“Who Are You?”

Assembling the pieces
The episode opens with a rotating landscape view of the new Imperial complex towering over Palmo. In his hotel room, Cassian Jeron Andor assembles his blaster rifle, fitting the stock and adding a slide to the receiver. He connects the scope, which he tightens with a dial and then screws in the barrel. While practising his aim, Andor overhears the Imperial Army Sergeant Bloy barking orders at the Imperial Army troopers, who begin moving the barricades in Palmo Plaza.

Stormtroopers and Imperial Army soldiers reposition the barricades around the Memorial to the Fallen. Observing the proceedings, Andor contacts Wilmon Paak via comlink. Paak is still at the Ghorman Front Headquarters with Dreena. At the Ghorman Front headquarters, Carro Rylanz receives news that the Imperials are removing the barricades. However, Andor reveals that the Imperials are putting a shell around the building, which he says will affect his ability to shoot Meero. He realizes that the Imperials are building a fortress.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Dedra Meero speaks with Major Lio Partagaz in a padded safe room at the Imperial office complex. Meero is concerned about reports from the Ghorman countryside that the Imperials are landing mining rigs. Partagaz vouches for Captain Kaido’s decision to barricade the Imperial office complex. When Meero asks how the Galactic Empire will spin reports about Imperial mining rigs, Partagaz tells her to focus on promoting the narrative of Ghorman aggression and the inexplicable resistance to Imperial norms. He emphasizes that the Empire needs what is in the ground and that the Empire has been patient long enough.

The Imperial trap
Back at the Ghorman Front headquarters, the Ghorman rebels assemble their firearms. Leeza hands Samm a blaster while another Ghorman rebel prepares flame jars. Paak also helps assemble a blaster. The Ghorman rebels hide their weapons inside their jackets and clothes. At the Palmo Square, a broadcaster promotes the Imperial narrative that Ghorman resistance is inexplicable and that some Ghormans are beginning to question how long the Empire’s patience can be tested. He reports on rumors of a planned protest and general strike. A female broadcaster talks about casualties from the firebombing of the Ghorman Naval Terminal being minimized to lower the public temperature.

In Coruscant. Eedy Karn listens to the female broadcaster’s news report about rumors of a planned general strike. Meanwhile, Syril Karn is visited by an Imperial officer who tells him that all Imperial employees have been summoned to the Imperial office complex. Karn stands frozen for a moment before shutting the door. Meanwhile, Tazi leads several Ghormans through the streets, calling for local residents to join them in a protest at the plaza.

Carro watches the Imperial soldiers reconfiguring the barricades around the Imperial office complex. When he is joined by his daughter Enza Rylanz, he tells her that the Imperials are setting a trap. Enza tells her father that she has been worried about him. Carro warns her that the Imperials have set a trap for their planned strike and rally, but Enza insists on proceeding with the rally, saying that people’s voices need to be heard. Carro responds that the Empire is goading them to fight. Enza says that they can be silent no more. Carro says that silence is preferable to death and rushes away in an attempt to stop the planned march.

Converging paths
Meanwhile, a crowd of Ghormans marches towards the Palmo Plaza. In his hotel, Andor hides his blaster among the clothes he is wearing. Paak, Dreena, and Karn join the growing crowd of protesters. Carro unsuccessfully attempts to convince the marchers to return home because it is a trap. When he sees Karn, he is overcome by rage and grabs him. Karn, however, fights back and pushes him against a doorway. Carro denounces Karn for betraying their trust. Karn explains that he was here to trap outsider agitators. When Carro tells Karn about mining equipment and droids being set up around Ghorman, Karn dismisses it as a rumor. Carro tells Karn to open his eyes and asks what kind of being he is.

Carro angrily demands to know what the Empire is interested in mining on Ghorman. Karn doesn’t answer and breaks free of the older man, pushing him to the ground. At the Imperial Officer Complex, Captain Kaido meets with Supervisor Meero, telling her that he is the trigger and she is the finger. He also tells her to make arrangements for his departure. Meanwhile, a cloaked Andor heads to the hotel reception and tells Thela that he probably won’t be returning. Thela smiles and confides that he did not register Andor as a favor. Before leaving, Andor gives Thela a blessing, prompting Thela to reply, “Rebellions are built on hope.”

Andor walks through the descending crowd of protesters. Karn also walks down the stairs into the plaza. At the ground floor of the Imperial headquarters, Kaido supervises his soldiers as they prepare to face the protesters. Kaido tells a soldier to contact the South Steps unit and gazes outside the window. Filling the plaza, the Ghormans beat their chests while chanting that they are the Ghor and that the galaxy is watching. Andor reaches the top tier of the plaza, where Imperial soldiers are posted. Crowds pour into the plaza from every direction, and Enza reunites with Dilan. She asks if he has seen her father. Dilan has not seen her father and tells Enza to stick with him. He then speaks with Tazi, who is leading a group of protesters.

