TV Recap / Review - Cassian Investigates the Ghorman Front in "Andor: A Star Wars Story" Season 2, Episode 5 - "I Have Friends Everywhere"

This evening saw the debut of the second arc’s worth of episodes from the second season of Lucasfilm’s live-action Disney+ series Andor: A Star Wars Story, and below are my recap and thoughts on the fifth installment.

Andor season 2, episode 5– entitled “I Have Friends Everywhere"-- begins with the sounds of someone cycling through radio signals, as though searching for something. We hear the names of planets, followed by number, and then after the opening title the image cuts to Luthen Rael’s antique shop, when Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) is indeed operating a listening device, tuned in to a signal with a familiar voice. Luthen (Stellan Skarsgard) enters and says “our friend is on his way." Next we’re following Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he visits an underground broker on Coruscant, looking for a flight to Ghorman. A diminutive lady and an imposing alien provide him with a false identity, which Cassian learns about by listening to a recording on a headset. Then we see Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) having another conversation with his mother Eedy (Kathryn Hunter) about how he’s planning a trip home to Coruscant the following weekend, but the Ghorman Front is still listening in as an Attendant Grymish (Kurt Egyiawan) from the ISB arrives for a surprise tech sweep.

Syril refuses at first, but when he’s threatened with arrest by the ISB he participates, evacuating the office with the rest of his employees, including the woman who’s clearly working with the Front. Back in Luthen’s shop, Kleya fires up the listening device again, and we discover that the signal is coming from crime boss Davo Sculden’s (Richard Dillane) gallery, where he has found a forgery among his collection. He orders his assistant Mishko (Mia Soteriou) to inspect and recertify everything in the gallery, which alarms Kleya as she listens in, but she’s interrupted by someone arriving at the gallery. Then we’re following Cassian and he leaves Coruscant and listens to more about his cover identity. On Ghorman, Syril returns to find his office trashed and all the electronics disconnected. He tells his staff that the ISB found a listening device in his office, and that they will all be interviewed by the Imperial Security Bureau. He angrily kicks an electronic component and yells, “We’re bugging our own offices!"

At the Ghorman Front headquarters, Rylanz (Richard Sammel) talks with his underlings about Syril and his past. Later that night, Syril meets with Rylanz in an alleyway and expresses how upset he was about the ISB intrusion into his office looking for a listening device. “They do what they want," Syril tells Rylanz. “They have their own rules. No one else matters." Rylanz tells Syril that the Ghorman Front believes that the ISB is running a shadow government under Emperor Palpatine’s nose. He also asks Syril for information on what’s in the Imperial deliveries arriving on the planet. On Coruscant, the doorbell buzzes in Bix’s (Adria Arjona) safe house apartment, and she answers the door to reveal Luthen, checking on her well-being and reminiscing about time he himself had spent there: “Not many safe houses have a view." He talks about how he slept there twice before due to a false alarm. Bix tells Luthen that she’s not loving hiding out on Coruscant, and he finds the bottle of liquid drugs she’s been taking. “We need you, Bix. We need you healthy. You should rest." Bix says she uses the drug for sleep, and Luthen warns against the dreams coming back worse when she stops. “Be careful."

On D’Qar, Wilmon (Muhannad Bhaier) teaches Pluti (Marc Rissmann) how to extract rhydonium, but the session is not going too well. “How did you ever learn this? Who taught you?" But Wilmon won’t answer. “I can’t leave until you get this." On Ghorman, Syril barks orders at his staff and then pockets a data disk before heading back out into the plaza and meeting Samm, slipping him the disk in exchange for another spider sculpture for his mother. At the antique shop, Kleya helps Mishko, who tells her about how everything is being reappraised after a party at the gallery. The Ghorman Front study the information provided to them by Syril, and then we see Cassian having arrived on the planet as he walks through the promenade and enters a hotel. He checks in at the front desk, giving his false identity. After being walked to his room, he asks the bellboy Thela (Stefan Crepon) about the monument in the center of town memorializing those who died in the Tarkin Massacre. We get more details about how Grand Moff Tarkin landed his ship in the plaza, murdering hundreds of civilians in the process. It turns out that the bellboy’s father was killed saving him during the event, and Cassian thanks him for his help.

Syril arrives back on Coruscant and first visits Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) in her apartment. She says Major Partagaz insisted that she have him followed, and that he can only stay an hour. Dedra insists that they turn out the lights, and they both seem weirdly turned on by each other’s foibles. Back on Ghorman, Cassian is eating in a spider-themed restaurant when Rylanz’s daughter Enza (Alais Lawson) approaches and begins speaking with him, breaking through his assumed identity. “My friend suggested I meet your father," Cassian says. “You have no idea who I am. You need to be more careful." “It’s hard to be patient when your world is falling apart," replies Enza. They arrange for Cassian to meet Rylanz the following morning, and Cassian tells Enza to call off the people she has following him. On Coruscant, Syril gives Eedy the spider he brought her as a gift, and she names it “Syril." “It’ll be almost like having you here," she remarks, comparing his personality to the creature. Then we see a HoloNet broadcast of a morning show-like program talking about the Imperial Ball– and Bix watches this, depressed, paranoid, and clutching her blaster.

