I love the irony of Andor being put in prison for no reason despite having just committed numerous real crimes an episode before.

Watching the prison scenes made me feel so demoralized, and Hopeless. it also gave me chills seeing how Andor did literally nothing to be there.

This episode made me realize that the whole point of this series seems to be making you feel what it's like to live under the Empire's thumb. Different characters show it from different angles. Even Mon Mothma shows that your power (if you have any) can be slowly stripped and have a target painted on you for not conforming. Your allies can quickly become enemies. This whole show is basically "Ruling By Fear" the series and shows exactly how that works at almost all levels. And they don't just tell you... They want you to feel it. Instead of explaining, they want you to feel what the Rebellion is fighting against in the original trilogy, why the Empire is feared, and why the events of those movies are so significant.

The Prison sequence made me so fearful that even Andor's minor rebellion of not fully clasping his hands behind his head had me tensing up.

The part where Cassian is in the tunnel realizing how big the facility is really puts into perspective how big the galaxy is. So many prisoners and that's only one of the facilities on Narkani 5 which is only one of the prison planets. And they're all human men - where do they put all the women and aliens? He's realizing just now how right Maarva was.

The guard being late was brilliant. It makes them relatable, they seem like normal people that we know in our own world; getting nervous, being late, etc. And then you can see how Andor is getting nervous and you ask yourself: Will he try to flee? Is this already how he will get out of there?

i really love how they focused on how observant cassian is. i feel like he barely spoke this episode but how cassian noted the boots, how the guards acted and so on. it makes you hope that maybe cassian is planning how to get out. diego luna is amazing as cassian, i seriously love his performance in this show

One of the most messed up things is, the food and water the prisoners are getting is probably really healthy and good for them. With this as their only dietary intake, they probably get physically healthier than they were outside. Particularly than if they came from a impoverished place, which many of them probably did.

Im surprised you didn’t mention anything about their “cells” being so open giving them the illusion they can walk around freely, until the scene where the guy ends it, that was a lot darker than i thought this show was gonna get

This show has some of the best prison scenes in anything I've ever watched. I attribute a lot of it to the slow pacing and terrific acting. You feel what they feel and it pulls you into their world of despair.

Another part of the genius of the factory-prison scheme that I think was omitted is how the enforced productivity competition doesn't *just* pit table teams against each other, because they know that their whole room and floor is also competing with the other rooms and floors. So you want your table to win, but you also want your whole room to do well, and instead of motivating you to undermine the other tables and risk sabotaging your whole room, the only sensible outlet for your fear of punishment is to be the most productive individual cog you can be, and to push your whole table *and* your whole room to work harder. And because you're learning that your reward or punishment depends on the rest of your team, it creates a perverse sense of loyalty that's contingent upon your cohorts working as hard as they can. Isolated from the guards, the prisoners forget about them and the only 'bad guy' is whoever isn't carrying his weight, or whoever kills himself and leaves his team short a man, hurting their productivity. I'm betting that by the time an opportunity to escape does present itself, Cassian might be so conditioned by that system that he'll be hesitatant-- having felt his well-being depend upon his table team, the thought of leaving them to be punished for falling behind without him may produce a feeling of "pre-guilt." We'll see soon though, I guess.

I continue to be shocked at how much quality is put into Andor at all levels. I suppose I shouldn't be considering Rogue One but it's just incredible. I really hope this team is given more projects.

I think there's another thing that is brilliant about this prison system The mental effect on the guards. Think about it, they aren't even harming prisoners directly, they push a button and zap, but they don't even have to look at what they are doing. If you don't even see the man you torment its even easier to dehumanize them and to harm them when they break a rule.

What's also genius about the prison system is that there is a potential flaw in the reward system: it's based on who's fastest and slowest. Based on this, prisoners who are in contact with each other can make a deal: all of them could work slowly so that everyone wouldn't need to rush so much. Except, they are also competing against groups who they have no contact with (apart from sign language with some other groups). This makes it impossible to make this kind of deal.

