- This week, we're falling all over ourselves
to talk about Narkina 5, the Empire arrives, and more!
[exciting music]
Can't believe you haven't seen "Andor" yet.
- [speaking Ewokese]
- No, not Endor. Andor.
- [speaking Ewokese]
- Not Nandor the Relentless.
Cassian Andor. He was in "Rogue One"?
- [speaking Ewokese]
- Kevin, you have so much to learn.
Let's get to the news.
Halloween may be over for another year,
but there's always something wicked on the prowl
in the galaxy far, far away.
Earlier this week, author Cavan Scott
and the artists behind "Tales from the Rancor Pit" stopped by
to share some insights on creating this creepy new collection.
Whether you're gathered round a fire
or dangling over Jabba the Hutt's trap door,
check it out for yourself right now on StarWars.com/ThisWeek
alongside other chillingly good stories,
including these tasty Chandrilan Squigs.
Sangrona.
And speaking of good stories, the latest and greatest
in "The High Republic" has hit store shelves earlier this week.
Be sure to check out George Mann's "Quest for the Hidden City"
to continue your journey into phase two of this new era of storytelling.
Let's talk about Andor episode 8, "Narkina 5," shall we?
And if you've never heard that name before in your life,
skip ahead to the timestamp below.
Syril Karn and Dedra Meero are just two tidy do-gooders
having a meeting inside an Imperial holding cell.
The tension is palpable.
- Can we ever be too aggressive in preserving order?
- You can tell they're just 10 minutes away
from becoming best friends and swapping uniform alteration tips.
But this is the Empire, and in all reality,
they're pretty frightening in the lengths they'll go to
for what they perceive as order.
On Narkina 5, Cassian gets his last breath of freedom
and a taste of the painful brute force
that Imperial enforcers have in store for the prisoners.
For 12 hours a day, Cassian and the other captives work
on a seven-level factory before retreating
to their blindingly bright little bunks for the evening.
And managing production: Kino Loy.
He just reminds me of someone.
I can't quite place it. It'll come to me.
There are lots of new faces at Table 5, and the very familiar Ruescott Melshi,
who we know from the crew in "Rogue One."
Plus this episode took us to Segra Milo,
where we met up with Saw Gerrera and his partisans
and back to Ferrix to check up on Bix and the gang.
I don't know how Cassian's gonna get out of this one.
To see what happens next, check out Episode 9, "Nobody's Listening!"
Now streaming on Disney+.
The Empire has arrived.
Today, we're joined by Kyle Soller and Denise Gough,
Andor's Syril Karn and Dedra Meero.
Hello, you two.
- Hi, Kristin. - Nice to meet you, Kristin.
- As we know from other Star Wars stories,
there are heroes on both sides.
So we want to know what motivates your characters,
and in your opinion, are they the villains?
- I won't speak for you, but I think they're really
the heroes of their own journeys. - Yeah.
- I think they really believe they're doing the right thing
in the relative sphere of their own existence,
and they both come from a place of lack
and a desire to be seen and recognized.
And the first time that happens in Syril's life
is when he meets Dedra and goes, "Oh, all of the conflicting feelings
I've been feeling my entire life..."
The place that I came from, not having any kind of self-worth
is completely, fully crystalized in seeing Dedra and going,
"Oh, my gosh, there's another person like me."
- Mm. - And she looks amazing doing it.
And, like, she does it really well. - That's true.
- And this hunger for filling that void,
this hunger for power and order in a fascistic realm
is quite dangerous, but so seductive.
- Mm.
And also, I think, you know, I have the added pleasure
of playing, you know, a woman in a man's world thing,
and people watching, like, initially, you really want her to succeed,
you know, because you just see a woman really striving for success.
But then if you get onboard with her at the beginning
just because she's a woman in a man's world,
you're kind of doing yourselves a disservice, too,
because it's like, it's not that clear.
This woman is just as capable in the pursuit of power,
which has always been what I have, even in my own personal thing,
we are just as capable of doing the most heinous things for power.
And I think for Star Wars to introduce a female like that
is really powerful, because don't apologize.
Like, let her be just as ambitious as the most villainous of men
so that everyone's conflicted when we're watching.
- Thank you both.
Would not mess with Dedra Meero,
but I would have breakfast with Syril Karn.
And his mom.
That's it for this week, but for more on these stories
and other news from around the galaxy,
check out StarWars.com, and be sure to join us right here
for "This Week in Star Wars" every Thursday.
Thanks for watching, and may the Force be with you.