This time a couple of years ago, Grogu and Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin headlined the list of best shows of 2020 with 'The Mandalorian Season 2. And unlike 'Andor', it had the whole works — Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, some classic Star Wars references — basically, the you-name-it, we-got-it type of thing. However, Diego Luna and Tony Gilroy ensure that a hit can still be churned out without necessarily having all the boilerplate elements that make Star Wars what it is.

'Andor' Episode 6 is perhaps the best episode of all the chapters that have rolled out so far, and with six more to go, the expectations for this show and the already greenlit sequel become nothing less than meteoric. After a slow burn where the thrusters just burned steadily, it was a complete blastoff as the chapter went into overdrive as the rebels' suicide mission to steal the Imperial payroll takes focus. Cassian and Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) take centerstage as the rebellion scores its first to win albeit with a few casualties.

Nemik, Skeen, and Tamaryn pay the price for the more significant cause. Well, Skeen...not so much as he becomes a party to greed after seeing the credits in the freighter. However, the bigger win comes in the form of a gripping episode that these characters do a spectacular job with. The writing and Susanna White's direction are near perfection and end in a way that nobody can actually foresee what's next. Had this been a six-episode affair, the ending may have been just as abrupt, yet emotional as the rest of the episodes have been.

'Andor' Episode 7 may see a time jump. Cassian has his share of the credits that were promised, and he returns Luthen's artifact to Vel. It's his way of saying goodbye, but what happens in between and how he may get pulled in the cause again will perhaps form the crux of the remaining six episodes. There's no denying that this is the best episode, but how Gilroy can do what he did with the 'Bourne' series consistently becomes the major question as fans gear up for an anxious, yet promising second half.

'Andor' Episode 6 is streaming on Disney+