The scariest thing about this prison… is the idea that this form of human cruelty existed in the shadows of the Republic. It all becomes normalized after the Empire takes over. Cassian was perhaps able to put the rebellion behind him because he viewed it as a ideological crusade that wouldn’t, or perhaps shouldn’t, impact those who didn’t participate. However - that isn’t the case, as we see he gets picked up and sentenced to this place for “loitering.” It’s extremely terrifying that these are the types of charges they would levy just to find slave labour… then ex-post facto longer sentences after the fact.

10:30 I think the reason that the Empire has always been portrayed as 'cartoonishly cruel', is because we always saw the Empire through the eyes of big threats who needed to be torchered and taken down to avoid any further problems. This is the first time we see normal civilians being oppressed by the empire and to avoid protests, the empire is doing it in a more subtle manner so that civilians wouldn't protest. They just handle threats/enemies in another way than civilians, both equally evil. And it's so cool seeing everything from a new, yet more relatable perspective in the Andor series.

That guard was so excited to deliver that demonstration. I’m picturing him excitedly rehearsing the speech in his head all morning in the mirror. 😆

Note the massive whirlpools generated next to the exterior walls of the complex; even if a prisoner made it to open air, they would certainly drown in the attempt to swim free. There is a fantastic amount of thought put into this series.

The detail about the 7 prisoners representing the 7 spokes in the Imperial symbol is insane. This is as cerebral and artistic as Star Wars has ever been.

This scene was heartbreaking to me because it reminds me of my actual working life. Some conditions on Andor are far superior to mine. I'm sure the idea for zapping floors will be followed in many industries soon.

Everyone: "Where is Andor?!" Hilariously he's already in your prison but that's probably the LAST place you'll be looking for him.

Brutality, Torture, Slave labor. “Oppression breeds Rebellion”. That one line really highlights this episode. As if you need any more proof of the vileness of the empire. The Jedi aren’t coming so these people have to save themselves. To stand together as a united front. It’s gonna be a beautiful thing.

I want to say as a person that has been to prison, And spent 4 years in prison. This was was so close to the truth of what’s it’s like it was scary, the fear, anxiety, and confusion. When Andor steps in just as I did everyone indeed stops and looks at you to asses you or size you up no matter what they were doing. The guards or Correctional Officers are really cool down to earth and just doing their job or they are just some of the worst human beings in existence who find joy in another’s suffering. In prison system they have a program called unicor and you make cups, spoons, knifes, forks and sew uniforms all for the US military. The level of efficiency they want is like that of a sweat shop and you are rewarded for high productivity levels and punished for slacking either as individuals or as teams. So the parallels to this was really well done seeing both sides of life.

There were two parts that really hit home, the first being the line of "Ignore whatever the number says, you're here until they're _done_ with you." Because, while you're in the system, the Empire can just invent whatever reasons they want to keep you there for as long as they want. It doesn't matter what your sentence says, you only get to leave when the empire lets you leave. The other bit that I found extremely striking was how the prisoner's reacted to a suicide. Very little empathy, just comments about smelling it for the rest of the night. They didn't really even seem that surprised, just... Annoyed. It's got to be a common occurrence. And honestly, with that first bit in mind, it makes sense. If you know you're never getting out, that working this awful soul-crushing job is the rest of your life, then really the only choice you've got, the only thing the Empire hasn't taken away, is the choice of whether you even continue existing. And maybe it's better to just... Not. Absolutely horrific, 10/10

Thanks for appreciating Andor Ep. 8.. while some vloggers just really couldn't get a day by without trashing Andor. I find their lack of faith disturbing.

When the guard said “Take off your shoes.” It hit so hard. I cannot believe that a Disney show allowed a scene where a guard said that to prisoners in a transport before they enter the facility.

Original trilogy - horrors of Vietnam war Prequel trilogy - horrors of militarism and imperialism Andor - horrors of oppression and dehumanization Sequel trilogy - tells us about horrors of corporate GREED

Seeing the Empire so threatening and actually acting like Imperialist instead of a bunch of clowns is really eye-opening. Heroes and Villain's defined from a spreadsheet. Data is the new frontier. We will all become just algorithms in the sea of the Metaverse with Emperor Zuckenberg overseeing his empire.

