From the first seconds of this episode I could tell we were in for something different. I just never expected this – watching the destruction of a civilization in real time.
There were no breaks, no funny one-liners, no moments to take a breath, even. This was tension, from moment one to the credit roll. It was pain, desperation and hopelessness against a force of unrelenting purpose and cruelty. The Empire wants, the Empire gets. Dedra, Syril, Cassian, Enza, Lezzine, Carro, Tazi... just marionettes in a puppet show of misery and death. The Emperor, Krennic and Partagaz all pitted these puppets against each other like they had no value except as pretty props.
That feeling of suspension, where you are waiting for the puppeteer to tell you what to do, is palpable. None more so than with Dedra, whose entire purpose in this episode is to show what it means to sell your soul to a fascist regime. She loses everything in the space of an afternoon, except for her career. From her reaction after the massacre, you could see on her face more than just grief; it was horror over her own actions.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. The way she acted around Syril was telling. She was trying desperately to protect him, both from the truth of what she was doing and the intentions of her masters. But from the situation unfolding around them, she knew it was going to turn deadly in an instant. Because the violence was orchestrated. It was provoked, it was intentionally awful. An excuse to kill as many as possible on both sides.
This wasn’t Ferrix with a true show of rebellion. This was theater. Except bloody and inevitable and a symbol for everything the Empire stands for. They had a sniper kill an Imperial soldier, banking on the fact that it was a squadron of kids fresh from training and utterly unable to react properly when in the midst of a deadly situation. They were sent out alone into a hostile crowd with a sergeant who knew they were useless and couldn’t be commanded properly.
Except the Ghorman Front tried peace. They got the crowd to stop chanting and start singing. It would’ve been a beautiful moment if the Empire had any other intentions. Instead, after that shot, everything erupted into chaos. I think the best personification of the shock and hopelessness of the situation rested on Syril for the first part of the siege. He wandered through the conflict like a zombie, watching as unarmed citizens were gunned down without reason or warning. He knew it was his own fault, he knew it was on his shoulders.
Cassian was careful, keeping on the perimeter and trying to get a shot on Dedra, but it wasn’t meant to be. That is until Syril spotted him, and suddenly he felt vindicated about his belief this was all outside agitators. Cassian clarified Syril’s purpose, so he attacked him. The fight was personal and brutal, at least for Syril who kept at his own white whale until it looked like he was going to win. Then Cassian uttered the words that changed everything for Syril: “Who are you?”
There was a look of confusion and disbelief on Syril's face as he realized he was nothing. His fight, his struggles and obsession with finding Cassian were entirely one-sided. I cannot imagine everything that went through his head before that blaster bolt, but it must have been soul shattering. Of course he was killed instantly by Carro who had discovered Syril was an Imperial plant and wanted revenge against the Empire who had just destroyed his world.
It made me wonder what was the point of Syril’s character, because there was no grand ending for him. He was just a string of tragic mistakes with an untimely end. I think he was the personification of the Imperial citizen. He’s someone who bought into the system, did all the right things, gave everything he could to make the best life for himself while believing in the system. In the end realizing that it was just one ugly lie after another, and only then fully internalizing that he was partially to blame when it was too late.
Then came the KX droids, and we lost Enza as well as many other people. We’ve seen droids in the past, and some of them were actually kind of scary. But most droids are treated with a touch of softness and humor. These droids were like walking tanks, killing without hesitation or conscience, like some kind of personification of unkillable evil. That is, until Samm crashed into one, saving Cassian’s life. I bet that droid will be important later on.
I think the expression on Cassian’s face at the end as he was speeding away from the planet said it all. He was clearly broken by what he had witnessed, more than almost anything he had seen before. As tears streamed down his face, he didn’t look angry or even grief stricken. He looked numb and empty. This is someone who has seen too much and done even more. Could he be at the end of his rope? Is he done with the Rebellion?
Bits:
The opening music was somber and haunting, and included vocals in Ghor, according to the subtitles.
The Imperial building in Palmo was much larger than I realized. That long shot established how immense it was, and how it towered over the city.
That final image of Eedy crying over Syril’s death was fascinating, because she never acted like she gave a shit about her son.
I loved the little moment where Syril was organizing his spiders.
Wilmon doesn’t waste any time and is already involved with Dreena, whom we saw briefly in the last arc. At the end Wilmon stayed behind for Dreena and then joined her to be the voice of the resistance. It was kind of beautiful, but I’m worried for both of them.
What happened to Tazi? He set off a bomb at the hotel. Did he survive? I hope he did. He didn’t even log Cassian into the hotel. You know, rebellions are built on hope and I hope this kid survives.
We’ve spent five episodes with a lot of these Ghorman characters and it was affecting watching them suffer and die. When the Ghor started to sing, I actually teared up. It was incredibly powerful.
When Syril confronted Dedra and actually strangled her for answers, I was shocked by the violence. It was the first time I’ve seen Dedra look fragile.
Cassian took the KX droid with him. This is probably going to be K2SO. Yay!
Quotes:
Syril: “What have we been doing here?”
Dedra: “You didn’t seem to mind the promotions.”
Partagaz: “We need what’s in the ground. The Empire has been patient long enough.”
Carro: “It’s a trap.”
His expression was less shocked and more like a grim realization.
What an incredible episode. It's up there with "One Way Out" and "Rix Road."
4 out of 4 Songs of Unity and Peace
Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.
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