Andor – Season 1 Episode 10 “One Way Out” Recap & Review

One Way Out

Episode 10 of Andor starts with us back on Narkina 5. Ulaf’s body is wheeled out, while Cassian decides they should hit back and leave in the next 24 hours. This is their only opportunity to get out; while the guards are rattled. When they replace Ulaf with another prisoner, that’s their signal. Kino is silent for a while as Cassian tells the others about what’s been happening, until he snaps. “No one is getting out!” He screams.

In the morning though, Kino has a change of heart and tells them all they need to believe they’re already dead before they even think about making this suicide run work. The night shift won’t be notified, as they have no way of sending the message down, but word will soon spread when the gang enact their plan.

Meanwhile, the rebels take the bait with the ship, much to the pleasure of Meero, while Mon continues her crusade, meeting Davo Sculdun who wants a favour rather than money. Specifically, a return invitation to Mon’s place, so his son can meet her daughter. When Mon outright refuses, Davo leaves emptyhanded.

Back on Narkina 5, the new prisoner is brought in, but Andor struggles to release the pipe he’s been cutting every shift. Eventually he does manage to pry it free, and water pours out. Funnily enough, he also manages to grab the pipe too. The time arrives and the group attack. Water floods the room, prompting the guards to shock the floor. However, it short circuits the electrics completely, giving the prisoners an exit away from being completely fried as they scramble atop tables.

After taking over the base, the hydroe-electric power is completely shut down but the back-up generators soon kick in. Kino takes to the comms unit and confirms that every floor is cold and they need to stop working and get out. “We will never have a better chance to leave.” Kino pleads, and starts a mantra for “one way out” as the prisoners all work together to climb the levels and get out. All the guards, knowing they’re outnumbered by the 5000 or so prisoners, cower behind one of the doors.

When they get to the surface, Kino freezes. He can’t swim and hesitates at the edge while all the other prisoners jump in the water and begin swimming to safety.

Luthen communicates with Lonni, who tells him that Meero is getting closer to discovering the truth about the middleman and the stolen Imperial gear. Lonni is Luthen’s inside guy, and after learning about the ship and what the Imperials intend to do, Luthen decides that 50 men being killed is a sacrifice worth taking to sustain his mole. Lonni is getting cold feet though, pointing out that he’s a father now and 6 years into this operation, he doesn’t know if he can continue. Despite all of this, Luthen can’t sacrifice what they have gained, calling him a hero, and forcing him back into the lion’s pit.

As the episode closes out, we cut back to Andor who seems to have made it way past the bases and begins sprinting across the desolate wasteland.

The Episode Review

Andor’s big prison escape goes ahead and there’s a lot of action to keep things intriguing. The various subplots don’t really have much going on, with the Mon story this time basically revolving around the Davo chat going awry. However, we do see more development with Luthen, and seeing that he has an inside man working with the Empire is a nice touch and shows the sacrifices everyone has to make to make sure this rebel alliance continues.

Most of the drama here centers on Andor and the prison, with Kino making good and managing to rally everyone together to get out. However, it seems this may be the last we see of him, as he fails to jump in the water and, presumably, stays in the prison to his doom.

With a couple more episodes to go for this season, it remains to be seen how this one will end but it seems like the rebel alliance is just starting to take shape, setting things up nicely for the second season!