Interesting bit of trivia, the prison guards in Andor are using the same blaster models as the security guards / Death Troopers / Naval Troopers use in a New Hope. Nice touch.

I have to wonder just how depressed the writers were after coming up with this, cause I bet they did all sorts of research when putting this together ( the system is just too well thought out, efficient and seamless to be the usual 15 seconds on google looking for ideas you see from most of Hollywood ) Getting some serious 1984 vibes from all this ( a book I was surprised to learn is actually banned in schools in several states....disturbing )

From a meta standpoint that last point about andor’s themes and message really hits home when you think about how the show exists under the intellectual property of one of the soul crushing, monopolistic corporations that it rides against.

The execution of the tungstoid shock was so on-point: disturbingly unnatural contortiony human puppetry… add a little Andy Serkis slavedriving, lite squidgaming, amazon legos, and inmate suicide and it cooks up a pit of dread and terror

Brings a whole new meaning to the floor is lava. The whirlpool security gates were nasty too.

I recognized what the prison guard boots were immediately. That color orange is the same color as insulated tools for electrical work. Sure enough, electrified floors. The prison seems to be designed around the concept of "Span of Control". Military and First Responder leadership training is structured around this, basically one person can reasonably and reliably control up to 7 tasks, people, squads, battalions, etc without being overwhelmed. My two biggest questions about the prison, first is what are they making? I couldn't think of anything in Star Wars that has 6 points of articulation like that, the pins clearly indicate it is meant to move. Second question, what is the giant drainage wells around the prison? First guess was that it feeds turbines for hydropower, but it occurred to me it might also be another layer of deterrence to escape. Anyone trying to approach or leave the prison through the water should get caught up in the current.

Rather than being a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this all feels like it could be in the not too distant future, in a town near you. I imagine there could be powerful people seriously taking notes on these scenes.

Prison warden: _turns on the electric floor and shocks the prisoners_ Me: Whoa. Andor and the boys are in their bboy stance.

You nailed it when you said negative reinforcement. In organizations, when negative reinforcement is the main contingency you will see workers producing the bare minimum just to avoid punishment or penalty. This makes so much sense the empire would be an unethical, poorly run organization. Classic "bad boss".

One of my favorite things about this channel is you don’t rush out content. You take time to create thoughtful analysis and quality content. It really shows.

They somehow made the destruction of the Death Star even more satisfying to watch. A great show with great writing.

I honestly had a dream i was in such a prison the night i watched this episode. Nothing is more terrifying than being completely stripped of your freedom

Man imperial prison can be so evil, but so effective lol. Great video

. ⚠️ SPOILER WARNING ⚠️ I have a Theory about the prison, I think I just figured out why the guards were so nervous about being one man short and having to wait for him to check in so they could prep Cassian, also this has a lot to do with the Sign Language between the two inmates while they were waiting in line to be taking back to there cells, here goes. The Prison only has maybe 10 guards and that's it, 10 guards to run all three prisons we saw on the Water and that's why the prison is so to the point when it comes to moving the prisoners around. You see there being only 10 Guards they have to give the impression that there are a lot of them maybe in the hundreds, you see the prisoners never really see the other Control Guards only the floor guards and if you notice we keep seeing the same Guards over and over all over the place and that one guard who was late well the reason I think he was late was due to him having to run quickly from the other prison to get to the next one because there is Noone else to to fill in his shoes. As we could see the guard being late pissed off the other guards, they do not want the inmates to discover the fact that its just them a small 10 man squad running the place but I believe its to late, thats why the two prisoners were communicating between the two using sign Language, they are counting the guards and how long it takes each guard to move around they know the prison is short staffed and they will make there plan to easily take the prison over, thousands of prisoners vs a 10 man squad? Once they shut down that electric floor grid it will be a cake walk to escape for everyone. They will more and likely make shoes out of their uniforms or those plates in the wall to avoid the shock.

I can't get over how GOOD this show is. It's so professional and brilliantly done. And absolutely riveting. And my obsessive-compulsive mind is ecstatic, gorging itself in all the details and minutiae!

