Andor's Director Was Diligent About Keeping Fans On Their Toes Leading Up To Episode 10's Prison Break

After weeks of simmering tension, an increased focus on character work, and general existential bleakness, "Andor" Episode 10 provided plenty of cathartic thrills. In addition to unveiling a sneaky Rebel spy, the latest episode delivered a prison break for the ages.

The event saw Cassian (Diego Luna) and the other inmates of the Narkina 5 prison come together and escape from their confinement thanks to a well-orchestrated plan and some good old-fashioned luck. The episode ends with Cassian and Ruescott Melshi (Duncan Pow) running into the night, free at last, and ready to fight again on another day.

Episode 10 finally gave "Andor" fans a long overdue fist-pumping victory to celebrate. However, it wasn't an easy feat for the show's creators to fall off. Director Toby Haynes knew that he had to deliver the goods in order to give viewers an emotional, high-stakes payoff — and that meant staging a perfect prison break.

During a recent interview with The Ringer, Todd Haynes explained how he approached Episode 10's epic prison break and the techniques he employed to immerse the audience in the experience.

According to Haynes, the early Nakrina 5 scenes were inspired by Stanley Kubrick-esque camera work, comprised mainly of sweeping shots. For the latest installment, however, the camerawork had to be different in order to create tension, which led to Haynes and his team taking a more "balletic" approach.

The director revealed the goal was to present the prisoners' escape as "on the ground, running," so they incorporated more Steadicam and handheld shots into the proceedings. Furthermore, these visual cues helped the director understand the mood of the story. "I always have a clear idea of where I am in the story visually, which informs the tempo energy-wise. And Episode 10 really did have to pay off. It couldn't be a lame duck. It needs to excite, it needs to pull the audience along."