Meanwhile, Andor finds a quiet spot and communicates with Paak via comlink. Andor has trouble hearing Paak due to the chanting of the crowd. He sees Meero standing on a balcony with fellow Imperial Security Bureau Agent Grymish. Karn manages to convince the Imperial Army soldiers at the barricade outside the Imperial complex to let him in by showing his credentials. As he is escorted inside, he overhears a broadcaster claiming that insurgents instigated the protest. Grymish checks Karn and permits him entry into a room with other Imperial employees. Six KX-series security droids are seated on chairs in the middle of the room. Karn steps into the room and gazes at the droids. Five of the droids look away, but one of the droids gazes intently at him.

A song of defiance
In Palmo Square, Diland finds Lezine in the crowd, and the two embrace. Samm and Leeza mingle among the crowd, as does Andor. The protesters pump their fists at the IOC barricade as Captain Kaido emerges. He orders the Imperial forces to close the exits and activates “Channel Five.” Stormtroopers march down the stairs leading into Palmo Plaza, trapping the crowd. Paak hides Dreena and tells her to stay safe while he goes and finds his friend, Andor. Another rebel named Capso calls out to Dreena, and she joins him.

Inside the Imperial office complex, Kaido orders Bloy to send a detachment of inexperienced Imperial Army troopers to secure a barricade lane leading to the memorial. Bloy reluctantly assembles his unit as several protesters break up cobblestones with their staffs. Enza watches tensely. Dilan hands a flame jar to a protester. Other rebels hand out various weapons to protesters. Lezine breaks out singing the Ghorman national anthem “We Are the Ghor”. The crowd joins him in singing the national anthem. Dilan and Enza stand beside him and join in singing the song. Several Ghormans, including Dreena and Tazi, raise their fists, with several protesters joining suit.

Karn’s moment of truth
Inside the Imperial office complex, Karn slips out of the waiting room and goes upstairs. Sergeant Bloy leads his inexperienced Imperial Army troops as the Ghormans sing their national anthem. Meero looks out the window while Andor aims his blaster. Grymish attempts to stop Karn from entering the executive wing, but he reaches Meero’s office. Meero orders Grymish to leave and shuts the door while she speaks with Karn alone. Karn confronts Meero about her knowledge of the Empire’s true agenda on Ghorman; Meero tries to deflect, insisting she will explain later, but an unappeased Karn grabs her tunic. Meero protests that he is hurting her, but Karn demands to know what is going on.

Karn asks about the Imperial mining armada unloading in Jel-Novi and Leequa; when Meero feigns ignorance, Karn seizes her by the throat and starts throttling her, adding a threat to throw her out the window if she says it is a rumor. When he demands to know what they are doing here, Meero explains that the Empire is interested in exploiting something in Ghorman’s soil for its energy program. She explains that the Emperor needs it for an essential project. Karn releases his grip and looks at him timidly. When Karn demands to know how long she has known about this, Meero admits that the Empire has been planning to exploit Ghorman’s mineral resources for years. Meero reminds Karn that they wanted to be together, and he didn’t seem to mind the promotions. Karn looks at her, shocked, before saying, “Good luck, Dedra,” and leaving Meero alone in the office.

The false flag attack
Outside, the Ghormans continue singing while Sergeant Bloy leads his troops outside. The troopers march past him in two columns, armed with shields. Karn walks past the guards and security scanners. He navigates through the barricade while Paak continues his search for Andor. Meanwhile, Meero attempts to get Grymish to find Karn, but he informs her that Partagaz is on the line. Karn continues making his way through the crowd. Sergeant Bloy eyes a man clinging to the memorial with a green flag. Andor contacts Paak via comlink and tells him to meet him at the columns outside the caf house.

The riot squad tries to push back against the crowd, prompting angry Ghormans to hurl objects at the soldiers, who lower their visors and raise their shields. Paak and Karn separately wade through the singing crowd. After a moment of hesitation, Meero allows Kaido to proceed with his plan. Kaido relays an order for an Imperial rooftop sniper to “fire at will.” Meero stands with a nervous expression while TIE fighters circle the plaza. As the crowd harries Sergeant Bloy and his troops, the sniper shoots one of the Imperial Army troopers. Bloy tends to the fallen soldier. Believing that the Ghorman on the monument killed his subordinate, Bloy commands his troops to open fire on the demonstrators.

Several civilians are shot. In response, the Ghorman Front and their allies return fire with their weapons. Karn watches with horror at the unfolding massacre. The stormtroopers join the shootout. Dilan, Enzo, and Lezine regroup with the other Ghorman partisans and fight back with firearms. Paak also joins the gunfight.