Laughed when you included Barad-dûr in the imperial building segment in the beginning of the video. So apt.

The design of the Imperial prison is utterly brilliant.

This episode reminded me of working at the saw mill. Production bonuses which you basically had to achieve to make ok money. You didn’t get fried, but your kids might not have much of a Christmas. There was competition between shifts. It actually became very toxic. Wait for next episode when they off the old man because he’s holding them back. This isn’t a dystopian future, it’s a concentrated dose of our reality. Had a friend who made liscence plates in jail. I hope they have an episode all about how everyone knows how bad things are, but they are held ransom by a fanatical minority.

I'm really glad you made the connection between the prison and Amazon. Having worked at an Amazon warehouse, that was the FIRST thing I thought of when we saw the prison.

Every time I watch one of your videos on Andor, I just appreciate this show even more.

Small nitpick and correction for anyone who's interested. The type of learning described at 3:40 is actually "positive punishment" not "negative reinforcement" and is a common mistake. The four types of influences on learning are a combination of positive/negative and reinforcement/punishment. The positive/negative axis is in reference to adding or removing stimuli in response to a behavior, and the reinforcement (or reward)/punishment axis is in reference how you want a behavior to be repeated in the future. In the case of the prison, the electrified floor is a new stimulus (positive) meant to punish any uprising or rebellious behavior which the guards certainly don't want to reinforce more of. A "negative reinforcement" treatment usually refers to removing some kind of burden to encourage or reinforce more of the same behavior.

I used to work for Amazon in the tul2 fulfillment center, we weren't allowed to talk to our coworkers during our breaks, and if you decide to go to a therapist through them they will fire you, just because you decided to use the benefits that give you. it's a trap

Out of all the spinoff series, Andor is really hitting the marks. I went into it skeptical and now I am impatient until the next episode is released. This prison told a whole story by itself.

How does each room know if they are actually behind other rooms? I just thought of it. The Empire could say to ALL the rooms, you are behind, you must catch up. And see a HUGE boost in productivity from everyone.

When the Narkina guards first appeared down the pristine white hallway, the way those doors open makes them look like some dark creature materializing out of thin air. Such a great deceptive entrance. Also, do we think the inmate Veemos’ death is of any importance since they must now bring in a replacement? I’m just enthralled by the competency of this Empire’s portrayal. Wednesdays cannot come soon enough. P.s. I was truly saddened when they landed an it was NOT our beloved Sargent Tactical Blueberry.

I was not expecting this video to apply to my everyday life, but it's uncomfortably eerie how much of it rings true.

I just found this channel but man I just love the way this dude talks, idk its just so chill and casual but yet insightful and informed, love the content keep it up

The prison was brilliant. This why I love this channel, I was hoping you'd cover this because it was so interesting to me

The place seemed to take a lot of visual inspiration from THX 1138, which was most appropriate and would surely bring a smile to George's face

The random shot of the Eye of Sauron had me like “wait what” 😂

This was a brilliant examination of the prison, but also of the Empire overall, as well as meaningful commentary on our own corporate prisons like Amazon and the forced slave labor in correctional facilities. The changing of people into numbers, cogs, statistics. Chilling, and so relevant. Thank you so much!

During the scene where they're flying in you can see giant whirlpools at each corner just outside the walls of the prison. Even if you could jump from the top, you'd be sucked under immediately.

As someone who likes being barefoot, the whole prison scene makes me want to avoid metal at ALL COSTS 😂

Excellent analysis as always!!! So glad I found your channel through Andor! ❤

This is like the highest level of Generation Tech. This video has all the best of you in it

Eight episodes in and we finally saw Gerrera too 😊 Love the video analyses btw, pls keep them coming! There's just so much to unpack in Andor, it's great to see someone who does such great analysis of it!

The underwater prison part reminds me of Impel Down prison from One Piece. That prison as well has several levels that torture their occupants from beasts that chase you and razor plants that cut you up to starvation and freezing you to death.

Excellent analysis and presented without wordiness, detailed yet concise. You've just about hit the epitome of presenter, at least in my personal view. Great video, thank you!

