Line #26 Recap/AndorS1E8Narkina5


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/andor8.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[AC:On Program]]]]
3
4	->''"Oppression builds rebellion."''
5	-->-- '''Luthen'''
6
7	Cassian is sent to a sterile, labor-intensive factory prison on Narkina 5 and is assigned to work under a menacing floor manager, Kino Loy. Resentful and tense at first, he begins to adjust to the harsh shifts.
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9	Dedra continues investigating the theft of Imperial equipment. She interrogates Syril Karn, who has spent his time at the Bureau of Standards filing various false reports in attempts to get information on Cassian. Dedra deduces that Cassian is working for a central figure to the suspected rebellion whom she calls "Axis".
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11	On Ferrix, Bix and Brasso visit Maarva, who has become more openly rebellious. Continuing their search for Cassian, Cinta volunteers to stay on Ferrix, which dismays Vel. Bix tries to contact Luthen for a lead on Cassian, but is detained by the ISB force led by Dedra.
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13	Mon hosts another dinner party, this time with the goal of securing votes to slow Palpatine's latest overreach. Tay Kolma tells her that moving money around is getting more difficult.
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15	Luthen tries and fails to get Saw Gerrera to work with other Rebel factions.
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17	----
18	!!Tropes:
19
20	* AndStarring: The list of leading players at the beginning of the end credits concludes with "and Forest Whitaker".
21	* ArcNumber: Seven floors, seven rooms per floor, seven tables per room, seven men per table. You have seven seconds to get to your cell or die.
22	* BaitAndSwitch: Kino is introduced as if he's going to be a MeanBoss and leading impediment to Cassian in his time on Narkina 5. Instead he turns out to be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who is determined to serve his time and get out with a minimum of trouble and discomfort.
23	* CallForward:
24	** One of Cassian's work-mates at his table is Ruescott Melshi, a future Rebel comrade and co-commander of the ''Film/RogueOne'' squadron.
25	** The Empire loading up prisoners on their Imperial Prisoner Transports is what its successor state, [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance the First Order, would later do with loading up prisoners from the Colossus on their AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transports]].
26	** Ryder Azadi in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' would mention how he helped build heavy equipment in Imperial prison, and one of his primary characteristics was how [[NeverGoingBackToPrison he adamantly refused to return to incarceration]]. Narkina-5 more than proves ''why''.
27	* ClearMyName: Karn continues trying to do so with what little influence he can muster from within the Bureau of Standards. His repeated fraudulent reports eventually garner the attention of the ISB, in particular Dedra Meero, who ''also'' wants to find Cassian... and after a brief interview, she decides Karn's a waste of her time and lets him go.
28	* ColdBloodedTorture: The ISB has tortured Paak into giving up Bix and likely going to do the same to her in order to find Cassian and/or by extension Luthen. For added effort Meero keeps Paak in the room long enough for Bix to see him telling her just what she is in store for.
29	* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: One night, a man in Cassian's cellblock commits suicide after lights-out by stepping onto the electrified floor. The other prisoners have become so complacent with their situations that they mostly complain about having to smell his corpse for the rest of the night, another (presumably who works at the man's table) complains about being shorthanded for work the next day, and one even comments that he has no sympathy for anyone who commits suicide in the sleeping quarters.
30	* CrypticBackgroundReference: Saw lists a number of groups rebelling against the Empire and condemns them all as "lost". These begin with recognizable or understandable names such as Separatists, neo-Republicans, and the Ghorman Front, and continue on to the Partisan Alliance, sectorists, human cultists, and galaxy partitionists -- all names of unknown significance, other than that they're organizations or ideologies that see reason to oppose the Empire. (Indeed, knowing that there is a thread of human supremacy through the galaxy which runs strong in the Empire, one would expect "human cultists" to be on the Empire's side just from the name... unless they think that the Empire doesn't push human supremacy far enough.)
31	* DarkestHour: This is the bleakest episode of the show seen by far. The Imperials start cracking down on Ferrix and arrest Bix, Cassian is sent to a labor prison with a sentence of at least six years, Luthen unsuccessfully tries to get separate Rebel factions to work with one another, and Vel and Cinta deal with separation from each other while on their missions.
32	* DeadlyEnvironmentPrison: Narkina 5 has this twofold. The prison buildings themselves are artificial islands suspended in {{Sea Sinkhole}}s that would likely result in anyone who jumps overboard getting sucked underwater and through the hydroelectric dams, and all of the floors in the prison are electrified, with prisoners kept barefoot while guards wear thick-soled boots. The prisoners' cells also don't even have doors on them, because the electrified corridor floor will kill anyone who touches it.
33	* DivideAndConquer: In the Narkina 5 prison, workers are forced to compete against each other, which breeds animosity between prisoners and helps prevent them from banding together in large enough groups to challenge the guards.
34	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The giant decontamination chamber Cassian and 49 other men are shoved into strongly resembles a futuristic version of a gas chamber at a Nazi concentration camp. Another concentration camp parallel is the fact that Narkina 5 appoints certain prisoners as managers who oversee and have a bit of power over their fellow inmates, very similar to the Nazis' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapo Kapos]]. In addition, the prisoners are forced to construct components for the Imperial military, similar to how the Nazis used Jews and other prisoners as slave labor for their war effort.
35	* DramaticIrony: The episode sees Dedra and the ISB step up their manhunt for Cassian big-time, but they have no idea Cassian's ''already'' detained on Narkina 5 for a completely different reason than what they're hunting him for.