Dilan throws a flame jar at the Imperial barricade outside the Imperial office complex. Andor joins the fight and shoots a stormtrooper who has been sniping at civilians. Leeza is hit by enemy fire and falls to the ground. This throws Samm into a rage, and he fires back repeatedly. Thela invites several civilians to take refuge inside the hotel while Capso evacuates a wounded comrade. A blaster bolt hits Dilan. Grymish confirms that Karn is outside. Meero steps out momentarily onto the balcony to look for him. Andor attempts to aim his blaster at her, but she quickly retreats.

Captain Kaido orders that the KX-series security droids be deployed against the Ghormans. A wounded Dilan watches helplessly as one of the KX droids grabs Enza by the hair and tosses her against the plaza floor. She hits her head on the hard pavement and her neck snaps. A shocked Karn stands in horror and disbelief as the massacre unfolds. As a tear streams down his cheek, a fleeing Ghormans brushes past him. Tazi hurls a grenade outside the hotel while Andor aims at Meero on the balcony. However, he is distracted by a bomb outside the hotel, which takes out several stormtroopers.

The confrontation
Karn spots Andor as he aims his blaster at Meero during a second attempt. Overcome by rage, Karn charges at Andor and tackles him to the ground. Gaining the upper hand, Karn throttles Andor and attempts to block his mouth with his hand. Karn pushes his hand away and attempts to choke Andor. Andor grabs a nearby glass and smashes it over Karn’s head. Andor attempts to reach his rifle, but Karn hits him with a chair, knocking him against a wall. Karn traps Andor in a neckhold and the two tussle. Andor fights back and slams him against a round glass window. Andor then punches Karn several times.

The two dodge a grenade. Andor reaches for his rifle but is forced to retreat as Imperial soldiers fire into the cafe. He takes shelter behind a barista machine. Karn retrieves Andor’s rifle and corners him by the barista machine. As Karn aims Andor’s blaster at him, Andor asks who he is. Karn glares at Andor as he lowers the weapon. Karn hesitates but is shot in the head by Carro. While Andor retrieves his rifle, Paak approaches him and helps him to his feet. Andor continues to stare at Karn’s face while Paak assists him. Carro looks grimly at the fallen Karn.

Retreat and escape
Back at the IOC building, Meero watches the plaza as several Ghorman survivors flee down a parapet. Paak and Andor join the exodus. Paak asks Capso where is Dreena. Capso tells Paak that Dreena went to the radio transmitter. Paak wants to find his lover Dreena, but Andor tells him that they have to leave—the two men tussle. A crowd of Ghorman civilians flees as a KX-series droid rampages through the crowd, tossing people. Andor and Paak attack the advancing Imperial droid with their blasters, but its armor is resistant to their blaster bolts. Samm uses troop transport to ram the KX-series droid, incapacitating the Imperial droid.

After Samm reverses the vehicle, Andor approaches the KX-series droid, which the impact of the ramming has bisected. Samm asks if the droid is dead. Samm recognizes Andor, who thanks him in return. Paak convinces Andor to let him leave with the Ghorman Front. Before leaving, he convinces Samm to let him use the troop transport to carry the damaged KX-series droid. Andor turns on the vehicle’s radio and hears a broadcast from Dreena’s channel Palmo One. Dreena makes an emergency broadcast telling listeners about the massacre in Palmo. She says that the Ghorman Massacre has begun. Meanwhile, Capso succumbs to his wounds and dies in the arms of Dilan.

Dreena reports that hundreds of Ghormans lie dead in Palmo Plaza, with thousands more dying on the streets. She says this is Ghorman reaching for any open channel that can hear her. As Andor drives away in the troop transport, he reacts with grief and anguish. Dreena adds that the Empire instigated the killings and that the conspiracy they feared is real. She reports that Imperial ships are landing on Ghorman. A grief-stricken Carro sits in a corridor. Paak and Samm find Dreena in the Ghorman Front’s headquarters. Following an embrace, she holds the radio receiver to her ear and says that they have to get the story out. Andor sheds a tear.

Manufacturing consent
Meanwhile, Meero grieves in silence while struggling to rein in her emotions. Her right hand begins trembling, and she grabs it with her left hand. Meero regains her composure and paces the safe room. Elsewhere, an Imperial broadcaster describes the events in Palmo Square as an uprising and presents the fallen Imperials as heroes. On Coruscant, a grief-stricken Eedy watches the news with two grey-haired friends. The broadcaster claims that the Ghorman insurrection was the work of outside instigators and vows that the Empire will uncover the truth. She adds that peace and security come with a price.