This was really good analysis. I'm glad I stumbled upon your video.

I never expected this show to be so good

Yikes, that amazon comparison was real. The way you described Bezos and Zuck too, as despising human interaction and wanting to replace it with brutal efficiency was truly terrifying and eye opening. I mean, I knew it already but seeing it in context while juxtaposed against this show's depiction, while fantasy, made it somehow more real.

Excellent video, excellent analysis, excellent parallels to the real world. You did an amazing job here 👏👏👏

This channel is new for me. I like the depth of the analysis. Thank you.

I can HONESTLY say I have NEVER been as terrified of the Empire as this show is making me.........man! 😦😧😨

Loving your Andor content!!! Hoping this is a sign of Star Wars getting back to an upward trajectory. This writing reminds me of the books and KOTOR. More of this please.

Star Wars has such cool prison concepts. I got major “Corran Horn trying to observe everything to break from Lusaka” vibes from Andor looking at everything

Great job, outstanding video!

It’s Pretty insane the difference in quality from Star Wars recently. On a bad day we get obi wan and boba fett and on a good day we get the mandalorian and andor.

Plus Luthen told Andor to always prepare his escape as he is going IN somewhere. He was undoubtedly planning how he would escape when he was heading out

Great analysis, very good on this (non short presentation, I enjoyed your take and comments more than the episode, watched your clip twice 7,7,7,7

I’m very glad you made this video, your subjects are always thought provoking especially comparing the ideas to the real world. I love what your doing

Another interesting thing is that in the same episode, Belsavis was at least namedropped just before Cassian gets into the ship. So imagine we would have seen that planet with all its glory, now that its back in canon.

An electrified floor only works if you're standing on two different plates at two different voltages. If you're on one plate, there's no difference in voltage between your feet to induce a flow of current.

I love how you're a super intelligent person who can add adult deep observations

What I like most about the infighting (both in ISB, Senate and Prison) is that it keeps everyone in check. They won't move against their superior because they are worried about fighting their equals.

The casting choice for the main guard is just perfect. The guy looks like one of the imperials from New Hope. And he has the craziest eyes 😨

Escape plan: 1. If your shirt/pants are not conductive, they _could_ possibly be used as makeshift shoes. The bed mattress material can possibly be added for extra protection. 2. The white (non metal?) sidings along the wall seem slanted so one might be able to walk along this perimeter. 3. Take the welding gun Andor was holding to be used as a makeshift weapon. 4. Steal those shoes we saw near the security station. 5. You'll need help from other inmates so start getting friendly with those attempting to communicate. 6. You might need to go for a swim, avoid the whirlpools. 7. Steal a transport somehow and profit!

The shot at 1:46 looks like the guards are about to drop the most fire music hologram the galaxy has ever seen

Great show Alan! I loved the music!

My wife knows some people who’ve lived through the US prison labor system, several aspects of this came out as very familiar to them. They didn’t create a dystopian system, other than the floors. They just did their homework.

I don't think I've ever been terrified of the Empire in Star Wars before. This is a whole new level of deep psychological terror. The electric floor idea is so disturbing.

great analysis of show thanks!

Excellent breakdown of a seemingly innocuous setting

I just love Tony Gilroy's attention to detail.

Never have I despised the Empire more than when we watched the prison scenes. Ingenious and brilliantly executed on every level. Huge respect for the director, cast and whole crew - this is next level Star Wars.

Awesome job!

Excellent analysis!

Here’s a question. How did the parents that gave their children to the Jedi react to Order 66? Are there any who were prominent in the rebellion?

Can we just stop and appreciate allens Morgan Freemon impression?

When they first started touring the facility and showing off the working conditions and then how big the facility really was... that was far more terrifying than I ever expected to feel in the show... Horror movies having to put that type of dread into me before

You and Your podcasts are brilliant. Thank You.

Ditto on the snowboard boots. Funny but distracting. However, that's after a Polaroid served as a navigation device in this series. Part of the Star Wars tradition going back to the ice-cream maker in Cloud City and, let's not forget, flashlights that turn into laser swords.