Warning: Spoilers for Andor episode 6.Andor episode 6's Eye of Aldhani is a legitimate pound-for-pound contender against The Last Jedi's Holdo Maneuver for the most visually impressive Star Wars moment in years. Andor has received critical acclaim for its adult interpretation of Star Wars, and episode 6, "The Eye," continues that trend with a gritty, thrilling heist. “The Eye” has its heist-driven tension, cruel twists of fate, and a surprisingly accurate scourge of Imperial Army soldiers, but the climax in the Eye of Aldhani is easy to appreciate no matter one’s age.
The Eye of Aldhani – commonly mistaken as a meteor shower – is really “a recurrent band of crystalized, noctilucent microdensities.” When the planet Aldhani flies through the belt made up of billions of crystals, the crystals heat up and explode, and viewers from below witness what is comparable to seeing “50 meteor showers all at once, but like a curtain being pulled across the sky until the Eye, the window to the galaxy, forms over the horizon.” That is the beautiful backdrop of Andor episode 6’s climax, and it’s a visually magnificent moment that is only rivaled by The Last Jedi’s breathtaking Holdo Maneuver.
Is Andor's Eye Of Aldhani Even Better Than The Holdo Maneuver?
Andor and The Last Jedi share many similarities when it comes to building up their respective jaw-dropping moments, but the Holdo Manuever still reigns supreme for a few reasons. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo's suicide tactic came first (not in the Star Wars timeline, to be clear), and it's also something that could have been experienced in theaters which would have magnified the experience in a substantial way. Despite the polarizing nature of the one-and-done Holdo Maneuver from a lore perspective, it's an objectively awe-inspiring cinematic moment because of its bold use of a black-white color scheme as well as going for the "silence is golden" method for full dramatic effect.
The stakes are also much higher with the Holdo Manuever, but The Last Jedi successfully retains the same level of emotional heft in Vice Admiral Holdo's sacrifice as Andor does with its much more intimate heist. That doesn't take anything away from Andor's Eye of Aldhani; the Holdo Maneuver will always be hard for Star Wars to outdo because there's a hard limit on outperforming perfection. It’s better to appreciate episode 6 based on its own merits.
Why Andor's Eye Of Aldhani Scene Is Really So Good
Even as Cassian Andor becomes a darker Han Solo, “The Eye” provides some respite from the show’s more serious, adult-oriented themes by juxtaposing a longshot heist with strong production values and vibrant special effects befitting the Star Wars name. While Andor has already set the gold standard for a great Star Wars experience within the first five episodes, episode 6 and the Eye of Aldhani specifically merges everything that has worked so far while also finally pushing the pace after preferring the more methodical route in the beginning. In other words, Andor has leveled up based on every metric from storytelling to the visuals, and it’s done so in resounding fashion.
Episode 6 is an epic high note, but there’s still half a season left. There’s a lot of story left to tell from Mon Mothma to even the mundane bureaucracy of the Empire’s Imperial Officers. Wherever Andor goes next, there’s no reason to believe it’ll stop being the definitive modern-day Star Wars experience.
New episodes of Andor release on Wednesdays on Disney+.
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