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Star Wars: Andor

Moe_Syzlak

Moe_Syzlak

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Well, we’re just a few days away from the three episode premiere. It doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of excitement for this, but I am cautiously optimistic. I’m excited for something that is set outside of the main Star Wars plots we know. So far Disney has given us a trilogy that told a superfluous story in the Skywalker saga [regardless of what you may think of the execution of that trilogy, there was about as much need for that trilogy as there was for GF3], an origin story for a popular character (Solo), a backstory/fill-in-the-blanks story (Kenobi), and a couple of bounty hunter shows that increasingly try to throw the familiar into to the mix for (to me) seriously diminishing returns. Even the property that gave us Cassian Andor (my favorite of the Disney SW) was telling a story based on an almost throwaway plot advancement line from the original Star Wars. Andor seems to be the first Star Wars property in a long time to be operating in its own space with little tethering it to the stories we already know. I hope that gives it license to tell a totally unique story that only owes its setting to Star Wars. Maybe I’m setting myself up for disappointment, but my hope is that this delivers and convinces the suits that familiar names like Skywalker, Solo, and Fett aren’t needed to make a successful Star Wars property.
 
I heard Chris Gore's early review and I believe Rogue One fans will thoroughly enjoy this, provided the story is not ruined by Lucasfilm in later episodes.
 
Non-spoiler initial thoughts.

I used the term grounded in another thread to refer to relative realism in unrealistically set stories. That’s definitely the case here. Andor is way more grounded than other Star Wars stories. It’s a slow burn as well. If Star Wars is broad strokes of good and evil, this has way more shades of grey. That’s not to say there still aren’t clear protagonists and antagonists. But they display motivations that are more, well, grounded than simply good or evil. This does have the potential to be polarizing (is SW ever not so at this point?) and that’s understandable. Star Wars is built on simple escapist fantasy where broadly good characters defeat broadly evil characters . This sort of story isn’t really what makes Star Wars Star Wars. That said, for me it is a welcome breath of fresh air.
 
DigModiFicaTion said:
One episode in and it's exactly what I expected and hoped for. The sets are incredible and tangible. Luna is on point and the vibe is fresh but familiar. Super excited that this is 12 episodes.
Click to expand...
My only complaint would be the short episode length. It was fine today since we go three episodes, but it needed three episodes to feel satisfying. Maybe subsequent episodes will do better as standalone ~30 minute episodes.

Edit: and six year old Cassian looks 12 whereas nine year old Leia looked five. 🤣
 
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I've watched all three episodes. I think that the production values are the best they have been for a Disney + SW show, though some of the writing is still a bit mediocre. The first two episodes are also needlessly slow. I found episode 3 to be considerably more engaging and I think it shows promise for the rest of the series.

Currently, the only character I find to be particularly likeable/interesting is the officer played by Kyle Soller.
 
Watched ANDOR last night.

The first 3 eps is essentially a 90 minute single pilot movie… you have to watch all three at once for any pay off.
Why they didn't just release it as a 90 minute premiere is beyond me. In their episodic format, the first two episodes are poorly constructed and barely make a first act and then they just END... no cliffhanger, no exciting plot reveal... just randomly ENDS.

It is easily the best looking SW show, and most gritty. Tonally very different from any SW before, even Rogue One. The music is also very different. No John Williams cues or stylistic sounds.

Very mature content and themes, pretty sure the average 10-12 year old would be bored by it. Where most SW shows and movies are about Good vs Evil, featuring classic hero and villain archetypes, this is a show that dives deep into the murky, morally grey. Not sure if this show will unite or divide SW fans?

For a show called Andor, I actually found our protagonist to be the least interesting character until the last 10 minutes. The show really comes alive once Skarsgard shows up. It took the entire 3 eps, but by the end I was very intrigued.
 
^^^^ My ten year old likes it but not enough to binge all three episodes. He is watching one a day and has now seen two of the three. He’s been looking forward to it so I screened it first. It does have some more mature themes and it is a bit of a challenge to talk through some of the things that happen with him since the “good guys” aren’t always doing strictly good guy stuff. I doubt I’d show it to a kid much younger than 10.
 
For me, yes. Rogue One is a close second, but that episode is more powerful and intense than anything I've seen before. Sure it wasn't the most action, and there isn't a lightsaber to be found, but the situation and the intensity of the way it was filmed is better than anything I've seen from Star Wars. I think what I like most is that this didn't have to be Star Wars and it would have been just as powerful.

I was sitting up in my seat and enthralled. The last time that happened for me was the force theme Force Awakens trailer.
 
Andor is the best SW tv series hands down. Mandalorian was so-so, Boba Fett awful, and Obi-Wan somewhere in the middle, and none are as riveting as Andor. No childish humor, no idiotic direction, there are actual aliens and they don’t speech English. This is what SW should be, not a dumbed down cash grab like the shows that have come before.
 
And here I thought this was going to be a show about the big guy from Final Fight...
 
I enjoyed it way more than Rogue One, but it still suffers from similar problems. It’s too unfocused and confusing in the beginning, introducing rather bland characters who are mumbling their dialogue and there isn’t enough tension to keep you engaged during the first episode. While I liked the retro set design, I found some of the imagery pretty heavy-handed in terms of politics and not fitting for a Star Wars story. It’s also rather lacking in terms of mysticism and spirituality. Instead it leans to heavily into themes like colonialism, fascism and class-struggle in way that just doesn’t mesh with the universe. I think the struggle between the Empire and Rebels was always akin to a religious war about the power of spirituality vs the power of technology, which is something that isn’t found here. However, I really liked their spin on the family theme and enjoyed watching Andor being dragged out of his maternal nest by a caring father figure and how it contrasted with the need for fatherly approval of the bad guy. I found that a refreshing take on the family theme of Star Wars. In the end I enjoyed the story itself, but I still don’t like the way it’s told. It just doesn’t feel like Star Wars to me.
 
^^^ I can’t really argue with this, despite the fact that I disagree with it. As I said, in my original take, it isn’t what makes Star Wars Star Wars. But I do feel the world created by Star Wars is rich enough at this point to support a different type of story. Rogue One merely hinted at it and now we’re seeing it come to fruition. I do agree that structuring the premier as three episodes as opposed to a single 90 minute episode was a mistake. Thankfully they at least gave us all three episodes at once. But I’m all for a more deliberate pace that gives us characters that are more than archetypes. So far, they aren’t there yet IMO. But I’m hoping at the end of the season we’ll have some of the richest characters of all of Star Wars, full of contradictions and flaws. I’m obviously in favor of broadening Star Wars, but I can’t fault those who are not.
 
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