Toby Haynes returns to direct the latest episode of Andor, scripted by Beau Willimon, where the Empire continues to exercise its full power over the galaxy. It is the beginning of yet another three-episode arc after the deviation from that structure that episode 7 gave us last week, and once again, it feels as mostly set-up for what’s to come.
The seventh episode followed the traditional three-act structure, with a beginning, middle, and end, while Narkina 5 is very much the beginning. And yet, the overall cohesiveness of the episode was beautifully achieved, with Willimon still managing to include some set-ups that were later paid off in most of the subplots in the episode, and through masterful editing happening all around. And those cameos too!…