Andor Episode 3 Perfectly Builds Tension and Panic With Sound – Armessa Movie News

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Andor Episodes 1-3Star Wars is a franchise with one of the most recognizable sounds. From John Williams’ epic score to Darth Vader’s breathing, to the Death Star’s Imperial alarms, and to the infamous Wilhelm scream as Easter eggs. Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One was the first spin-off film apart from the main Skywalker Saga during the Disney-Lucasfilm era, and it was a risk to employ Michael Giacchino as the main composer and to use Williams’ Imperial theme to a minimum. But because it takes place just before A New Hope, there were still the familiar sound effects of the original trilogy. Even Darth Vader and his breathing make an appearance throughout the film. The new Disney+ series Andor, being a prequel of a prequel, distances itself further from the familiarity of the original trilogy.

Starring Diego Luna, the series follows the origins of the Rebellion through the eyes of Cassian Andor, the Rebel spy and assassin who would later sacrifice his life to steal the Death Star plans in Rogue One. So far, the show is committed to Tony Gilroy’s vision for a Star Wars story without lightsabers and the Force. But this also means abandoning the familiar themes and sound effects that have come before. Instead, Andor gives Star Wars a fresh sound with a score by Nicholas Britell and provides new and inventive ways to incorporate sound into its story. Specifically, in Andor’s episode 3, sound plays a significant part in creating tension and panic that raises the stakes of the series.

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Sound Is Used Multiple Times in the Show to Build Tension

The use of sound to build tension can first be seen in the flashback sequences of the episode when Cassian was merely known as Kassa. When Kassa goes back to the ruins of the crashed ship, where he and the other children had encountered some humans with yellow tainted skin, he takes out his aggression on the various screens and compartments of the ship’s internal hub. This aggression perhaps comes from the human’s shooting and killing one of the other older kids during their first contact. Or, as hinted at by Imperial records of Cassian’s home planet of Kenari, Kassa might have been angry at the treatment of his people in an alleged “mining accident.” It isn’t clear as to whether this accident caused the death of Kassa’s, and the other children’s, parents, which might explain why they were all left to themselves.

Furthermore, the fact that his anger is triggered by his reflection on one of the ship’s panels might hint at his own guilt and how he might have blamed himself for all the bad things that happened to his loved ones. Regardless, Kassa’s violent reaction on the ship demonstrates the fighting spirit he’s always had as a child. As Cassian tells Jyn in Rogue One, “I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old.”

His outburst is heard by Maarva and Clem Andor, accompanied by their bot B2EMO. They seem to be scavengers with knowledge of what had happened to the ship’s crew. After determining the air quality to be clean and nonpoisonous, Maarva insists on pushing through the ship’s corridor for console units and brand new fuel nodules to sell. But Clem is hesitant. They hear some loud clanging and other metal breaking from the room just ahead, yet Maarva is confident. “Could be anything,” she says. The thing, however, is a young boy, shattering the glass screens and bashing against a console with a spare part. “I like your spirit, son,” Clem tells the boy, even though Kassa doesn’t understand. Knowing the Empire is on their way, Maarva knocks him out, and she and Clem take him in, adopting him as Cassian Andor.

The People of Ferrix Use Sound as a Form of Rebellion

In the present, this rebel spirit is something Maarva knows all too well. While she recognized it in Cassian when he was just a boy, she also recognizes it in the spirit of the people of Ferrix — similarly, through the clanging of metal. When Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and his Pre-Mor agents arrive on Ferrix to capture Cassian, they are met with the rattling of the planet’s workers and citizens. In their search for Cassian, the Pre-Mor agents are split up throughout the city. Even though the citizens aren’t seen, they can be heard. The resounding ringing throughout the city causes a sense of panic and anxiety in some of the agents. One group is confronted by Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona) and Timm Karlo (James McArdle) in an alley. The agents are able to seize Bix. But in the midst of the chaos and continued noise around them, one of the agents shoots and kills Timm when he runs up to help Bix.

Elsewhere, Syril and his team try to stake out Cassian in the main square. However, when their ship unexpectedly blows up mid-flight, the Pre-Mor think it’s an entire ambush. In actuality, it’s only really Cassian and his new ally Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). Everything else, like the ringing in the air, is just the people of Ferrix fighting back in their own way. This use of sound as the people’s rallying call is also foreshadowed by the bell tower’s drummer in Andor’s second episode. But whereas his alarm is meant to ring in the work day and for the people to demonstrate their obedience as laborers on the industrial planet, the citizens’ alarm symbolizes their sense of rebellion or, as Maarva calls it, “a reckoning.”

If Andor is about the origins of the Rebellion, episode 3 showcases how even the smallest of communities can rebel against authority just through sound. Even Luthen Rael, the man who recruits Cassian for the greater cause, knows just how powerful sound can be. “These days will end, Cassian Andor,” Luthen says, “The way they laugh. The way they push through a crowd. The sound of that voice telling you to stop, to go, to move. Telling you to die. Rings in the ear, doesn’t it?” As we know, Luthen is right. That “ringing” will eventually end and the sound of the Empire will no longer be the dominant sound in the galaxy far far away. Instead, there will be the ringing of celebration throughout the galaxy once the Rebel Alliance, with the help of a certain Jedi, finally defeats the Empire. But that rebellion wouldn’t have been successful without Cassian Andor, one of the original rogues who dared to rebel.