Aldhani From Andor On Disney+ Explained

Contains spoilers for "Andor" Season 4 

With every episode, the Disney+ "Star Wars" show "Andor" brings Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) closer and closer to his future as a highly capable Rebel Alliance operator who spearheads the dangerous Death Star plan mission depicted in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." In the fourth episode, "Aldhani," he takes a major step in the inevitable direction after establishing a modicum of a working relationship with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), an influential Rebel who recruited Andor on Ferrix in "Andor" Episode 3. 

The events of "Andor" Episode 4 take place in various locations, but the bulk of the main character's plot line takes place in the titular Aldhani. The risky heist mission he's set to undertake with a local Rebel faction seems like it might play a big part in establishing Andor as a massive player among the Rebels – as well as a massive headache for the Empire.

Fans will have to wait until Episode 5 to see how the mission pans out, as Episode 4 focuses on preparation and planning. It also does quite a bit of world-building for the location the heist will take place in. Let's take a look at what Aldhani in "Andor" is all about.

"What's Aldhani?" Cassian Andor asks Luthen Rael early in "Andor" Episode 4. "That depends," the older man replies. However, from the viewer's standpoint, it's pretty clear that Aldhani is both a cool location, and a handy example of the Empire's unsavory control tactics.  

Luthen sees great potential in the young con man, and convinces Andor to Aldhani in order to steal the Imperial payroll from a local, understaffed garrison, and to see how he likes the whole "Rebel" thing in the process. Unfortunately, the tiny Rebel group Andor accompanies on the mission is rather wary of Andor, considering him a potential liability. Andor, for his part, isn't exactly thrilled to find out that the mission is far more dangerous than he expected, but seems intent on remaining with the crew anyway.

A barren, hilly area with the occasional forest, the Northern part of Aldhani used to be home to numerous settlements that the Empire forcefully drove out of their home and used as a workforce, which is stated to be the kind of tactic that befits a conquering mega-power. It remains to be seen whether the location is visited again after the heist is over, either in this show or another. For now, it appears to serve as a relatively toned-down example of the Empire's galactic reign of terror, what it does to individual planets, and how the small, but scrappy Rebel Alliance is employing guerrilla tactics as they try to fight back.