36	* DrivenToSuicide: One prisoner deliberately leaves his cell and steps barefoot onto the electrified floor, which kills him. This is simply the latest suicide, judging by the prisoners' comments.
37	* FormerTeenRebel: Perrin is described as a "firebrand" when he was younger. Now he is uninterested in politics and gladly makes friends with Imperial leaders.
38	* HandSignals: On day 1 of Cassian's prison sentence, he notices a fellow prisoner a few places up in the queue silently communicating with hand gestures to an inmate from a different room, who gestures back.
39	* HiddenDepths: Beneath his tough and cold exterior, Luthen admits that he's genuinely scared that the Empire will eventually reach a point where resisting them is an impossibility.
40	* HighVoltageDeath: Anyone who steps on the floor while the lights are red gets electrocuted.
41	* LovedINotHonorMore: Cinta loves Vel but makes it clear to her that the Rebellion will always come first, parting from her after they just reunited for pursuing a lead on Cassian. Vel is seen sadly leaving on her own.
42	* MoodWhiplash: One of Cassian's blockmates complaining that their table will fall in the rankings because a prisoner killed himself at first seems like a case of BlackComedy. Then one remembers that the punishment for low output is electrical torture, making it a very real concern.
43	* MythologyGag: Belsavis is mentioned as one of the planets that prisoners of the Empire are assigned to. According to ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', the entire planet is one big prison colony built by the Rakatan Empire to keep especially dangerous species like the marauding Esh-kha, [[AndIMustScream trapping them in stasis fields while still conscious for millennia]]. The Old Republic later come to possess it and use it to hold dangerous and political prisoners, and those who are born on the planet are pretty much prisoners from birth. Its location is so secretive that only a few people in the galaxy know about its existence since it means the Republic will catch a lot of fire for what they used Belsavis for if the truth is revealed to the public at large. The Empire, of course, has no such reservation.
44	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
45	** Searching for Cassian, Bix attempts to reach Luthen using the communication device behind Paak's shop. Luthen and Kleya decide not to take the call and shut down Ferrix operations immediately, while Bix's transmission is intercepted, bringing more Imperials to the neighborhood and leading to Paak and Bix getting arrested and tortured.
46	** This episode also reveals that by ordering Cassian to kill Syril and not following through, Luthen unintentionally outed himself and left behind Syril as a witness who could recognize his voice and turn him in. All it would take is Syril visiting a particular shop on the same world where he lives and works.
47	* NondescriptNastyNutritious: Each cell of the prison has a slot where some sort of paste comes out to feed the prisoners. It's said they can have as much as they want, it's actually quite healthy, and you get used to the (lack of) taste.
48	* NoOSHACompliance: The Narkina 5 prison is a forced labor facility where prisoners handle power tools and manipulate large, heavy equipment and machine parts for twelve hours a day, machine parts that are big enough to need several men to lift, and yet they're required to do so by hand. The men are not permitted nor offered any kind of protective gear, they're kept barefoot at all times, and the prison's focus on maximum productivity only permits each man one bathroom break per shift.
49	* ThePlace: The episode is titled after Narkina 5, where the bulk of the episode takes place and where the title character is imprisoned for the duration.
50	* PastVictimShowcase: Dedra makes sure Bix sees the state Paak is in after his torture as Bix is about to be tortured.
51	* PerilousOldFool: After Maarva gets injured trying to open a gate to a supposed secret tunnel for rebels to use, Brasso and Bix worry that her attempts to aid the rebellion will do more harm than good.
52	* PragmaticVillainy: On Narkina 5, despite the incredibly harsh conditions, prisoners can eat as much of the nutrient sludge as they'd like, and the goop itself is pretty nourishing since even the Empire knows there's no point in starving even forced labourers so long as they're expected to actually have good output.
53	* QueerEstablishingMoment: After many heavy hints in the prior episodes, it's now made explicit that Cinta and Vel are lovers. They refer to "us" and love for each other in a clear romantic way.
54	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Once again, [[BenevolentBoss Partagaz]] proves very accommodating and supportive, backing up Dedra's reports to Yularen without undermining her and endorsing the cause she brings.
55	* ShockStick: Some of the prison guards carry long batons with electrified ends, which they use to keep the prisoners in line when they're on the move.
56	* ShoutOut: WordOfGod confirmed that Narkina 5 is a giant one to ''Film/THX1138'' (Creator/GeorgeLucas' debut feature film) in terms of its design, aesthetic, and function.
57	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In an apparent attempt to butter up Saw Gerrera, Luthen asks whether he was responsible for the raid on an Aldhani, knowing full well he had nothing to do with it. When Saw retorts that he wouldn't be living in a cave if he'd just stolen 100 million credits, Luthen invokes the trope by claiming that's exactly what Saw would say if he ''had'' been responsible, and acting more and more convinced every time Saw denies it.
58	* ThousandYardStare: Cassian sports an empty stare after the numerous shocks (literal and metaphorical) he endures on his first day in the prison, having being punished by the electrified floors twice in one day, while his shift supervisor tells them all to keep it down (which, given they're silent, means he's probably admonishing them not to throw up).
59	* TroubledFetalPosition: After his first day of prison and the reality of his new situation sinks in, Cassian wedges himself into the small gap between the toilet and the cell wall and tucks himself into a ball, looking utterly despondent.
60	* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Luthen tries to get Saw to work with other Rebel factions that disagree with him on some issues. Saw refuses, claiming they're "lost" for one reason or another due to the different causes that they're fighting for, be they Separatist remnants, neo-Republicans, nationalists, or otherwise.

Context Recap / AndorS1E8Narkina5