, you see, massacred a sentient species native to an Outer Rim moon called Dizon Fray after they fought back against an Imperial refueling center being built there. The sound of them dying was then broadcast and recorded to be used by the Empire to intimidate others. What they found, however, was that the Dizonites’ cries left anyone who listened to them in a state of “emotional distress,” as Gorst creepily puts it. One particular section composed of dying Dizonite children was especially painful to listen to, so much so that it’s an effective tool for torturing people, as poor Bix soon learns.
It’s a credit to the creatives on “Andor” that the “Rogue One” prequel-spinoff series has found a way to expose the true depravity of the Galactic Empire while barely shedding even a single drop of blood. That extended to last week’s bummer of an episode, which ended with Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) being captured by the Imperials on Ferrix. The last we saw of her, Cassian’s former (?) girlfriend and faithful ally was about to be tortured by Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and her associates. Exactly what sickening interrogation tactics would the Imperial Security Bureau subject our hero to?
No, Bix didn’t have to listen to the digital mixtape that Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) has definitely made to try and impress Dedra, based on the pair’s deeply uncomfortable interaction in this week’s episode, “Nobody’s Listening.” Instead, after Dedra makes it clear that she’s going to torture Bix before even trying to get any real information out of her, we get a scene where Dedra’s associate, the ghoulish Dr. Gorst (Joshua James) explains the mechanics of his new torture methods to Bix. It’s staggeringly vile, to say the least.
The Empire, you see, massacred a sentient species native to an Outer Rim moon called Dizon Fray after they fought back against an Imperial refueling center being built there. The sound of them dying was then broadcast and recorded to be used by the Empire to intimidate others. What they found, however, was that the Dizonites’ cries left anyone who listened to them in a state of “emotional distress,” as Gorst creepily puts it. One particular section composed of dying Dizonite children was especially painful to listen to, so much so that it’s an effective tool for torturing people, as poor Bix soon learns.
A disturbing homage to A New Hope
That, perhaps more than anything else, is the key to what makes “Andor” readily the best live-action “Star Wars” series so far. It’s a show that goes even further than “Rogue One” in capturing the brutality of war and reminding us of the radical politics at the heart of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” film trilogy.
New episodes of “Andor” premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.