On Ghorman, Cassian watches the protesters and then visits Rylanz’s weaving showroom, where he’s greeted by Enza. Rylanz tells him the shop has been there for 19 generations, and they talk about the conversation Cassian had with Enza the night before. Cassian brings up a rebel pilot who was trapped in the mountains and a special radio the Ghorman Front has been given to communicate with Luthen Rael. Cassian hands over a fresh code crystal for the transmitter, and Rylanz raises the issue of the new Imperial building."We were unsure until now– we have a source inside." Cassian warns Rylanz that the Empire is good at feeding rebels false information. “We know which transports to target. We know what they’re doing– now we need proof. We need to catch them in their lie." The Ghorman Front’s plan is to start their own armory, and Enza asks Cassian to be their advisor. “You can call for me at the hotel," he says, as other customers enter the shop and they’re forced to end their conversation." On Coruscant, Syril and Dedra meet with Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser), delivering information on the Ghorman Front. “Your plan to bait Ghorman needs to begin somewhere. This could be that moment," says Syril. “How may we assist?" asks Partagaz. “We want them growing bolder," schemes Dedra. “Excellent work," commends Partagaz.

When Partagaz leaves the meeting, Syril tells Dedra this is the greatest day of his life. “It’s good to see you happy," responds Dedra. On D’Qar, Wilmon chews meat from a roasted creature, while Pluti chats with Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Saw threatens to kill Wilmon, though Pluti requests that the boy come along to help with extraction of the rhydonium. Pluti just requests the destination of their plan, which Saw rather suspiciously gives up immediately. Back on Coruscant, Luthen closes up the antique shop for the night, and Kleya tells him about how Sculden wants everything in his collection examined after the party. Then we cut to Ghorman, where Imperial transports rumble through the city streets, watched by the Ghorman Front. “The ones we’re interested in always travel alone," Cassian is told as rain falls in the alleyways. He’s brought underground into a series of tunnels and the Front tells him about their plan. At the antique shop, Luthen and Kleya argue about why they ever placed a bug in Davo Sculden’s office in the first place. “We have to take it out at the party," Kleya insists.

On D’Qar, Saw Gerrera and Two Tubes approach Wilmon and Pluti, who tell him Pluti is ready to extract the rhydonium, when Saw suddenly raises his blaster, shooting Pluti in the head and yelling, “Traitor! He’s been transmitted to the Empire. There’s an ambush waiting for us, but we will be many parsecs away." Saw’s extremists evacuate the D’Qar base, and he orders that they burn anything they don’t take. He also tells Wilmon that the rhydonium extraction is now on him. We watch Saw’s ships fly away from the base as Pluti’s lifeless body lays on the ground in the base. On Ghorman, Cassian meets with Rylanz once again and they talk about the possibility of hijacking the Imperial carrier. Cassian says the Front needs help: “It’s not stealing things that’s difficult. It’s getting away." Rylanz does not care for Cassian’s assessment of the situation, and Cassian says, “I have more questions than recommendations." “Not much of a revolutionary, are you?" asks Rylanz. “Tell your friend I’m not impressed."

Next we see Saw’s crew preparing to extract rhydonium from a remote station, and Saw gives a speech to WIlmon about his younger years in the Onderon jungle. “Old men died fast– just dropped where they stood." Wilmon works hard to use the equipment he provided, and Saw tells a story about how he once experienced a rhydonium leak: “You could feel it before you could smell it." Wimon completes the extraction and opens the valve, releasing the fuel. Saw approaches the machinery and inhales the fumes, to Wilmon’s shock. “Remember this moment! This perfect night," Saw yells. “You think I’m crazy? Yes, I am. The revolution is not for the sane. We’ll all be dead before the Republic is back." At this, Wilmon removes his mask and breathes in, reacting with heaves and gasps. to the fumes as Saw continues to rant behind him. And that’s the end of this episode.

Like I said in my previous recap, this second arc isn’t really doing it for me as much as the first one did. I’m not sure I really buy the sloppiness of the whole “bug in Sculden’s gallery" subplot so far, and the Imperial mole in Saw’s crew feels a little on-the-nose to me as well. Cassian’s refusal to help the Ghorman Front after learning their plan also feels like a false start to me, though I suppose that depends on where it all ends up (maybe the point is that Cassian is smarter and more intuitive at detecting risk than both sides at play here). Otherwise I just don’t think there were enough standout scenes in this installment like there have been in previous episodes– maybe Saw’s monologue comes closest, but as he states it mostly comes across as the ravings of a lunatic high on gas. I guess Syril’s interactions with both his mother and Dedra are still weird and funny in a twisted sort of way, but otherwise I’m hoping things pick up soon. (EDIT: As I said in the now-edited version of the following review of episode 6, this arc played much better for me upon rewatch, and Saw’s speech might actually be one of my favorite moments in the entire run of the show so far. I love rhydonium as a metaphor for the rebellion. Anyway, my point is that it’s worth checking out again if it didn’t click for you the first time.)

The first six episodes of Andor: A Star Wars Story season 2 are now available to stream, exclusively via Disney+.